What to Write First in Branching Scenarios
When writing branching scenarios, it’s easiest to draft the ideal path from start to finish first, before writing mistakes and consequences.
When writing branching scenarios, it’s easiest to draft the ideal path from start to finish first, before writing mistakes and consequences.
In this post, I share links on writing better dialogue, sample projects for inspiration, and useful tools for different kinds of learning.
Once you have decided on a branching scenario approach, how do you get started? This is my process for working with SMEs to prepare.
In this post, I share links on writing about unfamiliar subjects and 3 different sets of instructional design competencies.
Rance Greene’s new book, Instructional Story Design: Develop Stories that Train, provides a systematic process for creating stories for training.
When creating scenario-based learning, consider 4 Cs: characters, context, challenge, and consequences.
A story with no challenges is boring and won’t engage your learners. When we use stories for learning, the challenges should mimic the kinds of issues learners will face in their real workplace. You don’t need an evil villain in your story, but you do need obstacles to overcome.
Scenarios for learning should include several critical elements: a protagonist or main character, that character’s goal, and the challenges that character faces. The main character’s goal is what drives the scenario. All of the action and decisions in the scenario move you closer or further from that goal.
In stories for learning, the protagonist should be someone your learners identify with, a person with similar goals and challenges.
Use random name generators to quickly create character names for scenarios in learning. Different tools have different purposes and benefits.