Last Friday we held a pilot training workshop (a pilot of a training workshop that is, not a workshop to train pilots – I wish!) in the Sentient boardroom. This Instructional Design Innovation Workshop was organised by Joanne Turbett of UpArrow Consulting, who is working with us to help facilitate our foray into the 3D training space.
Andy Raxworthy and Shannon Spark of CSBP, and Lee Stephens of Safety and Rescue Australia generously came along to the workshop to offer their valuable feedback. The workshop ran for just under 3 hours including a lunch break, and involved structured discussions on how our interactive 3D training solutions could be designed to improve existing training techniques.
After undertaking a quick Lego challenge to put us in a creative mindset, we used Andy’s example of Working in Confined Spaces to define the goals and performance objectives of the training, and discussed how we would design the solution with respect to: Challenge, Achievement, Collaboration, Choice and Control.
What we gained from this workshop was not only good feedback as to how the workshop itself could be improved, but also a lot of valuable training insight from the trainers’ perspectives. We learnt about some of the problems with current forms of training, as well as some reasons why trainers may be hesistant to embrace this new 3D interactive training. We developed a good design outline for our Working in Confined Spaces example, and the trainers were ultimately very excited about the possibilities available with this type of training.
Another meeting involving a bit of fun, creativity, learning and teamwork this week!
This time we were one big team, working together to earn a sickeningly delightful morning tea of donuts, hedgehog slices and cupcakes. Mike and I spent a lot of energy and air blowing up 16 balloons to attach to the board room whiteboard. Only to have them, one by one, shot and popped by each staff member wielding a foam bullet gun with a toothpick attached. Inside each balloon I had placed a Pictionary or Charades clue for them to perform to the group. Some were tricky, some not so much. The rules list unfortunately did not stop some members from cheating, clearly cracking under the pressure! However we agreed to let them slide as they were still creative answers!
We had a new member, Mandy, join us at the meeting this morning. No doubt feeling very surprised when she walked into the board room to be greeted by this group below:
“Welcome Mandy!” Mandy being new, when each team member had had their go at the challenge balloons as i have just named them, they also gave a brief bio to help her get to know us all. Next came the learning part of the meeting, with each team member sharing what their focus was for last week and what they plan to focus on in the week coming.
After popping and solving some clues that described a few possible social events we could hold next, there has been a tie on the votes for a laser tag session or a board game night. Both will be great team building exercises, although we may have to get some charades and pictionary one on one coaching started!
– Leonie
The other morning we discovered that a project that we were working on did not have a designated Project Manager, we also worked out that it was running on time and to budget.
So the question is – how important is a project manager?
To help answer this question – we are going to see how this project does without a PM and if I have the courage (stupidity?) to leave it alone.
Will update comments here as we go along.
For this week’s version of our Monday Morning Meetings, I decided to get everyone up and running in a mini “Sentient Amazing Race”.
After being split up into teams of two or three, everyone’s first task was to find the first clue hidden on one of their cars. This required much prompting and hints from myself, watching in amusement as numerous people passed the clue multiple times. Eventually Leonie found it hidden next to Doug’s front wheel, quickly followed by the other teams. This first clue contained a number of riddles which contained some locations around the office. At these locations I had hidden a packet of lollies/chocolates as well as the next clue – a small crossword puzzle asking Sentient-related questions. A few teams managed to finish this quickly, and were then lead to go to the car park. In the front of the Sentient building I had Mike set up a little Nerf shooting range, where people would shoot two bullets each into various buckets, which showed their preference for what MVX should specialise on. Eventually the teams finished, the first team being Paul Turbett and Tim Smith – although it seems they did not complete their crossword puzzle completely!! If it hadn’t been blatantly written that they had to complete the crossword puzzle, I would have admired their ability to come first without completing it all haha. Following their team was Jarred and Leonie.
After everyone had finished (helped by me allowing the last teams to take several steps closer to the Nerf buckets), they munched away on their packets of sugar in the board room. Here I got them to discuss in teams ideas for how to get Sentient into a “well-known market leader” status within 2-5 years. There were a lot of interesting and amusing points raised during the discussions which were then shared with the whole group. After this, they individually answered a few questions including which previous project/task had motivated them the most, and what project they would work on if they could work on anything for the next 6 months.
My aim in this meeting was, first, to get everyone in a “teamwork” mode and have some fun. Then secondly, to get everyone thinking more ambitiously about where they themselves as well as Sentient could be, and to get them sharing some of their ideas. I think everyone did great in this meeting, we had a lot of good discussions and things to think about for our future plans, and everyone got to have a bit of fun. And lollies. Can’t forget the lollies.
P.S. The leftover lollies/chocolates that weren’t found are in the kitchen (they won’t be for long).
– Camille
Sentient Computing recently attended Mines and Money in Hong Kong. This event has been running in Hong Kong for many years and attracts a large following of exploration companies, junior miners and investment /capital companies.
Big topics for the event is the state of the commodities market and the raising of funds for projects.
Sentient Computing took the opportunity to work with Bulletin Resources to create a 3D Fly Through video, which ran for 2 minutes and showcased the companies properties and Gold reserves.
This type of presentation has the ability to attract people’s attention quickly and create a lasting memory.
The response from many of the companies exhibiting was very positive and there was a large degree of interest from many of the exhibitors at the event.
“I thought our company values were Fun, Team, Learning and Creativity” was a comment I overheard at our last MMM (Monday Morning Meeting) while we were plodding through the usual agenda, in a boring, engineering and tedious LIST fashion.
So spending some time on this, I have decided that each meeting will be given to a person to run.
Its theirs.
The out comes of the meeting is simply to Springboard the activities to be done during the week in a fun, learning and creative environment.
They can pretty much do what they want.
I am quite excited to see what we can come up with as a company and I am sure there will be some very interesting themes, places and things we will no doubt be dragged to.
Sentient has put together a video demonstrating the quality of our pre-rendered 3D animations. These 3D animations can be used to show workplace scenarios and hazards in a visually immersive and memorable way.
