We are thrilled to take you on a journey into the exciting world of immersive learning and educational experiential events. Say goodbye to dull, traditional classroom setups and get ready to embrace a new era of active, engaging education. In this article, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of educational experiential events, how they can revamp the learning experience, and how you can become a master event planner in this fascinating field. Let’s dive in!
What’s All the Hype about Experiential Learning?
So, you might be wondering what exactly experiential learning is and why it’s creating a buzz in the educational world. Experiential learning is all about “learning by doing.” It’s about stepping away from the conventional lecture-style teaching and immersing students in hands-on experiences that bring subjects to life. Think of it as learning in action! Your employees or attendees of event can enhance their problem solving skills through gamification offered at your special event and use this “hands on” approach that speeds up the learning process.
Learning Beyond the Classroom or Office
Gone are the days of textbook-heavy learning and constant note-taking. With educational experiential events, attendees get to explore, interact, and experience real-world applications of their job roles or studies. Whether it’s science experiments, historical reenactments, or problem-solving challenges, the learning becomes much more exciting and meaningful. Many different types of organizations plan these type of events including Company internal events focusing on educating employees on internal training, College & University student body functions throughout the year, Non profit fundraisers and Start-up product launches & promotions.
Meeting & Event Planners as Educational Enablers
As Event planners, we’re like the wizards of experiential learning. We have the power to create captivating environments that foster curiosity and encourage active participation. Our job is to weave the educational objectives seamlessly into the fabric of each event, making learning an adventure to remember. Before we dive into planning the perfect educational experiential event, let’s talk about setting clear goals. Identifying educational objectives is like creating a roadmap for our events, guiding us towards meaningful learning outcomes. We can review your event goals and find out how you are measuring success, and what type engagement activities you are looking for. Educational event goals can include measuring training completions, engagement analytics, post event surveys and gamified competition winners. Listed below are a few ideas on how to bring an educational experiential event to life…
Team Building Activities
There are some really creative team building activities that can be incorporated into a meeting or event, offering a fun and interactive way for participants to bond and learn to better work together. Best of all, many team building activities are both fun and experiential. For example, escape rooms can be created to present challenges that are linked to specific skills, goals, and outcomes. Friendly competition between co workers or attendees that push their creativity and drive to the limits, the goal can be the first team to solve the escape room challenge with the fastest time wins a prize. Team problem solving is another great experiential exercise that teaches the need for clear communication, willingness to cooperate, and the ability to listen. Outdoor activities and hands-on games can also provide great opportunities for experiential team building.
Experiential learning is not only beneficial for participants, but also for the community they serve as well. Participants learn to better interact with customers, coworkers, and management by learning from interactive techniques. Enhance your next event by applying the concept of experiential learning, and ensure that participants are truly prepared for the complex challenges that characterize the modern business world.
Training Simulations
Simulations are designed to mimic real-world professional problems that employees may face in specific roles. This technique encompasses both live and virtual environments using electronic, mechanical, or software-based activities for a participant to interact with a particular training. Simulations can be used to assess competencies, customize training, and allow learned concepts to be directly applied. Participants are able to practice specific skills and are able to make educational mistakes in a safe environment. The flexibility of simulations offers a practical method for educating and preparing participants for both expected situations and less common scenarios that they may encounter. Examples include DEI Simulation Training where Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training is done through immersive learning and education through hands on learning using technology.
Simulations are the Ultimate Role-Playing Adventure. By using Simulation training at an event, you can put your trainees in a “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” scenario to better understand what it feels like to experience discrimination first hand. They can switch perspectives from one viewpoint to another to see how each side views interactions whereby creating their own perceptions. An event planner can offer various experiences by using In-Person or Virtual Training in the Following Areas:
Leadership Soft Skills Racial Bias Gender Diversity Disability Inclusion
Cultural Inclusion LGBTQ+ Bystander Intervention Belonging
Exclusion Unconscious Bias Sexual Harassment Bullying Equity & Inclusion
Teaming Up with Educators and Experts
A key step in this process is collaborating with educators and subject matter experts. They are the superheroes of knowledge! By understanding their curricular goals and desired outcomes, we can tailor our events to complement their teachings and reinforce the concepts in an engaging manner.
