Code Baby Cubed

by Cindy Leach

Code Baby

The company I work for, the University Health Network (UHN) has started using Code Baby over the last year.  The company’s by-line is that their products will ‘Digitally Engage Your Learners with Attention-Grabbing Content.  The product allows you to create digital instructors for your eLearning courses and will integrate with your existing LMS or courseware.  We currently use these characters in 3 ways:

 1)     To walk students through course modules as a digital instructor

2)     As characters in serious games that simulate various situations in the hospital

3)     As a character UHNi who delivers 1 minute learning nuggets each week that can be played as podcasts or using any mobile web enabled device.

 Face #1:  Market Focus

ü      The Corporate Market

ü      The main focus is their product offering for companies to enhance their eLearning and/or web presence with the use of 3D characters (they prefer not to call them avatars as they believe their offering is much more sophisticated and integrated than being a mere avatar)

 Face #2:  Types of Offerings

Code Baby offers both content and services

ü      Content – the software that creates interactive digital characters for eLearning

ü      Services – there are 4 services:

  • Art – creating custom 3D characters and their elements
  • Creative – custom conversations that are planned, scripted and storyboarded
  • Training – training for customers
  • Support – support packages for customers

 Face #3:  Who is the Buyer?

I would say that there are really on 2 options here, Learning Bought for Learner and Learning Bought Centrally.  Our group is an example of Learning Bought Centrally.  This was bought and will be used by the entire Toronto Central LHIN (Local Health Integration Network), which is basically all of the hospitals in the city of Toronto.  However, I could also see individual companies buying this software for their learners to augment their existing eLearning offerings.

 Face #4:  Global Markets

The market I see this playing to would be mostly the Wired Anglophone.  There was no information that I could see in regards to facilitation for languages other than English.

 Face #5:  Development of Market

Market Supports Export Oriented Learning Technologies & Substitution of Imports

 Market Supports Import of Content & Infrastructure

 Face #6:  Learning Technology Competing with Other Forms of Learning

 Learning Technology Works with a Well Developed Learning System. 

We already had a well developed eLearning system when we started to use Code Baby.  It works well with our current offerings and helps to enhance their appeal.

 

 

3 comments


1 Greg Lewis { 10.09.09 at 8:49 pm }

Cindy:
This sounds like a pretty interesting service – I think from the description, that it would definitely add to the system that is already in place. I wonder as to the difference in price between the software and the time needed to create digital instructors vs. a real human being. I suppose people would be able to access from home and would not have to meet in groups which would be very convenient and cost effective.
Thanks,
Greg


2 Cathy Jung { 10.10.09 at 2:37 pm }

Cindy, I found the CodeBaby site to be really interesting and found myself smiling as the digital character spoke. I like the way CodeBaby allows for a company to have a brand persona. Neat stuff. The 3 ways you’ve listed that your workplace is using CodeBaby is great, I particularly like the idea of a one minute learning nugget each week. What kind of feedback have you had on CodeBaby? Was the audience receptive or did it take some time to get the audience on board? Cathy


3 Cindy Leach { 10.16.09 at 2:23 pm }

Hi Cathy, people have been very receptive to our character UHNi, she has made the online learning a lot more interesting and fun. 1 minute nuggets are a reasonable time frame for our very busy RNs and also do not drain people’s personal data plans on their blackberries. I think that UHNi seems to make our staff more at ease with the online learning – whether she’s virtual or not they feel that there is a more ‘human’ connection

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