What can the Movie ‘Transformers 2′ Teach Us About eLearning?
Ok, cards on the table here. I loathed the first Transformers movie. I saw the movie for free, and I still felt like I should have gotten money back after it was over.
And, by all accounts, the sequel out now is even worse – if that’s even possible. In fact, it’s the worst reviewed movie of the summer.
Here are the most common complaints by critics I’ve heard:
1) It’s too long and a bit boring. (It runs something like 2.5 hours).
2) The premise is ridiculous.
3) The story is difficult to understand.
4) There is too much going on at the same time….sensory overload.
5) The acting is poor.
6) The script is not very much fun.
Yet, even with all those negatives and mega poor reviews, the movie was the second quickest movie ever to make 200 million dollars and it’s probably going to become one of the top grossing films ever. People not only want to see this movie, but they don’t mind paying and being inconvenienced by long lines to do so.
Now, look over those above complaints again. How many of those criticisms could be made about one of your courses? Be truthful, now… 
So, I ask again, just what can “Transformers 2” teach us (other than that men would pay money to see Megan Fox in just about anything, even an airline safety video)?
Here are my thoughts:
A Spoonful of Sugar helps the Medicine Go Down.
First: The movie LOOKS really good. It’s very glossy and the special effects are (supposedly) spectacular.
Even the best of us can sometimes be very superficial. Something that is good-looking can overcome a multitude of compositional sins, and still keep people’s attention. Here’s an eLearning example:
Which of these buttons is more pleasurable to look at? Which one looks more professional? Which one is more engaging?
OK, without even seeing more of the courses that these buttons are a part of (or even knowing the topic), which one would you rather take: the course with the button on the left, or the course with the button on the right? Do you feel a strong preference? Remember, your answer is based on only knowing what a single button looks like.
I think most people would much rather take a nice-looking course, even if the content in the clunky-looking course was better.
It’s something to really consider when building your training: Presentation truly matters…almost more than the content of the training itself.
Reflection Point: How much time do you put into deciding how your course will look?
More Than Meets the Eye
Second: Although it’s a movie, and – by definition – you can’t interact with it, it still looks like a video game. In fact, “Transformers” and “Transformers 2” may be the movies most similar to a video game experience that have ever been made! And, yet, there is no interaction at all with the film… it’s all in the minds of the viewers. They felt like they had played a game even though they hadn’t…and maybe didn’t even realize it.
This point reminds me of two recent stories.
Story 1:
Two colleagues of mine, Erik and Tricia, recently built a Code of Conduct CBT. In an attempt to liven it up a bit, they did it in the style of a game, wherein the student could choose a game piece, which would move over a game board during the course.
…and that was it. There weren’t any rules. Student’s couldn’t NOT get the answers right (the questions were true/false, and the student had to keep answering until they got the answer correct). There was no competition, since everyone HAD to get 100%. In fact, other than the superficial, it wasn’t really a game at all.
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about this course… but feedback from students was very positive towards it. Even though it wasn’t a ‘true’ game, students felt like they had played a game.
Story 2:
I recently heard a talk by eLearning guru William Horton, where he discussed a course he built in the late nineties.
The course file sizes had to be very small, since students were downloading it over telephone modems. So, he built in some very simple text-based scenarios, and didn’t think any more about it. It wasn’t until he received feedback from several students who said that they really liked the “multimedia” in the course! William Horton made the point that the mind is the best game rendering machine out there.
Reflection Point: Even though we don’t have the resources (or time) to make big-time Flash-based games, how can we make our courses more game-like and fun, even in very small ways?
Just some thoughts….and I’d love to hear yours.
July 2, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I would like to add a thought. To build on your “spoon full of sugar” metaphor – I think, sometimes, we spend too much time worrying about the garnish and not enough time making the main course palatable. Just like the students taking Horton’s course, I don’t care about the look of the course if the content keeps me engaged. The only time I really notice things like graphics are when they detract from the content or when the content doesn’t hold my attention.
July 2, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Ahhh! That is a great discussion mover, Erik!
I think eLearning designers need to find a ‘happy medium’ between boring (or even clunky) graphics and overdesigned ones. While overdesigned graphics can certainly physically distract the student from the content (or even make the content difficult to see – yes, I’ve experienced this), the opposite end of the spectrum can certainly make a course seem unprofessional…which is the absolute worst thing that can happen during training.
Why do I say that?
I say it because I believe that uninspiring graphics can undermine the authority of a course. In that, every course needs to make the student believe that they can put their trust in the accuracy of the content. A poor layout in a course can lead people to question the accuracy of the content…and a downright sloppy layout will certainly do that.
I suppose I just want people to ‘think’ about the graphics they use, and look for the happy medium (which may be different depending on the project and timeline). Although the word may be overused, I still think that an ‘elegant’ layout can be a great tool in helping to make people want to take a course.
Great point, Erik!
August 21, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I agree that the design of a course impacts the end user’s perception of it. In your example with the “Enter” button, the one on the right is dated looking, and I feel like I would be taking a CBT created in 1997 (which is not something really that I would like to spend time doing!).
If you want to call it a generational thing, it may be true… but I prefer things bright and shiny over dull and dated. I think others feel that way too, and will be more “turned on” to a modern, bright CBT than one that is merely slapped together, even if the content was great.
August 25, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Just to add to your great point, April… I think it’s difficult to determine for an end user if the content is ‘great’ or even ‘accurate’ in a course that is ‘dull and dated’ or sloppy.
Whenever I take one of those types of courses, I find I’m constantly asking myself, “If the graphics and layout are sloppy, how can I be sure the designer didn’t put the same (poor) effort into researching and writing the content?”