Each age group has its unique learning needs and interests. From elementary school children to college students, to senior management, they all have the exciting challenge of curating experiences that captivate their minds and spark their passions. One size does not fit all in experiential learning!
Let the Fun Begin: Immersive Learning Experiences
Now comes the fun part! As event planners, we get to unleash our creativity and curate experiential experiences that make education unforgettable. Let’s explore some fantastic ideas that have proven to be a hit among participants.
Workshops that Wow
Workshops are like magical portals that transport participants into a world of practical learning. From interactive science experiments to hands-on art sessions, workshops offer a chance for employees and students to get their hands dirty (figuratively, of course) and learn through active engagement. Simulations take experiential learning to a whole new level. Participants get to step into various roles and experience real-life scenarios, making decisions and facing consequences. It’s like living out a fascinating alternate reality! Interactive Exhibits that Spark Curiosity.
Immersive Learning has taken the L&D and HR world by storm. We all have witnessed significant changes in how our world works, but immersive learning remains a must-have for corporate learning. Immersive learning content has its foundations in behavioral and cognitive science. The best content providers use immersive learning with VR to provide memorable experiences and accelerate employee proficiency. All is done through an immersive training environment where your workforce can test real-life scenarios—no wonder this emerging type of training is so impactful.
Below are some areas where Educational Workshops can be relevant for your company :
- Real-life applications of immersive learning
- Reinventing employee training
- Improving operational efficiency
- Safety procedures and emergency situations
- Getting measurable insights
- Comparing top training experts
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
To make our educational experiential events even more impactful, we can team up with schools, colleges, and universities. Working hand-in-hand with educational institutions ensures our events align perfectly with their curriculum, and it opens doors to a vast pool of enthusiastic learners.
Building Strong Bonds with Educators
Communication is the key! Collaborating with educators allows us to tap into their expertise, understand their teaching methodologies, and identify areas where experiential events can add extra magic to the learning process.
Navigating the Logistics
Organizing events on educational premises comes with its set of challenges. From scheduling around class times to ensuring the safety and comfort of participants, putting on your event planner hat on to address these logistics like a pro.
Let’s Get Down to Business: Planning the Educational Event
Now that we have our vision and goals set, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and start planning the actual event. From choosing the perfect venue to staying within budget, here’s a step-by-step guide to help us craft a memorable experiential learning experience.
Setting the Stage: Choosing the Ideal Venue
The venue sets the tone for the entire event. Whether it’s onsite campus, museum, outdoor space, or a specialized facility, we want a location that complements the theme and allows us to create an immersive learning environment. Onsite spaces like auditoriums, lecture halls and dining areas make for great onsite locations to setup educational experiential events that your employees can directly join in on being on campus.
Budgeting Wisely for an Unforgettable Experience
You may not have a magic wand to create unlimited funds, but we do have the power of budgeting! Staying within our financial boundaries while ensuring a quality experience is all about smart decision-making and resourcefulness. A good assessment for budgeting is planning per person and allocating funds for each employee or attendee. Or you can carve out a budget based on percentage of marketing budget that is allocated to education and training.
Marketing and Promotion
Your event may be incredible, but it’s all for naught if nobody knows about it! Time to get the word out through marketing and promotion strategies that capture the attention of our target audience. Counting Down to the Big Day, Managing Registrations and Registration management can be quite the puzzle, but we’ve got it covered. Streamlining registrations and attendee communication ensures a smooth and organized event experience for everyone involved. With everything in place, it’s showtime! The event day is our moment to shine as we oversee logistics, welcome participants with smiles, and make sure everything runs like clockwork.
Measuring the Success of your Educational Experiential Event
We’ve put our hearts into crafting an unforgettable educational experiential event. Now it’s time to measure its success and impact. Let’s see how we can gauge the event’s effectiveness and gather valuable feedback from post event surveys and user analytics measuring attendees’ engagement with each experience. Competitions and winning team participants that scored high in the activity can be measured and rewarded with a prize (additional free training, gift cards, awards & accolades).
For more information on crafting your next Educational and Learning Experiential event, contact us for a free consult and we can start the conversation and brainstorming on creating the perfect educational event customized to your needs!
