From the course: Converting Face-to-Face Training into Digital Learning

Assess performance through simulations

From the course: Converting Face-to-Face Training into Digital Learning

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Assess performance through simulations

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- [Narrator] Ideally, you want to assess a learner's skills in the actual work environment, but a lot of the time this just isn't practical. The good news is we can get pretty close to creating such an environment with simulations. A well-designed roleplay is a simulation. An activity in which accounting students analyze data in a spreadsheet is a simulation. The spreadsheet is the environment where they'd be doing this in the real world. And you've probably taken a software simulation once or twice, for example, a video editing software that shows you how simple the tool is to use by walking you through the steps of editing a sample movie. Simulations are a great way to assess your learner's knowledge, especially if you're teaching sales, customer service, marketing, communication, or restaurant and hotel staff. You should also consider simulations if your learners do a lot of their actual work on the computer. So let's go over some general tips on building them in a digital environment. Map out the steps of the task you're simulating. For instance, if you're creating a software simulation, do the specific task a number of times and write down every step. For example, first select insert, then select the file you want and so on. Sometimes success is obvious, like in the case of a software simulation, you either get to the end of the task or you don't. Much of the time, however, you'll have to create criteria as to what a successful performance looks like. If that's the case, make sure you share that criteria with learners well before they perform. Third, make the simulation as real as possible. One way to do this is to create a little story setting up the simulation, especially if the person performing can save the day. Another way to make simulations real is to have performers dress the way they would if performing the task in real life. Finally, allow learners to feel the pressure of the situation. Adding a time limit can do this and so can creating random events. Say a person playing the customer in a roleplay, going off on a tangent, that might knock the less prepared off their game. If you can't test learners in the real world, the next best thing is to test them in a simulated environment.

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