Corporate e-learning
Next level e-learning where dry subjects are brought to life through storytelling and great visual design.
The European Investment Bank is the lending arm of the European Union. It is one of the biggest multilateral financial institutions in the world and one of the largest providers of climate finance.
With more than 4000 staff members and complex important subjects to cover there is a lot to learn at the EIB. Since 2020, we have the pleasure of leveling up the e-learning at the EIB for all staff members.
With co-creation projects we work towards interactive e-learning for all EIB employees. We, for example, convert a 6 hour long classroom training to a max. 60 minutes e-learning that consists of a complex level of interactivity.
Until now we have worked on these topics:
Climate Awareness, Safety Awareness, Cyber Security, Market Abuse, Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT), the ties between the EIBG and the EU, Code of Conduct and Whistleblowing, Transparency Policy and Administrative Procedures.
Next level e-learning experiences for over 4000 staff members.
Question.
How do we transform traditional e-learning about dry topics into exciting learning experiences?
Learning Outcome
We believe in going beyond using previous and next buttons, multiple choice questions and mundane content delivery. At Shapers, harnessing our creativity in every aspect of the design process and transforming any topic into an engaging learning journey is the goal. Always keeping the learner and their desired learning outcome in mind.
Each topic has its own learning outcome
For each topic we have formulated a learning outcome. Here's an example for the AML-CFT e-learning course:
"I feel confident about my ability to contribute to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In this fight the consequences of making the wrong choices or not taking action can be immense. That's why it feels good to know that colleagues and I are alert, ready, and able to take action when needed."
Instead of focusing on learners needing to 'know' about certain topics and focusing on content, we focus on behavior change and what kind of things you need to look out for or what to do.
Research.
We work together with colleagues that work at the EIB Group to create the e-learning. They are the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) yet also the learners taking the e-learning. It's a great opportunity to discuss the common characteristiscs of the learners. We define the learning objectives related to the desired learning outcome.
Characteristics
Depending on the topic and e-learning, we could decide to focus primarily on newcomers who aren’t familiar with the subject and keeping it fresh for more experienced employees. We could state that most have the same level of education.
When it comes to emotional characteristics, this could also differ. What could motivate or demotivate them to learn? For example, there are a couple of e-learning that are mandatory to take. Learners would go into it with scepticism and feeling like they just want to click through it, take the test and get back to their work. Our challenge is to create something that makes it harder to just skim and guess your way through while adding an element of fun.
Strategy
If we want the employees to walk away with newly acquired knowledge they can apply in their job, then we should design a learning experience that is tailor made, true to reality and interactive.
Learning objectives
It's easiest to mostly focus on 'knowledge' related objectives. Yet, we go beyond that and work with our Learning Experience Canvas to define different types of learning objectives together with the learners.
For the e-learning on Safety Awareness, we defined the following:
Behaviour: I am alert and pro-active when it comes to preventing safety risks on our premises.
Insight: I am aware of my colleagues' and my own behavior.
Knowledge: I understand the importance of safety and the different safety signs.
Skill: I will follow the right escape routes and reach out to the related services in case of an emergency.
Design.
E-learning can be boring, we know! That’s why each design is different.
We usually come up with an interactive story, together with the subject matter experts, that unfolds with each step you take and each choice you make. It can be one big case scenario, or several. It enables us to move the focus from the Next button to the story and how it relates to your daily operations at work.
This highly interactive approach makes everything more realistic and actionable.
We were asked to create an e-learning about Climate Awareness as the EIB calls itself the Climate Bank. The employees of the EIB are diverse in their nationalities, but also in their opinion on climate change. We create a story that is a day-in-the-life working at the EIB where you're with your colleagues going to meetings, having lunch and small talk, taking quizzes and noticing small habits you can implement in your day-to-day. Once in a while, you're asked for your own opinion.
