I think "...if you're really looking to change behavior, you need to follow up the short-term fun with additional FUN opportunities for learning and motivation over the long haul."

Their is no reason that "fun" only needs to be used to get to gain attention or to get change started. Any additional learning or application of learned skills can still be made into fun, engaging events.

I strongly believe that training that is fun and entertaining, while not sacrificing the objectives of the course and the needs of the learner, leads to a higher level of retention and is more likely to change behavior.

The best complement I get from my course is when participants say, "That was really fun AND I learned something too.

Thanks for the thought provoking post and great video.

Jeff

I agree that fun is a great way to get people to develop an intitial interest in a new topic or to renew interest in a topic. However, to create sustainable impact there needs to be more depth to the educational experience. Learenrs need to be able to make a connection between what they are learning and their own lives, the need to find the information to be worthy of investing their time. The real motivation comes from a beleif that the knoweldge or experience is useful and of value to the learner.

I agree with you: Fun can be a great way to start a learning process, to catch the learner's attention on a topic. Almost everything which is NEW can have this effect, btw. But this effect usually does not last very long, you have to provide more new and funny ideas to keep the process running if the whole learning strategy is based only upon this effect.

But of course, fun can help to keep up interest and motivation, and maybe makes collaboration processes and interaction easier. And perhaps does it have an other long-term effect: If people experience learning as something positive they learn easier in future which could result in more success in learning and more positive feelings about learning and so on.

Here's my $.02. The fun draws you in. What keeps you there is the stickiness of real benefit. (BTW, fun may in fact be the benefit, but it must endure beyond novelty.)