NYNP blog post 4-7-09

Free resources for creating training games

Today I attended another excellent, free lunchtime webinar hosted by InSync Training (see my prior blog post "Free resource for learning how to conduct training online" for info about these webinars). The co-facilitators were Jane Bozarth of www.bozarthzone.com and Kassy LaBorie of www.insynctraining.com, and the guest presenter was Wendy Hardman of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

The webinar was titled "BozarthZone! Games Synchronous Trainers Play with Kassy LaBorie". The facilitators argued that games are essential elements of webinar training because they break the ice, engage participants, help people think, support the transfer of learning, make the training memorable, and let the facilitators check the learners' comprehension. They shared the quote "games = seductive tests" (William Horton). They warn, however, that any games used in training must connect to the content and have a point -- random games or filler games just waste participants' time and frustrate them.

The facilitators and participants shared a few free resources for creating games and puzzles, which you might find useful in this age of doing more with less:
http://www.edhelper.com/puzzles.htm
http://itech.pjc.edu/html/powerpoint_resources.htm
http://www.quia.com/web (free with a 30-day trial, but /year after that)
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ (there is a CD-ROM for sale here, but you can also create puzzles for free online)