Climate Awareness
In Climate Awareness there are four colleagues. They each have a different opinion. The skeptical and pessimistic one, the optimistic and passionate one, the neutral one who only cares about facts and your manager who knows the most about the EIB and their actions related to climate financing. Each character looks different and has a voice-over with an accent from an European country. Fun fact: after launching, some employees said that they thought their actual colleagues did the voice-over.
Character Sketches
A Code of Conduct & Whistleblowing Policy is mandatory, especially at a big financial institution. How to behave in the workplace could be seen as common sense, but there are certain things employees should be aware of. An e-learning gives the opportunity to look at several situations and see what happens depending on the choice you make. The learner goes through several case scenarios related to conflict of interest, confidentiality, whistleblowing, harassment, reputation, commitment and more.
Code of Conduct & Whistleblowing
We designed and used 3D rendered characters with different characteristics. It's important to show diversity in character design, because just like in the real world, everybody is unique. We used still images but added small changes in poses. Short animated videos were used to display certain situations and ask the learner to select which kind of behavior is displayed. These videos had their own voice-overs.
Diverse 3D characters
Develop.
For the development of e-learning, we use Articulate Storyline 360. It's mandatory we use Storyline as any e-learning can then be implemented in their Learning Management System (LMS) by exporting to SCORM. We have experience with this program and always strive to push its boundaries.
Designing of the interface, visual elements and characters is done in Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD and Blender. When we make videos or animations, we use Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects.
Test.
With every e-learning, we take the time to share prototypes with the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts). This is an opportunity to test what we are creating together is going in the right direction. We discuss and decide on the concept together. Creating a storyboard with sketches and content prompts is a prototype we constantly share and go back-and-forth on. We do this during the entire design process and step by step we get to a more final design with the right content. The SMEs are the experts on the content, but we are the experts on learning experiences. Together we get to the right amount and tone of voice in the content.
Note that we are met with the constraint that we cannot ask the learners for their opinion in every step of the design process. Whenever we get to chance to test a Storyline prototype, before we finalize content and visuals, we take it. This is the best way to check if the level of interactivity we added is intuitive, the content is easy to understand and makes sense for the learner.
User testing
Launch.
Every year, several e-learning are launched at the EIB. As some e-learning are mandatory and some are optional, it's always interesting to see how learners react to each one.
After completing an e-learning, the learners are asked on their opinion in a questionnaire. We always celebrate the launch of an e-learning with the team at Shapers and at the EIB. It's important to reflect on what could've gone better in the process, what the learners liked, what they think could be better and how we could possibly improve the e-learning in the future.
Celebrating each launch!
Shapers has been our partner for over a decade, delivering a smooth and honest collaboration. Yoleo, their creation, is a hit with children who struggle with reading.
Anonymous learner
European Investment Bank
It was a great collaboration. Shapers listened to our needs and challenged our thinking. Thanks to this, obstacles were overcome, and the simplicity of the game was maintained.
Anonymous learner
European Investment Bank
Results.
Learning Experience Design for e-learning
The opportunity to design several e-learning, displays that we can create different qualities of e-learning. Whether it's 15 minutes with static visuals and some voice-over or 90 minutes with videos, animation, characters, sound design and not to forget: subtitles.
Receiving feedback from SMEs and learners along the way, motivates us to create a new experience each time instead of applying a template to each different topic.
Improvements
With the first two e-learning we created for the EIB (AML-CFT and Fraud & Corruption Awareness), we discovered there are things to improve related to expectations. People in general can be afraid to make mistakes so we have to simplify certain interactions. Plus, for future e-learning we improved the communication that an e-learning is the opportunity to make mistakes and see what happens: "You are not judged or graded, unless explicitly mentioned". Every e-learning brings its own challenges and options to improve.
Lessons learned
Working together with the SMEs is very important and can be fun. It's not us and them, it's everyone working together towards the best learning experience we can create. Management on expectations, time and possibilities cannot be forgotten. We always strive to remind everyone that it's not content first, but human centered.
Research.
The two primary things we researched were the learning objectives needed to reach the learning outcome and the characteristics of the learner. During the design proces we worked closely together with researchers on how to perfect the impulse control in the games core mechanics.
