Learning Guild

By Steven Shisley What does it truly mean for a video to be engaging? Historically, engagement was a metric of simple consumption, calculated by counting views. Yet, simply clicking on a video only proves it was started, not that it was comprehended. Today, a critical shift is underway. We now recognize that true engagement is not about passively playing a video in the background. Rather an engaging video is watched by an active learner who leans in, absorbs the data, and retains the core message.

Gamification is often reduced to points and badges layered onto passive learning experiences. While these approaches can increase short-term engagement, they don’t always support long-term retention or real-world application. In this session, you’ll explore how to design gamified experiences that focus on skill development and application.

Join us as we retell the misadventures of building “Ethical Pursuit,” an ethics compliance course inspired by Trivial Pursuit. This session shares the decision-making process behind choosing gamification, along with the challenges we faced while designing and building the experience. We’ll start with the big picture of what makes gamification effective before peeling back the layers of how the course was built in Articulate Storyline.

In many learning experiences, learners acquire knowledge but rarely get the chance to use it in ways that feel real. The session explores immersion as the missing link between knowing and doing and shows how ethnographic research can help instructional designers close that gap. By grounding learning in the lived experiences, decisions, and challenges of real people, you can move beyond abstract content and create environments where learners actively engage, experiment, and apply new skills.

This expert panel brings together experienced practitioners to examine where game-based learning succeeds and where it falls short in real-world instructional design. Our panelists will explore the underlying factors that make game elements engaging and effective, as well as common missteps that can limit impact or create barriers for learners.

eLearning escape rooms can create engaging and interactive training experiences, but they can also present challenges during design and development.

Just like a championship team needs a strong game plan, a successful gamification strategy requires the right tools, players, and execution. In blended learning environments, gamification can easily become fragmented if tools, modalities, and learner experiences aren’t carefully aligned. In this session, we’ll break down the Xs and Os of gamification in blended learning.

The future of learning isn’t waiting its turn. It’s already making an impact. Each year, the Learning Guild’s Thirty Under 30 recognizes rising professionals who are redefining what workplace learning can be. This year’s cohort represents an impressive range of industries, perspectives, and expertise, but they share a common thread: a commitment to helping people learn, grow, and succeed.

By Dr. Athena Joyce Stanley (B.A., M.A.E., Ph.D.) Learning materials don’t work if they aren’t designed for everyone; that’s why accessibility and inclusivity are the true cornerstones of instructional design. It is our ethical responsibility to ensure that eLearning experiences are designed to support a diverse range of learners with varying needs. At its core, this work is about making learning equitable.

Over the past 25 years, Allyson Roote has witnessed the evolution of learning and development from a focus on content creation to a strategic business function. As VP of Learning and Organizational Development at The Bonadio Group, she leads learning initiatives that support leadership development, organizational growth, and business performance.