Make it Relevant, Interesting and FUN!
By Elliott Masie

Every great classroom-based course that I have attended has contained humor and laughter. I remember taking a course on structured programming, one of the least funny topics I've ever encountered as a learner, yet the laughter was intense in that classroom.

The instructor began by telling us some great war stories about failed projects that made us laugh (and sometimes want to cry).
If one of us made a mistake, humor helped us get through the confusion and make sense of difficult content.

There was even plenty of laughter during the breaks, indicating both the release of stress from the intensity of the course and also of the fellowship that had been created in the classroom.
There was great teaching and awesome learning happening, on a tough topic, and our humanity created the laughter.

When I think about the instructional design for the class, I bet there was little mention of laughter in the designer's teacher notes. Yet the teacher 'enabled' learning and it made all the difference in the world.

The trick in the classroom is to make sure that you don't shut off humor as a tool.
My colleague and friend, Joel Goodman, who directs The Humor Project, states that the word haha has the Latin root of aha. In other words, when things are true and we find common truths, we often laugh. A great speaker doesn't have to tell funny stories, they just have to connect with common truths that will bring out our humor response. Joel would also tell you about the wonderful physical effects of humor, such as deeper breathing and stress reduction. So the targeted use of humor in the culture of a classroom can be deeply effective.

It can even work at large conferences. At our TechLearn conference, I use humor in the same vein. We tackle tough issues, but the halls of the hotel in Orlando are filled with laughter.
In fact, we even programme humor into our schedule, with visits from comedians to jugglers, to leverage humor as a tool for learning and building community.

Yet, online, we often forget the important role of humor. I have been on some of the driest-ever virtual-classroom sessions and have slugged my way through online modules that are totally devoid of the smallest reason to smile.

One of our challenges is how to keep our e-learning human and natural, and not block the funny aspects of life. This is new stuff - we haven't had a lot of experience about how to make that happen in the world of online training.

So here are a few ways to make sure that you are adding humor into your e-learning offerings.

First, try to always maintain your humanity. The e-learner can't see you, so it is even more important that they feel your acceptance and that you don't shut down humor as it emerges. Leaving the subject matter for just a few minutes won't kill the content or the process.

Second, laugh at yourself as the e-trainer. People don't want to learn from stuffy experts. They want to learn from real people who have great expertise and experience.

Third, because the technology sometimes does not work the way it should, have a plan B, but also allow yourself to see the humor of it all. I have a picture that I often post when a videoconference goes down that has me holding a stuffed animal. It breaks the tension of the moment.

Fourth, recounting authentic stories will add natural humor to the learning process, so don't over-script your content. I'd rather do an interview with some experts, where I can point up the humor in a story, than rely on a script to recapture the funny bits.

We need to add to this list. So I would like to ask all IT Training readers for suggestions about how you are using (or think you would like to use) humor in your online and e-learning offerings.
Please email your thoughts on this to emasie@masie.com and I will post them for the use of our TechLearn Trends readers.

Reprinted from IT Training