If 2020 hasn’t radically changed your approach to your learning program, it’s time to get in the digital learning game or risk being left behind. But if you’re searching for current, new ways to engage people online and keep your business thriving, look to your youngest learners. In the next 5 years, Millennials will comprise 75% of the workforce, and Gen Z is right behind them. To future-proof your learning program, make sure your content is designed with these young professional learners in mind.

1. 5 Tips to Engage Gen Z and Millennial
eLearners in 2020 and Beyond
Nick DiMaso Rebecca Komathy
With: Moderated by:
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The Modern Digital Learning Landscape

2. BenchPrep is a configurable cloud-based learning platform that delivers an
engaging and personalized learning experience and drives revenue for nonprofits
(credentialing bodies & associations), corporations, and training companies.
With an award-winning learner-centric platform, BenchPrep increases learner
engagement, improves long-term learner retention, and reduces dropout rates.

3. Click on the Questions panel to
interact with the presenters
The Modern Digital
Learning Landscape
3https://www.elearninglearning.com/webinar-series/11081/the-modern-digital-learning-landscape

4. About Nick DiMaso
Nick DiMaso (he/him/his) is a Learning Content Manager and Technologist at BenchPrep. Nick has
designed, analyzed, and built online courses across many industries, and he applies best educational
and accessibility practices for today’s learners. His background is in teaching, web design, and
improvisational comedy.
About Rebecca Komathy
Rebecca attended California State University, Long Beach, where she earned her M.F.A. in Creative
Writing with a concentration in Fiction. After working in the publishing and English education fields, she
became more interested in the information science and business aspects. She is attending SJSU for her
second Master’s, this time in Library and Information Science so she can learn more about digital curation.
She currently works at Aggregage as a Webinar Coordinator. When she’s not working, she is probably
snuggling with her French bulldog named Kira.
5 Tips to Engage Gen Z and Millennial
eLearners in 2020 and Beyond

5. 5 Tips to Engage Gen Z
and Millennial eLearners
in 2020 and Beyond
Presenter: Nick DiMaso

6. Nick DiMaso
ndimaso@benchprep.com
Fun facts:
● I played marching band in college but
never played a note
● I’m an improviser and writer with The
Second City House Company in Chicago
● I conducted a focus group with high school
students to help us redesign the ACT
Online Prep program

7. BenchPrep delivers the world’s best
online & mobile learning programs
Enterprise Grade
Cloud-based
(IBM, Amazon)
99.97%
Up Time
LTI & ADA
Compliant
2009
Founded
$28.2M+
Funding Raised
100+
Employees
Chicago-Based
6M+ Learners
Learner Focused

8. Leading education & training companies use BenchPrep
and more…

9. Let’s Get (Young)
Learners Engaged!
My Proposal to You:

11. Tip #1:
The modern learner
is different
Tip #3:
Tap into
your community
Tip #2:
Give your course
a personality
Agenda
Tip #4:
Use a blend of low-stakes
and high-stakes assessments
Tip #5:
Meet short-term needs, but
invest in long-term solutions

12. Poll Question:
True or False:
“Content is King”

13. leader
The answer?

14. Tip #1
The Modern
Learner is
Different

15. OVERWHELMED…
DISTRACTED…
5
early days
oaf the
internet 27
today
41
% of time workers spend
on things that offer little
personal satisfaction and
do not help them get
work done.
Most learners
won’t watch
videos longer than min.
9
People unlock their
smartphones up to
times every
hour.
IMPATIENT…
Online, designers now have between
5 1 to grab someone’s
attention before
they click away0
Workers now get interrupted
as frequently as every
Ironically, often by work
applications and
collaboration tools
Source: Meet the Modern Learner: Engaging the Overwhelmed, Distracted,
and Impatient Employee, Bersin by Deloitte, Deloitte Consulting LLP
The Modern Learner is different
Knowledge workers are
constantly distracted
with millions of websites,
apps, and video clips.
UNTETHERED
ON-DEMAND
COLLABORATIVE
EMPOWERED
Today’s employees find themselves working from several locations and structuring their
work in nontraditional ways to accommodate their lifestyles. Companies are finding it
difficult to reach these people consistently and even harder to develop them efficiently.
of the global workforce is
expected to be “mobile” by the
end of 2015
of full-time employees
Do most of their work somewhere
other than the employer’s location
of workforce comprised of temps,
contractors, and freelancers
Employees are accessing information—and learning—differently than they did just a few
years ago. Most are looking for answers outside of traditional training and development
channels. For example:
To learn what
they need for
their jobs,
employees
access:
search engines
online courses
People are increasingly turning
to their smartphones to find
just-in-time answers to
unexpected problems
Learners are also developing and accessing personal and professional networks to obtain
information about their industries and professions.
Rapid change in business and organizations means everyone needs to constantly be
learning. More and more people are looking for options on their own because they aren’t
getting what they need from their employers.
of workforce learning happens via
on-the-job interactions with peers,
teammates, and managers
Learners are:
asking other
people
sharing what they
know
At Google,
of training
courses are delivered by an
ecosystem of
peer learners
Half-life (in years) of many
professional skills
of workers who say they have
opportunities for learning and
growth at their workplace
of IT professionals who report
having paid for training out of their
own pockets
2/3
of knowledge workers
complain that they don’t
have time to do their jobs.

