Bottom-Line Performance

One of the biggest of getting into virtual world and simulation learning is the huge gap – both real and perceived – that separates the minds of the gamer and the non-gamer.  Patrick Dunn makes the excellent point in this recent post that the mindset of a game designer is very different from the mindset of an instructional designer. Game or virtual world designers attempt to focus on experiences, and figure that their players will learn as they experience. Learning designers attempt to break experience down into content first, present the content and then hope the learners will be able to translate that information back into experience.

Clearly, some topics are better suited for a content-focused approach…and there’s lots of great info on this blog’s backlog on that approach. But I’ve been focusing recently on trying to learn more about game design so that I can create better experiences for my learners. To do this, I’ve aspired to become more of a gamer. And it’s harder than I thought it would be.

As Chris Brooker says in this article in the Guardian, most gamers (including those who play massively multiplayer online role playing games , or MMORPGs like World of Warcraft – which is similar in many ways to virtual worlds like Second Life) have trouble explaining the experience to non-gamers.  So I was very excited to read at the end of his article a list of games he suggests people start with. The first one, which you can play for free online right now, is Canabalt  Portal , another game on his list, was also recommended to me by a gamer friend.

Of course not all virtual experiences are games. This post by B.J. Schone highlights 25 Awesome Virtual Learning Experiences Online. Imagine the technology involved in any of the tour experiences being applied to teach new employees how to find things on a corporate campus. Here, Eric Tremblay talks about how one professor of biology has created Genome Island one of the most popular educational islands in Second Life - and all because her husband suckered her into playing World of Warcraft one summer while she wasn’t teaching.

This last link isn’t exactly the type of learning application we generally get to design for – but I found it so interesting I couldn’t resist putting it in for you. Apparently a virtual environment is being used to treat PTSD – with some fairly significant success.

What cool applications have you seen for virtual or game technology?

In 2000 I had the opportunity to tour the Navy Simulation Training Center in Orlando, FL. The technology I was introduced to was far more incredible than anything I had ever seen in my life. Since at the time I was living in Orlando, I can honestly say that the area theme parks could not rival an afternoon at the military training center. There were just incredible simulations, replicas of helicopters employing gaming technology on 180 degree screens bigger than any movie theater I had been to. They also had online classrooms, students sat at monitors instead of a desk and they trained with soldiers from all over the country. This tour was my first fascinating glimpse at the future of training and that was nearly a decade ago.

For years the military has successfully used online learning, simulations and gaming technology to educate soldiers. As we toured the facility the military personnel emphasized that their classroom teaches rapidly and effectively. It is critical that troops are trained and deployed quickly. The military is also able to mimic emotions, and replicate virtually some of the dire decisions a person may need to make in the battlefield.

Just recently, at the CIASTD conference during the panel discussion on The Future of Training there was a debate amongst the panel as to whether or not virtual learning could effectively teach soft skills. Sharon Boller, the President of Bottom-Line Performance,  pointed out how the military has effectively used virtual simulations in their training to mimic the emotions and stress felt by soldiers. The military has demonstrated effective replication of emotionally charged situations.

This isn’t the first time in history that the military has pioneered the effectiveness of new technology for future civilian application. While the implications of military training are different from the private sector, it has demonstrated that skills can be learned effectively and quickly using technology and virtual simulations.

Naturally, knowing what is possible doesn’t always easily translate to immediate action. The development costs of virtual simulations and gaming technology are high. Is your organization currently using gaming or other simulations? If not are their plans to implement these tools in the near future?