Blog

by Dave Darrow

For the longest time, we've had to avoid using the "g-word" when describing things like business simulation and virtual worlds. As proved by Clark Aldrich and Karl Kapp, the tide is turning and the value in game-like experiences for learning is becoming more evident. This mindset is somewhat obvious for people like me who have played video and computer games since grade school so it's nice to see it being validated. Because of this, I often try to look for common ground between game development and e-learning design.

Recently, I read an article on The Escapist, a gaming blog, titled The Incredible Disappearing Teacher that described the challenges that game designers face in training end-users on how to play their games. The problem they faced was that the end-users don't want to go through tutorials, yet would be unable to enjoy the game unless they obtained the information contained in the tutorial. With a catch-22 situation like this, they have devised clever ways to engage the end-user and keep them motivated to finish the tutorial. Sometimes the tutorials are woven into the storyline of the game, other times they are incentivized with in-game currency, additional in-game inventory, or rewards like badges of achievement. One particularly good example was Valve Software's excellent Portal, which spends nearly half the game teaching you all the skills you need to complete the second half. It does not play like an extended tutorial, since the levels are carefully designed to help lead the player into discovering skills and solutions without spoon-feeding them the answers. This gives the player a sense of accomplishment each time, which does not seem much like "training".

Do businesses face similar challenges? I think they do. Like game players, employees clearly benefit from the knowledge and skills they can learn in their employers courses yet are often reluctant to do so. If game designers have discovered ways to make training enjoyable, we should be examining them and finding new ways to do it for our own design challenges.

by Rich Mesch

In a world filled with acronyms, I apologize for creating another-- although, to be fair, I created this one a while ago.

I've been building simulations for a long time-- since 1985, actually. Now, while that's a long time to be doing anything, I really have found simulation (and simulation-type activities) to be perhaps the most effective way to deliver application-based learning. And here's the reason why: so much of learning is focused on knowledge transfer.  You have a bunch of stuff in your head, and you want it to be in my head, too, so you shovel it in there. Then you probably want me to take a test to prove that I learned it. Which I pass, and then we assume I know all this knowledge. Which I probably do, at that particular moment in time. But what happens when I actually need to use that knowledge? Will I be able to?

What’s the point of gaining super-powers if you can’t use them?

That’s the problem. A lot of content is easy to understand, but not nearly so easy to implement. So we end up with a lot of good knowledge that we aren’t able to use, and often we revert back to the old way. Bridging the Learn-Do gap is one of the oldest challenges of learning. That’s why I’m such a big fan of simulation—because it’s not about knowledge transfer, it’s about knowledge application. It’s about behavior, not about content.

Why does simulation do such a good job of bridging the Learn-Do gap? Because it provides:

• Context: How does this behavior impact my role and the roles I interact with?
• Application: When and where do I use this behavior on the job?
• Practice: Try the behavior in a low-risk environment to gain confidence and perspective
• Example: What does it look like when I do it right? What does it look like when I do it wrong?

Simulation allows you to leap over the Learn-Do gap in a single bound, by allowing you to use new behaviors in a low-risk environment and providing the Context, Application, Practice and Example you  need to succeed in the real world.

Put it all together, and you have a CAPE that will help you get your super-powers off the ground.