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Why Short Sims?

Try out some short sims for qualifying a lead:

When we think about learning in the workplace we tend to think about “training” as a top down approach where an instructor explains. Or sometimes it is a series of how-to documentation with screenshots. Or it is eLearning built in a lifeless tone explaining process and procedures. A lot of learning is built as a passive experience, simply just reading or clicking through new information doesn’t help us apply this knowledge. Humans learn through a multi-step process and not necessarily in this order: encountering new information, paying attention or observing, aligning it with what is known already, remembering it, and applying it in context.

If you learned how to ride a bike when you were young, how did you do it? Did you research how bikes are made? Did you read an instruction manual? No, you observed others riding one, maybe asked a few questions on how to keep your balance and get started, then you tried one (maybe had a steady hand holding you up), and might’ve failed but kept trying. And you continued to practice.

This sentiment is why Montage has invested in the creation of short sims, a concept created by Clark Aldrich.

What are short sims (short simulations)? Aldrich describes short sims as a “platform-independent, non-proprietary, and easily shared” learning solution that focuses on experiential learning. They feel like you’re playing a video game with rich replayability.

Why are they great for learners?

Other typical learning solutions tend to focus on the “what” we want learners to know versus the “how and why” they should learn, apply, and adopt it. Giving learners the ability to practice, try, and fail in context illustrates how we really learn (like learning to ride a bike). Learners are able to teach themselves based on decisions made.

How do they benefit your company?

Short sims can help prime your employees to make better decisions with your customers in the moment. We call this “time to the right answer,” how long someone takes to make the right decision, which short sims can help reduce. In contrast, costly traditional learning management systems and solutions do not track this metric and tend just to collect completion records or if the right answer was chosen. Applying short sims improves a company’s ability to respond to a learner’s real-world needs in an agile way.

When to use short sims?

Placing learners in the context they work benefits the speed in which they can grasp and apply it in the real world. Short sims focus on a topic or action and are easily reusable microlearning. This helps with the development time, longevity of the solution, and cost overall of creating learning.