16. It's time to reimagine learning
Learning should be…
● more inclusive
● decolonized
● and effective
Rote memorization and
multiple-choice tests are NOT
designed with the new
generation in mind

17. Repurpose your content for
the modern learner

18. A gamified app that teaches piano through video game music.
SmartGamePiano

19. Poll Question:
How do you deliver your
learning program today?

20. Tip #2
Give Your
Course a
Personality

21. Pillar One: Learner Experience
You shouldn’t take a one-size-fits-all
approach. Learning should be personalized...
Application Ideas
● Goal setting
● Adaptive learning
● Flipped classroom
● Discussion tools

22. • ProLiteracy is the largest adult literacy
nonprofit organization in the nation.
• ProLiteracy mission: help adults gain the
reading, writing, math, computer, and English
skills they need to be successful.
• ProLiteracy advocates on behalf of adult
learners and the programs that serve them,
provides training and professional development,
and publishes materials used in adult literacy
and basic education instruction.
Case Study: ProLiteracy

23. Q. Would weekly reminders and
encouragement affect attendance?
Source: https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/XLab/ProLiteracy_Results.pdf
Personalized notification examples:
Hey Nick. Class, practice, and
hard work will help you
improve. We are all excited
to have you back in class on
Monday this week.
- Jennifer
Nick, you should be proud
for working hard! Everyone is
looking forward to working
with you in class on
Wednesday this week.
- Jennifer
Hi Nick, what you learn in
class will help in so many
ways! We are happy to
partner with you on Friday
this week.
- Jennifer

24. Result: Push notifications had a
significant impact on attendance
Source: https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/XLab/ProLiteracy_Results.pdf

25. ACT Findings
Students in our focus group
unanimously ranked our newly
designed course over the old
course — and none of the
content had changed.
Why?
We changed
the font.

26. SmartGamePiano is a gamified app — with a personality
● Sydney is the instructor/creator
● Sydney built the app to stand out from
boring online courses and instruction
● Sydney teaches the fundamentals of
piano through video game music
The logo even has her
face in it! Each lesson is personalized.
Note: Videos don’t need to be highly produced!

27. Tips for Giving Your Course
a Personality
Tip #1: Specify the voice of
the content. Who’s teaching
this course?
Tip #2: Scrub out all dated
references. Replace them
with modern ones.
Tip #3: Build encouragements
into your course, especially in
the early stages. Tip #4: Play with font, and
don’t worry about highly
produced videos.

28. Tip #3
Tap into your
community

30. SmartGamePiano is a gamified app
— with a community
● Instagram
● Facebook group
● Discord server

31. Create community
through social learning

32. BenchPrep data shows
that the average online
discussion participant is
15X more active within
the learning platform than
a user who doesn’t utilize
discussions.
Create community
through social learning

33. Tip #4
Use a blend of
low-stakes and
high-stakes
assessments

34. Confidence-Based Learning
Misinformed Mastery
Uninformed Doubt
Confidence
Knowledge1. https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Confidence-based_learning

35. Q. Does helping learners better understand
their confidence level improve engagement?
Consider learner confidence

36. ● The 75th percentile of confidence level users answer 36% more
questions than the 25th percentile of confidence level users
● The top 10% of confidence level users answered nearly 5X more
questions than the average user
Takeaway: Promoting confidence level usage and understanding how they factor into your
product mix can be very valuable
!
Results: Using confidence levels directly
correlates with positive user engagement

37. DuoLingo: Consider learner confidence

38. SmartGamePiano is a gamified app —
and encourages you to keep playing!
● Welcome message
● 15-minute Skype call to
discuss goals
● Badges to encourage streaks
● Built-in Vimeo features allow
you to mark trickier areas and
boost confidence

39. After you interact with any
instructional content, take 30
seconds and — in your own words
— write the main takeaways.
●
●
●
Tips for blending low-stakes and
high-stakes assessments
30-second rule:

40. Tip #5
Meet short-term
needs, but invest
in long-term
solutions

41. ● Zoom
● GoToMeeting
● Cisco Webex Meetings
● Google Hangouts Meet
● join.me
● BlueJeans
● Cisco Jabber
● TeamViewer
● GlobalMeet Collaboration
● Learning Management Systems
● Learning Experience Platforms
● Content Management Systems
Invest in the right
technology for your needs

42. v
A modern learning solutions
provides you with different
pieces of the puzzle:
● Microlearning
● Gamification
● Social learning opportunities
● Data and analytics
● And more!
Lean into a modern
learning solution

43. Use Technology to Level-Up Your
Learner Experience
● Setting up connections between
Questions and Lessons
● Remediation
● Adaptive study plans
● Confidence levels
● Personalization
● IDT/LD&S Team
● Data and Analytics

44. ROI for delivering this
superior learning experience
Lean into a modern learning solution
for the sake of your organization...
Data and analytics Learning Design and
Strategy team (IDT)

45. Sooo…. What do I do now?
Take inventory
of current
content
Tap into your
community
Meet Short-Term
Needs and Invest
in Long-Term
Solutions
Give your course a
personality
Blend
Low-stakes and
High-stakes
assessments

46. Resources
Blog
LMS vs LXP vs LCMS:
Which Learning Solution
Should You Choose?
Guide
https://info.benchprep.com/
digital-learning-resources
E-Book

47. Q&A
Rebecca Komathy
With: Moderated by:
Learning Content Manager and Technologist,
BenchPrep
Linkedin page: /in/nickdimaso
Twitter ID: @benchprep
Website: BenchPrep.com
Nick DiMaso
Webinar Coordinator, eLearning Learning
Linkedin page: /in/rebeccakomathy
Twitter ID: @elearningPosts
Website: eLearningLearning.com
https://www.elearninglearning.com/webinar-series/11081/the-modern-digital-learning-landscapeThe Modern Digital
Learning Landscape
47