Sonic Foundry has partnered with the Netherlands gamification company, MadLogic.
Founded in 2011, MadLogic develops and implements game-based solutions for hospitals. Simply put, MadLogic partner and learning specialist Michael Hebben said: “We make learning fun.”
Here, Hebben shares his thoughts on gamification, the future of learning and the partnership with Sonic Foundry.
Q: How does MadLogic work?
A: One of the problems we solve with gamification is that people normally hate to come to classroom trainings. In the Netherlands it’s difficult to get everybody in the classroom. We make learning fun.
Our solutions include:
- Let’s Get Wiser, our game engine that allows trainers to quickly create and distribute games to help familiarize employees with new medical technologies.
- 3TGO, an advisory tool that lets managers hold playful strategic conversations.
- Tommy’s Project, which develops solutions to socially empower children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
- 360DSM, a gamified method to psychologically screen children with behavioral and learning disorders.
- Strategy Suite, which offers managers an online platform with self-service tools and resources for strategic management.
We also have custom-built solutions like our design app we created for Brand Control Rooms BV. The app gives control room suppliers and their clients playful ways to discuss projects.
Anyone can create these games, and everybody can learn from them. Primarily healthcare professionals use the games, but they’re also used in national banks in the Netherlands.
Q: Why did MadLogic and Sonic Foundry join forces?
A: Video is key to game-based learning, because it improves information retention. We have our own video player, but we wanted to collaborate with another company to help us create a larger video learning initiative. We knew Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite was the best option for creating and managing videos, so we decided to collaborate. We look for ways we can use video in all our solutions for clients.
Q: How are hospitals and healthcare institutions using MadLogic solutions?
A: Several hospitals in the Netherlands are using our Lets Get Wiser solution.
One of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands, Medical Center Leeuwarden (MCL), recently implemented a new electronic health records system. The hospital’s training staff use Mediasite to create and share instructional videos that guide users through the new system. We joined forces with MCL and Sonic Foundry to create mini games using the videos. For example, one of the videos focused on how to administer an IV. We took pictures of the video, put them in our game engine and asked the viewers questions about it to help with retention.
It’s a very simple tool but it works very well. If you can turn something into a .jpg you can put it in the game.
Q: Can medical professionals earn certification with your solutions?
A: Yes. Professionals in the Netherlands need to prove they’re able to work with all medical devices – and there’s a lot. Hospitals are already creating massive amounts of mini training videos explaining these devices. By adding our solutions, there’s now an assessment tool attached – Viewers simply answer a few questions about the video. Short feedback works very well in healthcare. That’s how people learn.
Q: Why is gamification becoming so popular?
A: You have to find new ways of learning that are motivating. Gamification does that. There’s a whole new generation working as doctors and nurses and they’re used to playing games.
Everybody is using video content for elearning. Now, it’s interesting to see how that video content can be even more interactive with gaming.
Video lifts gamification up, and gamification lifts video up. It’s a win-win.
Q: What about gamification are you most excited about?
A: You can choose your own path. I believe that if you have the right tools you can create your own learning content. That’s where Sonic Foundry and MadLogic found each other. Let’s Get Wiser is so easy to use, and people can create their own video content using Mediasite.
Gamification also removes the traditional classroom learning structure and lets professionals learn whenever and wherever they want. At Medical Center Leewaurden, for example, professionals watch the short training videos and play the games during their free time, such as during lunches. Each mini game takes just 45 seconds. So far MCL staff have completed 300 hours of training by completing these mini games.
At a hospital in Amsterdam, 89.9 percent of doctors completed their training without ever stepping foot into a classroom. They completed their game-based trainings during their free time – because it was interactive and engaging. That’s exciting!