The Enterprise Roadmap for Virtual Worlds
August 31st, 2009
By Ed Heinbockel, President and CEO, Visual Purple, LLC
Too often I hear about the lack of enterprise adoption of virtual worlds and why the technology is slow to be accepted in the workplace today. Among some of the reasons I have heard the most talked about have been: 1) Infrastructure Technology Barriers, and 2) Barrier to Adoption/ Learning curve. Of course the firewall and bandwidth issues will always be a problem to address no matter what type of learning/ training application an organization is looking at implementing. As for the second objection of a large learning curve, I believe that is up to the type of virtual application that the corporation is considering adopting. If it is a simpler training-focused virtual world user functionality is not limited- but the user is not given the full range of flying, speaking/ chatting, teleporting, etc. Within a training focused virtual world the user only needs the basic navigation operations (forward, back, left and right) and none of the fancier elements like raising a hand or teleporting. Another complaint is the size of the virtual world. Customized, private and secure worlds are built as big as you need them with room to expand. So size is no longer a factor.
The future of virtual worlds as an enterprise platform offer an organization willing to be on the cutting-edge an opportunity for high return on investment, shorter product development times, more flexibility of the training program, shorter train-up time and lower cost when compared to traditional methods. Let’s break down the barriers to adoption! Virtual worlds can and will be the next big ‘go-to’ for organizations to utilize for training needs…they are too effective and too efficient to not be widely adopted…a new standard in learning and training is upon us!
Speaking of Virtual Worlds…(Week of August 24-28)
August 28th, 2009
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
Navy creates a virtual world to test submarine design
In New Second Life Website, SL Culture Rebranded as “Counterculture”
Swine Flu Training Center Built in Second Life
100 Down & Many More to Come!
August 27th, 2009
In celebration of our 100th blog post on Virtual Speak- I saw it fitting to recap the Top 5 most popular blog articles.
1. Return on Investment= Proven Success?
3. When Your Voice-actor is a Robot (Confronting the NPC Speak Challenge for Virtual Worlds, Part 2)
4. Chat Bots 101- Artificial Intelligence Optional
5. The Bottom Line- What’s Your Company’s Training Budget?
Here’s to the next 100- thank you to our loyal readers!
Experience Experiential Learning
August 26th, 2009
I hear, and I forget
I see, and I remember
I do, and I understand.
-Ancient Chinese proverb
Following Visual Purple’s tagline of “Understand Everything” I thought it may be fun to detail experiential learning and how it relates to training in a simulation type of environment.
By definition: Experiential Learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience.
There are many different experiential learning models out there. I will outline a few for you here:
David A. Kolb’s on experiential learning
“David A. Kolb (with Roger Fry) created his famous model out of four elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts and testing in new situations. He represented these in the famous experiential learning circle (after Kurt Lewin):
Kolb and Fry (1975) argue that the learning cycle can begin at any one of the four points – and that it should really be approached as a continuous spiral. However, it is suggested that the learning process often begins with a person carrying out a particular action and then seeing the effect of the action in this situation. Following this, the second step is to understand these effects in the particular instance so that if the same action was taken in the same circumstances it would be possible to anticipate what would follow from the action. In this pattern the third step would be understanding the general principle under which the particular instance falls.”
And now for Peter Jarvis on his approach to experiential learning…
“Jarvis (1987, 1995) set out to show that there are a number of responses to the potential learning situation. He used Kolb’s model with a number of different adult groups and asked them to explore it based on their own experience of learning. He was then able to develop a model of which allowed different routes. Some of these are non-learning, some non-reflective learning, and some reflective learning. To see these we need to trace out the trajectories on the diagram he produces.
Non-learning:
Presumption (boxes 1-4). This is where people interact through patterned behavior. Saying hello etc.
Non-consideration (1-4). Here the person does not respond to a potential learning situation.
Rejection (boxes 1-3 to 7 to 9).
Non-reflective:
Pre-conscious (boxes 1-3 to 6 to either 4 or 9). This form occurs to every person as a result of having experiences in daily living that are not really thought about. Skimming across the surface.
Practice (boxes 1-3 to 5 to 8 to 6 to either 4 or 9). Traditionally this has been restricted to things like training for a manual occupation or acquiring particular physical skills. It may also refer to the acquisition of language itself.
Memorization (boxes 1-3 to 6 and possibly 8 to 6 and then either to 4 or 9)
Reflective learning:
Contemplation (boxes 1-3 to 7 to 8 to 6 to 9). Here the person considers it and makes an intellectual decision about it.
Reflective practice (boxes 1-3 (to 5) to 7 to 5 to 6 to 9). This is close to what Schön describes as reflection on and in action.
Experiential learning (boxes 1-3 to 7 to 5 to 7 to 8 to 6 to 9). The way in which pragmatic knowledge may be learned.”
Product Line Ties in Virtual Worlds
August 24th, 2009
The Second Life business directory lists more than 1,200 presently in Second Life- but what are the real benefits for these businesses? Some research has shown that virtual world users tend to spend less money on real items that are sold in VW’s, and more money on virtual items instead (clothing for avatar, etc.). Interesting…
Many virtual worlds are tied to product lines, for example: BarbieGirls (Mattel), Club Penguin (Disney), and Virtual MTV (MTV)…just to name a few. As an example, vMTV allows the player to visit the Pepsi lounge or decorate their own “crib” or even meet favorite stars… To throw out some numbers, Club Penguin has 28 million users (all mostly under the age of 15)!
