Bio

Valary Oleinik is one part artist, one part geek, and 100% committed to finding ways to help people develop and deliver more engaging and effective learning experiences. She has worked in various aspects of L&D for over two decades, and is currently a sought-after speaker, a project manager at Weil (an international law firm), and on the Board of Directors of the United States Distance Learning Association. In her consulting work, she is assisted by her cat Shadow and her bunny Butterscotch. Their lack of opposable thumbs makes them lousy typists, but they try.

Just as the Mississippi River both flows through and around the city and is a part of the story, progress, and people of New Orleans, narrative can be defined in numerous ways and offers countless options for gamifying learning experiences. In this session you will have the opportunity to explore narrative from multiple perspectives. Is it the same as story, or is it something much larger? How can we leverage it to get learners into and through the learning experience in more engaging ways? Does a narrative have to use words? Along the way you will interact with a number of unique characters, reinterpret tales, create learner journey maps, and discover new ways to use narrative to provide context and content for your gamified learning experiences.