Characteristics
"I know it's dangerous to use my Phone on my bike, and others get into accidents, but that won't happen to me." This summarizes the challenge this project faces. Teens generally underestimate risks and overestimate their own abilities. They can try stupid things because they feel invincible. Their desire is to have fun, and their risky behavior are two key characteristics for these learners.
Strategy
If they want to have fun and take risks, we could make a challenging game with a sense of humor.
Learning objectives
Looking at the characteristics of the learner, they understand there is risk in their current behavior; they just don't act to reduce it. It's also clear that lecturing them by offering more knowledge is not going to change much. They're not impressed if you tell them the chance of getting hurt is 40% higher when you use a Phone. Those are just numbers.
That's why we focus on strengthening the skill of impulse control. At the same time, we want them to be aware (insight) that it is simply hard to do several things at the same time.
Develop
For the development of the game we used Unity for iOS and Android. Unity enabled us to create prototypes relatively quickly, which is vital because game development requires a lot of testing. All visual elements were created using Adobe software and most animations were done in Unity.
We used a special plugin for Unity that enabled us to use vector graphics in the game instead of pixel based images. This drastically reduced the filesize of the game, which is beneficial for publishing on app stores.
Test.
As mentioned, game design involves frequent testing. From early prototypes to the final design, you need confirmation of the many design choices you make. We went to schools to test with students and used contextual observation. Seeing them play the game and capturing their honest reaction and emotional response produced significant insights.
One thing we learned is that for some students the game was too challenging while others had no problems reaching new levels. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time or money to improve that before the launch which is a constraint.
User testing
Meet Mr Smart, an evil CEO of a smartphone company. He is one of the most iconic characters in the game, so we we needed to nail the design.
Launch.
The launch of Wheelie Pop took place at a school where a Dutch YouTube star challenged a group of students for the high score. Having such a lively event and social media coverage was essential to get teens playing. Creating awareness is an important first step if you want to reach students around the country.
Launch Party
Meet Mr Smart, an evil CEO of a smartphone company. He is one of the most iconic characters in the game, so we we needed to nail the design.
Results.
50.000+ players!
There are various ways to determine whether this project was successful. The most important question is whether teens who played Wheelie Pop changed their behavior. The answer is yes, kind of. The effectiveness of the game was assessed by a research agency. They found out that of all players they tracked, 23% used their Phone less. That number is higher for players who spend more time playing Wheelie Pop.
Knowing that you are training a skill as you play, it makes sense that it takes time and effort to see improvement. They also saw an increased awareness of the risk of getting into an accident. That's good news.
Another measure of success is how many people play and enjoy the game. Since its release, Wheelie Pop has been downloaded more than 50.000 times and gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. Not bad for a 'serious game' in The Netherlands. Overall, a success!
Improvements
After the launch we added features to the game to make it easier for players who struggled, without taking away the challenge for more experienced players. We also created more levels as we know that playing longer results in better impulse control. We wanted to attracht more players and to keep them playing and training.
Lessonds learned
Often, launching your design is an afterthought. However, this launch was vital to the success of the project. Something to keep in mind.
Working with scientists has been of incredible value for this project, both for the design of the game and to measure the results. We were able to use our design skills more effectively thanks to their work.
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Question.
How can we prevent teens from using their phones while cycling?
Learning Outcome
"I know its's a bad idea to use my phone while cycling. I'll try to keep my phone in my pocket and ignore alerts and messages. It's not easy, but I'm determined to spend less time using my phone on my bike."
The science of impulse control
How do you train impulse control? That's what a group of Dutch scientists from Radboud University wanted to research. The answer: stop signal treatment (SST).
The concept of SST is to train reacting to the right, and ignoring the wrong impulses. This is trained by rapidly showing images where you have to choose quickly if you are going to react or not. By repeating this process, you become better at ignoring wrong impulses while acting on right impulses. That's perfect for achieving our learning outcome!