Introduction
After taking a few weeks off from the blog to focus on client projects, I’m back this week with something different. For Halloween, here’s my take on Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, The Raven, with a horror most of us can related to: the dreaded eLearning compliance course. Enjoy!
Quoth the Course: Click Next to Learn More
Once upon a Monday morning, with the skies gray and storming,
As I was tired from staying up too late the night before,
While I stumbled, widely yawning, to my desk as day was dawning,
Suddenly there came a ping, a little ring and nothing more.
“It’s just a Tweet,” I muttered, “something easy to ignore—
Just a Tweet and nothing more.”
But alas, the note demanded my attention, for as I saw with apprehension,
It was not Twitter that my phone pinged for,
Not a funny Tweet, nor thoughtful mention, nothing to relieve the tension,
But an email, with a note that could not be ignored
“IMPORTANT” it screamed, “must complete before ___”
With a date and link for learning more.
While I read it, still yawning, a realization quickly dawning
That this note, benign seeming, had within it something more,
Something heinous and concerning, so it sent my stomach churning,
A link to some eLearning compliance course, universally abhorred,
“Required training,” I complained, “What an awful, unpleasant bore!”
“Let’s get this s*** over with,” I swore.
Not without some hesitation, and with much trepidation,
I clicked the link to open up the dreaded course.
You may think it prejudicial to respond with such visceral
Disdain for training never having seen it heretofore,
But rest assured I had seen it—the last year and the years before.
It was a dreaded yearly chore.
And I knew what to expect, surely nothing more complex
Than slide after slide with the words, “Click Next to learn more.”
Every year it’s the same, although sometimes it’s a “game,”
Without the fun—only questions, nothing more,
And so I began the hateful course,
Clicking “Start” with spiteful force.
But instead of the boredom I anticipated, I found myself fascinated
By a scenario to which I related, with a character I could root for.
This time, instead of merely reading policies and proceedings,
And answering question upon question, an infernal bore,
I was engrossed in a story and wanted to know more,
“How could it be?” I wondered, “Compliance training that’s not a bore?”
And so, I continued through the course with hope renewed
That compliance eLearning doesn’t have to be heartburning,
That stories can bring life to work that was formerly a chore,
And when information must be remembered, courses taken each November,
Scenarios make learning stick, and even more—
They’re fun! Dare I say?—engaging—what everyone looks for!
And they never need to say, “Click Next to learn more.”
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At Scissortail Creative Services, creating engaging scenario-based learning experiences is our favorite thing ever. If you need some help with your next project, get in touch!
