What eLearning was supposed to be.
Three Examples of Short Sims
These three videos of Short Sims, narrated by Clark Aldrich, show some of the different approaches possible. Click on a question.
How can the principles of video game design be applied to eLearning?
This Short Sim shows how game mechanics like immersiveness, challenges, feedback, and coaches can be used to improve results.
In certification programs, how can learners gain performance confidence?
This example demonstrates how Short Sims allow learners to practice real decisions in a safe environment, building confidence through repetition and feedback.
How can eLearning be more game-like to develop understanding?
This Short Sim illustrates how structure, pacing, and choice can create a game-like experience that deepens understanding without sacrificing professionalism.
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What Are Short Sims?
Short Sims are a focused simulation-based learning format designed to help people practice judgment, not just absorb information. They compress the essential mechanics of a full simulation into a short, reusable experience that mirrors real decisions and real constraints.
- Socratic and exploratory rather than directive
- Engaging without unnecessary complexity
- Simple to create, update, audit, and deploy
- Built using industry-standard tools and skills
- Effective for everything from soft skills to certification
Why Short Sims Work — by Audience
Short Sims succeed because they align learning design, organizational constraints, and business outcomes into a single, disciplined format. The benefits differ slightly by audience—but the underlying advantage is the same: meaningful practice that fits real-world limits.
For Learners
Short Sims give learners something most training never does: the chance to make real decisions and see the consequences. Instead of passively consuming content, learners actively practice judgment, build confidence through repetition, and leave knowing they can perform—not just recall information.
For Learning & Training Teams
Short Sims provide a highly structured, time-contained process that is faster to design, easier to review, and simpler to approve. The format makes scope explicit, costs predictable, and quality visible—reducing rework while still supporting rigorous, defensible instructional design.
For Business Leaders
Short Sims focus learning investment on behaviors that matter. Because they emphasize decision-making over content delivery, leaders see results sooner: better judgment, fewer mistakes, and training that translates directly into improved performance on the job.
How You Can Work with Short Sims
Create Your Own Short Sims
Learn the underlying pedagogy and design process in a guided workshop. You will leave knowing how to design, build, and iterate on Short Sims using industry-standard tools.
$75
Enroll in the Short Sims WorkshopUse Proven Self-Management and Team-Management Short Sims
Deploy ready-made Short Sims focused on leadership, judgment, and decision-making — already tested and ready to use.
Pricing available upon request
Request informationCommission Custom Short Sims
Work directly with Clark Aldrich to design Short Sims tailored to your organization’s specific challenges, culture, and constraints.
Pricing available upon request
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▶ Short Sims are designed and built by Clark Aldrich
More than two decades ago, in his award-winning 2005 book Learning by Doing, Clark Aldrich identified four dominant types of simulations:
- branching stories
- interactive spreadsheets
- virtual products
- game-based models
Each had strengths, but also significant weaknesses. Over the following 15+ years, Aldrich refined, combined, and pressure-tested these simulations in real organizational settings, with real constraints. What emerged was a single, coherent pedagogy, SCORM compliant and buildable using industry standard tools.
The result is Short Sims.
About Clark Aldrich: Aldrich is a global leadership expert who has worked with C-level executives from scores of the world’s most influential organizations, including the NSA where he served on the board and held Top Secret Clearance. The former Gartner analyst who founded their e-learning coverage – and Training Magazine columnist – Aldrich also has written six books on pedagogy (several of which are taught at the post-graduate level) and created dozens of award- and patent-winning serious games and educational simulations.
His published written work has been at the forefront of: eLearning (Gartner Research, starting 1997); simulation- and game-based learning (Simulation and the Future of Learning, 2003); microschools (Unschooling Rules, 2011); and action-based learning (Short Sims, 2020).
Aldrich's sims and games have been covered extensively, including by The New York Times, ABC, CBS, NPR, and CNN, as transformative yet practical alternatives to the highly profitable "Workbooks, Essays, Lectures, and Tests" model of today's eLearning and education. See also Socratic Cards.