Why a Learning Technology Company is Hosting Virtual Game Shows

For the past month, KMSI has been hosting weekly virtual game show events on KMxDirect.com. So far, we have conducted four events on different topics, each with a special guest moderator. Our moderators have really made these events a lot of fun. One of our early moderators was Broadway Playwright and Producer, Jeremy Kareken. His game show topic was Musicals and Theater. He is quite the comedian and super witty. It was a blast. Our most recent host was US Navy Commander (ret) Don Cleveland. His topic was Military History. This event was both fun and educational. I am looking forward to our next event hosted by sports and fitness expert, Michaela Brown. Her topic is Sports and Sporting Events.

Some Background

About a year ago, one of our clients asked if there was a way to deliver their existing exams in our KMxLive virtual classroom. Of course the answer was yes. Working with this client we saw opportunities to improve the KMxLive moderator dashboard during live exam events. One improvement was the ability for the moderator to pause/resume group virtual exams at any point to add commentary, provide remediation and highlight which participants were doing well. The project team working on that effort also created a variant of the moderator view for the exam participants; a virtual classroom leaderboard. It did not take long for clients to see that these new features provided the ability to conduct virtual games using their existing exams. Both the new moderator dashboard and the participant leaderboard were subsequently adapted to work with KMxAuthor eLearning lessons and training simulations. Competitive game, eLearning and training simulation events in a virtual classroom environment became a reality.

The Genesis of KMxGames

With all the elements in place to conduct online games in a virtual classroom environment, the idea of adding optional game show features to the KMx exam delivery interface was proposed by a member of our advertising team. Our first prototype was named “Who Wants to be Rich?” It included nifty features, including “lifelines”, video segments, game show music, question countdowns, narrated audio feedback and most importantly prize levels. We now have 5 interfaces available in multiple languages, each with unique features. One of these interfaces is titled “Game Interface X”. It can leverage any of the game system features and is fully customizable.

So, why is a learning technology company hosting virtual game show events?

Our game show events are hosted on KMxDirect.com. This site is an instance of our KMxASP learning and talent management platform. It has hundreds of eLearning courses from KMSI and our content partner Vubiz loaded into the catalog. It also provides live educational webinars, recorded events and product tutorials. Over 42,000 education and training professionals have registered on this site.

When a participant registers to compete in one of our events, they experience a wide range of the technologies we offer. Most new users register using Facebook or LinkedIn authentication. This eliminates the need to complete a registration form to create their user account. Both are 1-click registration to enrollment processes. New users are assigned to the student role within the KMx Learning Management System. New users will be asked if they would like to receive notifications on their browser or mobile device. The ones that allow this will receive notifications just like you get from Amazon or LinkedIn for important events. If the new user is a training or human resources manager, they immediately see the value of our KMxASP platform and how it could be leveraged to do exactly the same things for their programs and their customers. Once inside, a myriad of training, testing, survey and live event possibilities open up to the new user.

New users can view their Control Panel, update their profiles, see recommended courses and activities, collaborate on one of our forums, peruse our catalog & event calendar and even develop eLearning lessons using KMxAuthor. We encourage the users to submit ideas for upcoming KMxLive events and even host them if their submission would be something our other users would be interested in attending. KMxDirect is a training and HR community site that enables us to engage potential clients using the technologies that we offer.

On Game Day

Registered game participants receive an automated reminder a few hours before the event. The reminder provides a link to facilitate their return to the site with instructions to enter the KMxLive virtual environment. We have had participants compete in our events with every popular browser and operating system. Game participants have used a myriad of desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices, all without issue. Once in the KMxLive virtual environment, the moderator takes the stage, introduces the game topic and the KMxGames interface selected for the event. A KMSI manager reviews the contest rules and the game starts. Most moderators like to provide commentary during the event. All participants receive the same questions in the same order with the answers randomized. For these events, each question has a time limit to 20 seconds. The moderator has control of the pacing of the questions and can pause or resume the event to highlight the leaders, provide witty remediation or share personal experiences related to a completed question. At the end, a winner is declared and that individual is eligible to compete in the finals and win our grand prize. It is a lot of fun.

Please Join Us for Trivia Tuesdays

Trivia Tuesdays ends on May 25, 2021. Every week at 1:00 PM ET we present a new topic, with a new special guest moderator and conduct a live virtual game show at KMxDirect.com. We preview new KMxGames interfaces each week. Each game show event is scheduled to take about 30 minutes.

You can review our upcoming list of topics and special guest moderators at https://www.kmsi.com/Trivia_Tuesdays_topics.htm