Disney Princesses Reimagined as eLearning Disasters

One of the more robust Internet trends has been reimaginingthe well-loved Disney Princesses in different situations. From the imaginative(Disney Princesses Reimagined as “Real Life” Women) to the provocative (Disney Princesses Reimagined as Different Races) to the absurd (Disney Princesses Reimagined as Hot Dogs),these iconic characters seem to be useful in revealing aspects of our worldthat might otherwise go unrecognized. In pondering some of these collections,it occurred to me that perhaps this kind of analysis might be useful to shednew light on some problems and risks of designing eLearning that we have becomeblind to. In this spirit, I have put this lens to the design of eLearning andoffer you Disney Princesses Reimagined aseLearning Disasters.

Belle, the page-turner

Belle,from Beauty and the Beast, feelstrapped in a world where there is nothing to capture her attention or interest.All she can do is read, read, and read, always dreaming that there must besomething more to life than the tedium of a life void of activity.

When learners are invited to be your guest in an eLearningmodule, there has to be more than just content delivered as text. Learning canbe a beast when there is no chance to capture the excitement of actually doingsomething meaningful with newfound knowledge and skills.

Cinderella, cursed to tedious activities

Cinderellaspends her time in unrelenting toil, scrubbing and cleaning, set to tasks devisedby her step-mother more to keep her occupied than to accomplish anythinguseful. She waits for her Fairy Godmother to use the common elements around herto make her dreams come true.

How often do eLearning interactions exist simply to keep thelearner doing something? Designers do little more than craft tedious activitiesthat do nothing but take up time. The simplest elements of interactivity could insteadcreate challenges of interest and delight, yet instructional designers createquestions and tasks that are patently absurd. It is too rare a dream thatlearners can escape to a place of wished-for performance change.

Ariel, drowned in a sea of meaningless frills

In The Little Mermaid,Arielsurrounds herself with Whozitz and Thingamabobs and all mannerof sparkly things she has collected, even things she doesn’t begin tounderstand. Without even really understanding the use of most of the things shehas collected, she foolishly thinks that she has something useful. For nomatter what, aren’t the sparkly things wonderful?

eLearning media and effects can drown out meaning andusefulness when the elements have no purpose or are used inappropriately. Wheninstructional elements are not part of the learner’s world, features that mightotherwise be useful in a different context instead create confusion anddistraction. Poor unfortunate learners can easily flounder under thisunintended sea of unfocused media.

Princess Aurora, driven to sleep from boredom

Due to a curse resulting from a feud between her guardians, Sleeping Beauty’s Princess Aurorais cursed to sleep until she is awoken by love’s first kiss. Vigorous effortsby her friends fail to prevent the innocent girl from falling into the deepsleep. Unlike many princesses, Aurora is largely a victim, waiting helplesslyfor rescue from the ordeal into which she was thrust. It is just byextraordinary good fortune that she is brought back to the living.

In much the same way, the unrelenting boredom of many eLearningmodules casts learners into a similarly trance-like state, waiting to bereleased from the unrelenting sequence of text and questions. One’s greatesthope is to exert as little attention and effort as possible and simply endureuntil a much-hoped-for release is found.

Snow White, distracted by too many little details

Snow White, the heroine of Snow White andthe Seven Dwarfs, has her very life threatened by the machinations of theevil queen. She seeks refuge in the cottage of seven friendly dwarfs whowelcome her in. Occupied by the everyday chores of cleaning and housekeeping,Snow White is tricked into eating the beautiful but fatal poison apple offeredto her by the disguised evil queen.

How often do eLearning courses create well-meaning yetultimately ineffectual small tasks and activities, while a much moresignificant threat to the organization’s success remains unrecognized? Thesmall achievements are dwarfed and made irrelevant by the much more significantperformance deficits that slip through the instructional analysis undetected.

Jasmine, overwhelmed by an overabundance of elaboration

As the daughter of the Sultan in Aladdin, Jasmineis seemingly in possession of all the world has to offer. But the simplicityand good nature of street rat Aladdin helps her reinforce what is reallyimportant to achieve her potential. She risks public censure when she violatesthe accepted law that forbids her from marrying below her station.

In eLearning, it is commonly accepted that expensive andelaborate technology is the key to success. While advanced features cancertainly enhance an experience, they can’t substitute for interactivity basedon solid principles of learning. Sometimes, straightforward challenges can showthe learner the world of possibility most effectively.

