The relation between fun and online learning...

The dictionary describes fun as amusing, entertaining, enjoyable, exciting and pleasurable going-ons. Academicians, the world over believe that learners, especially online learners, have uninteresting learning experiences because of the lack or absence of the 'fun' element. While numerous attempts have been made to make learning fun or to add humour, learning programme developers continue to face the challenge of engaging online learners. Little research in the area of how fun relates to online learning experiences can be held responsible. This will bring to light why developers are still 'online-learner' challenged.

While only a few continue to question the 'fun-leads-to better-learning' belief, questions such as, "What makes online learning fun?" and "What makes online learning boring?" are yet to find convincing answers. This mailer attempts to do so and thereby establish the strong connection between fun and learning.

A quick recap of the constituents of fun

'Fun' experiences are both enjoyable and pleasurable. However, pleasure alone does not account for much in terms of enhancing learning. Enjoyment, on the other hand, involves active learner participation. More so, what is fun for one may not be for another. For most developers, adding a game or two to the learning programme constitutes fun. However, the objectives of fun for gaming are different from those of fun for learning.

The first step towards adding fun to learning is to understand its constituents. The next task is to correct an elementary problem of most so-called fun programmes, which is to first develop a programme and add a dash of fun to it later. This can only be corrected if programmes are designed such that the entire learning experience is fun in itself or enhances the joy of learning.

Funny explanations!

Video games score high on the fun scale since they motivate players to:

• Engage in repetitive practice 
• Explore their way to learning 
• Improve performance scores by attempting levels that are more difficult

Online programme developers must address these three elements to connect fun to learning. Thereby, they can ensure active online learner participation.

In a seminar on e-Learning and fun, a Special Interest Group was asked the question, "Is it ever appropriate for a course to be boring?" The answer was a unanimous " No ". Irrespective of the learner type and the learning topic, learning must not be delivered without the fun element. This is the premise on which the play way method of teaching children is structured. Hence it's worldwide acceptance. Children learn better while at play, so are adults.

Fun at work

It makes sense to add the joy element while teaching. Just because the learning topic is critical and is for adults does not mean it has to be robbed of fun. Mundane or even serious topics are brought alive with a touch of fun. For instance, the job of an airport luggage screener is tedious and stressful. A recently designed training programme just made his life easy! With the objective of improving attention spans, the programme involved superimposing pictures of unsafe items on passengers and baggage. The participant had to identify fake from real. Airports now have motivated staff who screen more accurately!

How much fun is good?

Most learning professionals are of the opinion that not all corporate learning can accommodate fun. While incorporating fun however, there must not be any compromises on learning. Moreover, it must necessarily enhance the learning experience. To achieve both these objectives enjoyment and entertainment must be integrated in a careful and deliberate manner. Serious learners prefer serious learning, even though fun-filled learning produces better learning experiences. Therefore, while adding fun, it is absolutely important that a learner does not feel he is being mocked at; equally important, is that he is not engaging in frivolous, irrelevant, learning-less activities.

What about learner motivation?

Most learners who log onto online courses are already motivated to learn. However, the presentation and passivity of most online courses could lead to de-motivation! While delivering a poorly designed course is by far the worst way to treat poorly motivated online learners, it also does nothing to cash in on the advantages of having pre-motivated learners. To keep learners motivated, fun must be purposeful. Additionally, a fun course must:

• Not insult learner intelligence 
• Be meaningful and relevant 
• Result in a better understanding of a topic (while games are motivating, they do not do so)

The components of fun

Peer interaction and good instructors too qualify as fun components. Technology allows learning programmes to design them into courses. While technology takes care of this human element, an equally effective fun component is storytelling. Experiential storytelling brings dead 'n' dry topics to life, encourages maximum learner participation and creativity. It is definitely more enjoyable than reading pages of textual material. Storytelling allows programmers the use of the following strategies:

• The "what-if" scenario strategy- placing a learner in a simulated and challenging scenario to encourage him to deliberate upon the cause and effects of his decisions
• The role-changing strategy- a learner gets to play different roles in a story

Fail to learn!

Fun adding enthusiasts recommend applying a game design concept- that of meaningful failure- to improve online learning experiences. During a game, it is not only the trial-error approach, but also the mistakes that a player commits that compel him to learn better. While a player avoids making the same mistakes, he also tries out different approaches to finish the game, and each time his aim is to better his previous score. With the game concept, online courses too can provide learners with multiple approaches and methods to problem solving. Participants are thereby exposed to the experience of learning from meaningful failure.

Fun differs

For a child, fun is playfulness. For an adult, it means enjoyment. The perceptions on fun differ on other counts too. Cultural differences aside, the appropriateness of fun and its usage differs with the:

• Learning environment 
• Learner population 
• Topic of learning