It’s not always easy to see how Second Life can be useful for training. In many cases it’s just not the best tool for the job but sometimes a training need just matches perfectly. Kelley Executive has a great face to face training program to help companies understand the differences in generational management needs. In their current sessions, participants learn how each generation’s views on management, technology, employer feedback etc can be different and how to work around those differences to leverage strengths. But we wanted to be able to offer the training to geographically disparate groups while maintaining the interactivity so I translated it into a SL experience.

Introducing the Work Style Totem Activity. Participants get a copy of the totem (as seen above) which asks eight questions related to their preferences for management, collaboration, and technology in the workplace. Darker colors represent more traditional views; paler colors match Millenial workstyles. After each participant had completed their totem the group has an easy to understand visual representation of their preferences and a great discussion ensues.

It’s a simple activity. The totem was easy to build. And yet, the delivery method (ie in SL) allows for groups from all over the world to come together and participate in the session. It works because it focuses on the strengths of the SL platform while maintaining the interactivity crucial to the training.

Have you translated a F2F activity into SL? Did it work? Tell us about it!

Say what you want about the copyright infringement issues, Mattel still missed the boat. Think about your own business. Are there tech communities in which your product/service could do well but you’re hesitating because you’re unsure or uptight? Could someone else compete with you in those spaces if you wait too long? How much will the damage to your reputation cost if you allow someone else to deliver your product better?

Think about it while you jam to this ditty.

Scrabulous

Now, I’ve read dozens of “white papers” claiming to be guides to Second Life and other virtual spaces and most of them get mocked and tossed into the circular file here at the Intellahome but, as much as I would have liked to claim that “even O’Reilly doesn’t get it!” I can’t. This is a great white paper.   It’s actually useful! *gasp!* I know! You probably think I’ve lost my marbles, but listen up.

If you’re someone who needs to make the argument to your company or organization for a foray into the virtual, this little baby will actually give you some really decent ammunition: non-inflated demographic and population stats, useful information about money exchanges and purchasing habits, and context for Second Life as one of many new virtual spaces that should be on your radar. It even has a fair assessment of adult content in Second Life that neither glosses over risk or over-hypes it like some of the conservative press has tried to.

It’s worth a read.

Disclaimer: I should note that I did get my copy of the report for free though I would still have been happy to trash it if it deserved it. You can’t buy Intellalove

I’ll post the slides and notes a bit later. Hope to see some of you there!