Using science fiction write a cool script for an online course

Using science fiction

It would be cool if the online courses looked as spectacular as the “Star Wars”. Favorite sash scriptwriters can be entered into any distance learning course. How?

You can argue that science fiction is about the distant future, aliens, and super technologies. Yes, sometimes centuries pass before the idea comes true. Leonardo da Vinci sketched an air propeller in 1453. The first helicopter ascended to the sky only 450 years later.

Here is another example: in the film “The Special Opinion” of Tom Cruise, a police squad catches gangsters before the crime. In the scenes, the police use a gesture interface and video communication.

The future is not so far from us. So, let’s see what techniques from fantastic films can be used right now.

Teach through stories

Using science fiction
Female teacher assisting student through video lessons

To create an exciting online course, the knowledge of tools for developing content is small. It is important to understand the cases very well. To understand how the employees will use the acquired knowledge. Only on the basis of this, you can build an exciting scenario.

Movies are based on stories, and to create a successful online course they are also important. The material is much easier to learn if it contains a fascinating story.

Expensive special effects, complex tricks – dust in the eyes. If the film is not based on an interesting and comprehensible story, it will fail. It’s the same with the course – if you do not have a good story, you do not have anything.

Advantages of the “What if?” Using science fiction

The main question, from which the scenario of a fantastic film begins – “What if …”What if the aliens arrived on Earth?

What if people have found a way to live forever?

What if you can cure all the mental illnesses with one pill?

The question “what if?” Will help to change the usual course of action. It awakens the imagination because the scripts based on this technique are very popular.

Express the problem

The script “what if?” Usually brings the viewer to the problem. This is the second part of the scenario:

What if the aliens that have arrived on Earth are evil and want to destroy us?

What if people found a way to live forever, and now the Earth is threatened with death from overpopulation?

What if we cured all mental illnesses with one pill, but people would stop experiencing emotions?

Using science fiction
What if???

The problem originates from the assumption “what if?” For example, the script began with the phrase “What if the aliens that came to Earth.” Then the problem can be reduced to the fact that the aliens want to destroy us. In fantastic stories, it’s easy to identify the problem.

Unlike films, most distance courses do not put the question so specifically. As a result, people are forced to learn a large amount of new information, not knowing what benefit they will bring and what problem they solve.

Do not get hung up on how to teach something. It is much more important to explain to employees why they spend time studying the course, what will it change in their life.

Use new ways to test knowledge

Usually at distance courses after a voluminous information block, employees are offered to pass tests. Tests with the choice of answers – this is the way that comes to mind first. But sometimes it’s more useful to ask open-ended questions, where you need to think, Google, reflect before you print the answer.

Think of a really difficult task

In fantasy films, people are busy overcoming obstacles: how to defeat aliens, fix a hole in time, or, bypassing the dinosaur’s jaw, get from point A to point B.

People are happy to accept the challenge. Why not use it in distance learning?

Let your employees choose between conflicting options. Perhaps they will not have a clear answer. As in real life, we are not always able to find the right answer. A non-ideal answer does not mean wrong. Your task is to help employees understand what a good idea is different from excellent.

People like to overcome difficulties. So arrange a quest for them! Imagine how much joy and satisfaction they will experience after solving a difficult case.

Follow the rules of real life

The actions of the “Star Wars” unfold in a distant galaxy, many light years before us. Now imagine, in one scene you suddenly see Red Square in Moscow or the White House in Washington. It’s strange, is not it?

For example, you are watching an exciting film based on an interesting story with charismatic characters who are trying to solve a serious problem. But then suddenly nobody interferes with the so-called superhero and with the help of superpower at once everything decides. In the end, all are saved and happy. The end.

In ancient Greek dramas, it looks like this: one of the gods was tired of watching how people torture each other without any meaning. He decides to go down to earth to execute judgment on the unjust. In the end, everyone is crying and promising to behave culturally.

Use super technologiessuper technologies

We love science fiction for special effects and cool gadgets: lightsaber, hoverboard, teleport, etc. Why not use super technologies in distance learning?

They are becoming more common. Look at how Microsoft HoloLens virtual reality glasses are used.

Microsoft HoloLens – glasses that help manage holograms.

The group of international experts The New Media Consortium published in 2016 a report according to which, in 4-5 years VR will be used in ordinary schools. Here are two examples:

A virtual reality

Video, shot on special 360-degree cameras, works simply: the viewer’s brain is deceived and takes what is happening at face value, and then, after the completion of the training, it is much easier to adapt to similar situations in reality.

Encourage achievement

With rare exceptions, in the final of films, the heroes are extremely pleased with themselves: monsters and aliens are destroyed, the space-time holes are fixed, and humanity is saved.

In distance learning, it is important that students see their achievements and feel satisfied with the process. Think in advance about the motivation system: include a progress scale in the course, congratulate each student on the successful completion of the next stage of training, and award them with diplomas and certificates of completion of the course. Mark each small victory.

Let your employees take pride in themselves!

Iwona Walker

Iwona Walker is a passionate educator, dedicated to transforming the landscape of learning through innovation and creativity. With a background in educational psychology and a fervent belief in the power of technology to enhance education, Iwona has spent years exploring ways to make learning engaging, personalized, and accessible to all.

Learn More →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.