Gaming for Learning and
Training

"Enjoyment and fun as part of the learning process are
important when learning new tools since the learner is
relaxed and motivated and therefore more willing to learn."
(Bisso and Luckner, Journal of Experimental Education, 9,2, 1996, pp 109-110.).

"In simple terms a brain enjoying itself is functioning more
efficiently. So there’s a scientific basis for using art, drama,
color, emotion, social learning and even games to learn."
(Rose and Nicholl, Accelerated Leaning for the 21st Century, 1998, p. 30.)

"Game-based courses have produced superior learning to
case-based courses." (Knotts and Keys, Simulation and Gaming, 28:4 1997 p. 378)
Effective Learning:
1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration?

Effective learning includes the ability to ask and
answer questions, make mistakes in safety, and
have multiple senses stimulated.
 "How do we make learning successful and
enjoyable? Through creating low-stress
environment-one where it is safe to make
mistakes, yet expectation of success is high."
(Rose and Nicholl, p. 63.)
 "Students move toward the right answer by
making mistakes and correcting them." ( Pappert,
Seymour, cited in Postman, Neil "The End of
Education," p.123.)
Simulation/Training Market

The U.S. military is by far the largest buyer of
game simulations, accounting for roughly half of
the $20 million to $40 million market.
 But Dunnigan and other industry boosters say
these games could soon command a significant
chunk of the $100 billion corporate and industrial
training industry as the level of technological
sophistication increases.
Educational/Training Games

Games can be:
– Self-paced
– Individualized
– Infinitely patient
– Infinitely forgiving
– Seamless, invisible assessments
– Multi-modal (e.g., visual, auditory, text-
to-speech, speech-to-action)
Gaming for Training

HazMat:Hotzone
– http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/hazmat
– Firefighters use to learn how to respond to a chemical-
weapons attack

Forex Trader
– http://www.inusa.com/tour/forex.htm
– George Soros wannabes can learn the ins and outs of
currency trading

Virtual U
– http://www.virtual-u.org
– college administrators can wrestle with angry
professors and meddlesome state legislators.
Military Gaming

America's Army (http://www.americasarmy.com)
– recruitment for the U.S. Army,
– takes players from the rifle range to bombed-out desert
cities.
– It ranks as one of the most popular online games, with
more than 7 million registered players.

Rapid Tactical Language Training System
– Arabic language and etiquette.
– stumble through conversations with animated computer
characters, rather than actual Iraqi citizens who might
take offense at the wrong hand gesture.
– "Instead of shooting people, you're talking to them and
trying to win their trust," -Hannes Vilhjalmsson, a research scientist at
the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute who helped
develop the game.
Interpersonal Skills

Will Interactive Inc.'s releases
(http://www.willinteractive.com) focus on
leadership skills, putting players in situations
where there is no clear right or wrong answer.
Players must decide what to do if they don't have
enough chemical suits for their troops, how to get
a wounded soldier to safety, or how to defuse a
tense hostage situation.
– Realism is key to the games' effectiveness, CEO Sharon
Sloane said: "Until you engage someone emotionally as
well as cognitively, you cannot effect behavior change."
Mobile Gaming

One project at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (news - web sites) challenged
participants to stop a biological attack spreading
rapidly across campus. Using Internet-connected
handheld computers, players could determine who
was "infected" and search for vaccines to stop the
spread of the virus.
 In Zurich, Switzerland, students at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology used handheld
computers to find an imaginary bomb that had
been planted on campus, but things turned ugly
when they locked up other players suspected of
sabotaging their progress.
Other “Serious” Examples

Revolution
– colonial America online multiplayer game
– built on BioWare Inc's Neverwinter Nights technology,
– developed with the assistance of Colonial Williamsburg.

Star Chefs
– http://www.starchefs.com/about_us/html/games.html
– distance-learning program for hospitality and foodservice
operators enhanced with numerous game-based models and
simulations focusing on three areas: food safety, restaurant
profitability, and sexual harassment.
– Clients include American Express, Maytag, and Evian.

September 12th
– Political statement
– http://www.newsgaming.com/newsgames.htm
Educational Game Principles
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1. Data reporting, graphing, and exporting
2. Teacher’s assessment tools
3. Experimental design features
4. Direct access and modification of the simulation
engine
5. Allowing debate on simulation assumptions
6. Integration with larger curriculums
7. Integration with tools to support group work
8. Professional development and support
opportunities for teachers
Educational Game Principles

Admit that games don't teach, they illustrate.
–

Don't make games that are too much fun.
–

An advisor is a computerized character that pops up from time to time to highlight problems
and suggest courses of action to the player.
Don't forget the value of creative play.
–

Games like Sim City require the player to manage a whole series of problems at once. Rather
than illustrating a single idea clearly, they illustrate many ideas complicatedly. The student
must be able to hold all other variables constant and observe the effect of changing just one.
Include advisors.
–

Commercial games are designed to last from 20-40 hours or more; an educational game
needs to get straight to the point and move along steadily.
Don't make games that obscure the principles you want to illustrate.
–

They're often poorly-disguised drills, or are insulting to a child's intelligence ("Quick! Mr.
Spock needs to know the sum of 2 and 2!"). You must find a way to meaningfully and above
all coherently incorporate the educational content into the gameplay.
Don't make games that take too long.
–

Don’t demonstrate the principles of flight using a combat flight simulator. The students will
spend all their time fighting and ignore the basic concepts they're supposed to be learning.
Don't make games that aren't fun enough.
–

make a game that shows rather than tells and turns knowledge into visceral understanding.
Creative play has educational value too. You can learn about the principles of mechanical
engineering by designing and testing bridges, as in Bridge Construction Set
Don't try to serve chocolate-covered broccoli.
–
A computer game can't make someone take an interest in a subject purely by dressing it up
with fancy graphics and audio. Furthermore, educational software cannot ever compete with
multimillion-dollar commercial games.
Resources

http://www.seriousgames.org/
 http://www.educationarcade.org/
 http://www.gamesforhealth.org/
 http://www.socialimpactgames.com/
 http://www.gamequarium.com/
 http://www.funschool.com/