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Getting Started with 5-Step Simulations

This page assumes that you have just purchased a 5-Step Simulation™ license and are ready to start using it. If not, what are you waiting for? Check it out and get yours today, then come back here when you're all ready to roll!

Unlocking Your Files

If you purchased the product on CD-ROM: Read the welcome page (at www.learningsim.net/3slicense) carefully. It contains your license agreement. At the bottom of the page is a link to the license confirmation page that has the password that will allow you to open the files. By using this password, you are accepting the terms of the license agreement! Then, explore the files on the CD-ROM and use your 8-digit password to unlock the files for use. Remember to record your password for reference. 

If you purchased the product from the LearningSim website: Read the email you received from us with your product carefully. It contains your license agreement. At the bottom of the page is a link to the license confirmation page that has the password that will allow you to open the attached files. By using this password, you are accepting the terms of the license agreement! Save the files to your computer, then open (or extract) the files in your zipped folder. Windows Explorer will allow you to extract the files from the zipped file and open and save them separately.

Your product contains two types of files:

  1. Trainer and Designer Instructions. These are Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files that explain how to use the 5-Step Simulation™ model. These files are not editable. They explain the method for you, the training professional. These are your resource and instruction guides to the 5-Step Simulation™ method and approach. Read this material in as much detail as you find helpful.
  2. Simulation Files. This is a set of Microsoft Word® files with ready-to-use, reproducible, editable simulation content. Print, edit, modify, customize, and work with these in whatever way makes sense. Use these simulations straight from the file in your existing training workshops, edit them to fit your needs, or just use them as examples and idea starters for your own simulations.

Browse through the files, check out the simulations, and get a sense for how you would like to use this material. Try it out!

Trying it Out

If you would like suggestions, here are some ideas.

  • Avoid the "Everything Looks Like a Nail" trap. You may have heard the saying, "When all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." We at LearningSim know that simulations are just a tool, and not an end in themselves. Research shows that trainers get best results when they start with the business problem, move on to creating an effective solution for the business need, identify the desired learning outcomes in practical, observable terms, and only then select learning methods and activities. Use the simulations when appropriate for the audience, the need, and the other constraints.
  • Let your desired outcomes drive depth and focus. Figure out what needs to be different as a result of the training program, and then determine how deep and immersive your simulation needs to be. As written, 5-Step Simulations™ have a short, practical focus that goes beyond awareness and stops short of full skill proficiency. (Thiagi would call this a "medium fidelity simulation.") If you need awareness, keep the focus of the simulation at that level. If you need skill proficiency, add detail and repetition to the simulation or use multiple sims. If you are looking for deeper transformative learning, use the simulations as a practical application and focus on the individual and group process debrief. (Modify these suggestions as needed for e-learning delivery.)
  • Fit the content into your own world. Nearly every corporate client I have ever worked with had their own unique needs, audience, strategy, and training template. Edit and customize the simulations to be relevant and realistic to your organization. Only the learners can tell you if your simulation is hitting the mark. Only the learners' managers can tell you if your simulation is changing behavior on the job. Pay attention to both sources of information and make it your own.
  • Make it look and feel right for your audience. The simulation material included in your license is kind of "plain vanilla" in its look and feel. This is intentional! We designed it to be easy to convert the material to a wide variety of corporate training templates and branding. We used the defeault MS-Word heading and paragraph styles to make conversion faster and easier for trainers and desktop publishers. You know what will be most credible to your learners, so edit this to fit those expectations.
  • Simply pick one and run it! Maybe this ought to be first in this list, but if you get this far, you are probably very thorough. Don't just buy the license; put it to use in your training work! Start by trying it out and seeing how you can increase the engagement, interest, and impact of your programs with the simulations. Consider it a pilot test. Then, edit and customize and add your own flair to your simulations.

Feel free to check out our blog, too. Posting at least weekly, we will ramble a bit about topics relevant to training, simulations, instructional design, and talent management. Comment, question, and make suggestions, or contact us directly, if you like.