Pocahontas, obscured by a misconstrued message

Unlike the other Disney Princesses, Pocahontas wasan actual historical figure who lived amid very real joys, challenges, andstruggles. In telling her story, truth got somewhat obscured by pressures to createan experience that reinforces popular misconceptions and ignores precisely someof the details that might have been most useful in understanding thecomplexities of U.S. history.

It isn’t rare for training to miss its mark when the messagefails to match the actual experience of the learner. Subject matter experts cancarry out the content in the wrong direction when instructional analysis failsto include the true challenges and problems that are impediments to desiredperformance from the learners.

Tiana, left in a worse place than she started

In The Princess andthe Frog, poor Tianajust wants to work hard, earn some money, and open her own restaurant. Her gooddeed to kiss a frog to restore his prince-hood backfires and she becomes a frogherself. Cooperation of a voodoo priestess is necessary to bring order back toTiana’s world.

How often are hard-working learners encouraged to investthemselves in eLearning, only to find out that it leaves them in a worse placethen they were before? Compliance training is offered as something to be donefor the good of the organization, but ends up just being a punishingexperience. Instead of elevating critical performance outcomes, it simplyreinforces a belief that eLearning will be a disappointing waste of time.

Mulan, having her unique perspective ignored

Mulan facesthe choice that each person confronts: to follow one’s own heart or conform tothe world around her. Mulan wants to use her bravery and skills in defendingChina from the invading Huns, but expectations demanded that only men could bewarriors. She had to abandon her own identity to fall in line with theexpectations placed on her. It wasn’t until she was able to assert herself as awoman that she was actually able to contribute to society.

This is the essential conundrum that undermines the impactof much eLearning. Rather than encouraging an individualized experience thatmatches each user’s skills and deficits, all learners must proceed lock-stepthrough the modules in exactly the same way, experiencing the exact samesequence, content, and timing without regard to individual differences. Puttinglearners in control of how they will attack a problem is necessary to realsuccess.

Merida, a victim of misaligned objectives

Brave’s Merida is anindependent-minded girl, skilled as an archer and eager to be a boldadventurer. Her mother has different plans for her, as she envisions a life forher where she marries to solidify clan relations in the manner that has beenaccepted for generations in the Scottish Highlands. The mismatch between thevision held by Merida and the objectives put forward by her mother results indisastrous side effects for everyone concerned.

eLearning modules that fail to account for the characteristicsand needs of the learner, and instead seek to impose objectives that take theirstrength from traditions, untempered by immediate relevance and usefulness,result in frustration, distrust, and missed opportunities.

Elsa, misapplying her talents

In Frozen, Elsa has a superpowerthat is misunderstood and kept from the awareness of most people. When it isfinally unleashed, because it is something so strange and powerful, ittransforms everything around her indiscriminately, creating a beautiful andimpressive world that nearly destroys everything she cares about.

eLearning has been trapped for generations in low-level,pointless designs, limited by tools that are inadequate to the problems. Do youwant to build eLearning? Go ahead, just do it. But as more powerfultechnologies become accessible, misapplication results in unintended consequences,which in their own way may be worse than not using the technology at all.Instead of letting it go, designers need to understand the instructional powerof interactivity and use it to create experiences that support the desiredperformance environment.

Rapunzel, accumulating gifts with no value

In Tangled, Rapunzel is keptimprisoned in a wonderful tower to protect the special gifts her hair embodies.Unfortunately, while her hair continues to grow and grow, there is no outletfor anyone to actually benefit from it. She needs to escape, wend her waythrough the world full of challenges, take risks, and ultimately use that whichwas accumulated for so long to reap any benefits.

LMS systems can often result in a similar puzzle. Learners continueto accumulate data that doesn’t actually have any intrinsic value. The trainingmust actually connect with real-world challenges, and then take risks andaction to improve performance.

So there you have it. An unexpected and perhaps irreverentperspective on the challenges we face in designing eLearning. I have to admitthat what began as a bit of whimsy, resulted, at least for me, in a sharpenedawareness of how easily design decisions can undermine the impact of ourtraining.

Want more?

Ethan will be speaking on Secrets to Instructional Feedback, Session 709at the upcoming Learning Solutions Conference in March. Read more of Ethan’s and his colleagues’ bloginsights and tips on creating performance-based learning at info.alleninteractions.com. Youcan check out Ethan’s eBooks on designing impactful eLearning here as well.