So to go further in-depth on this subject let’s examine why progressive companies enter virtual worlds for marketing and branding purposes?
-To gain an understanding of virtual world culture
-Technology
-To establish a ‘virtual’ brand name
-Presence
-Product innovation
-Closely couple market research with customers
-Communicate with decision-makers/ collaboration
Many companies continue to venture into (and out of) Second Life, for example Dell, Unilever, Wells Fargo, Nike, and BMW are all companies that have given Second Life a whirl. Perhaps the more talked about company in the last month or so has been Amazon due to their recent Second Life job fair. A handful of companies are utilizing Second Life for recruitment purposes, Amazon’s recent job fair in Second Life is a prime example of a virtual world business use case success. We are now beginning to see more Fortune 1000’s jumping on the SL bandwagon (along with other virtual world platform providers’ bandwagons). Here’s to the future of virtual world corporate success!
A few months back I touched on specific brand presence in Second Life, click here to review the blog entry.
Speaking of Virtual Worlds…(Week of August 17-21)
August 21st, 2009
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
Virtual Worlds May Act Like Developing Economies
Linden Lab launches Avaline
SL Over the “Hump” of Corporate Doubt?
Gartner: Virtual Worlds, a Long-Term Play
Travel Industry to See Potential Gains from Virtual Worlds
Top 5 Learning Technologies for 2009- Are We Still on Track?
August 20th, 2009
Earlier this year Chief Learning Officer magazine published the top 5 learning technologies for 2009. Of the 5 I still think that virtual worlds and games/ simulations are at the top of my list.
1. Mobile learning
2. Do-it-yourself (DIY) learning
3. Flexible learning environments
4. Virtual worlds
5. Games and simulations
Serious Games-The Next Big Thing?
August 19th, 2009
By Ed Heinbockel, President and CEO, Visual Purple, LLC
Are games being taken seriously enough? For one reason or another, often the term ‘serious game’ results in negative stereotypes. But why? Perhaps more often than not simply for the term ‘game’ in the title. But serious games really can prove themselves as providing real learning and training value. In a “serious game,” training and education are the primary goals. Military simulations are among the more well known types of ‘serious games’. Of course there are a variety of serious games that are unrelated to military fields.
What do serious games bring to the table? Active involvement, relevance to the real world, increase in retention rates, the ability to practice and learn complex tasks in a safe environment, engagement of learners and improved performance (to name a few). Serious games offer a value beyond entertainment and are an extremely powerful training tool.
Will corporate America be the next to take on serious games as part of the training mix? With more and more organizations turning to the serious types of learning that actively involve the training, serious games just might be the next big thing (aside from sliced bread of course).
Is There a Blur Between Virtual Worlds, Games and Simulations?
August 17th, 2009
I recently attended a webinar put on by Training Magazine Network featuring Clark Aldrich on “The Unifying View of Highly Interactive Virtual Environment (HIVE) Learning.” I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the key take aways for those that were not in attendance.
One of the first questions that Clark asked was: “What is the relationship between virtual worlds, games and simulations and when should each be used?” This resulted in some confusion, and even led to further confusion when screen shots were presented. Clark would show a screen shot of a virtual world, game, or simulation and each attendee would enter a text response as to what they thought the screen shot represented. For the most part participants were able to differentiate each one (but note there still were a few confused people out there) and I must admit even one of those screen shots made me scratch my head. Why? It was just a pool with a float in it and 2 lounge chairs beside it. What did this represent? (Where I would rather be, well, yes). But back to the topic at hand: Was it an image from a virtual world, game or simulation? Mr. Aldrich further went on to explain that it could be any of the three depending upon what elements were added in. For example, if you added a volleyball net and some people playing volleyball it would be conceived as a game. However, if one added in a lifeguard then it may be represented as a possible training simulation. So you get the point. Each has its own unique attributes that define it. They are interconnected to some degree (each are unique but similar to one another).
Educational simulations=Less flexibility
Virtual worlds=More flexibility
But this circles the question: How big is the blur between these (virtual worlds, games and simulations) and what specific attributes define each? Well let me highlight some defining features of virtual worlds that were brought up in the webinar:
-Synthetic
-Ability to interact with objects
-Own set of rules
A few metrics outlined to evaluate success in a virtual world:
-Involvement/ engagement
-Learning
-Performance of tasks
-Navigation
-Retention
Clark Aldrich also suggests that: All environments should have self-paced introductory levels: Utilization of a light game to get the user comfortable with the environment. A lot of organizations are so focused on investing in expensive virtual world platforms that they forget that content is key (and this holds true with all training)! Also, he is seeing a transition occurring from the age of linear content to the age of dynamic content.
Speaking of Virtual Worlds… (Week of August 10-14)
August 14th, 2009
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
New 3D Virtual Body Double To Benefit Rhinoplastic Surgeons
Under New Rules, Obama Avatars (and lots of other stuff) Will Disappear from Second Life
Report Outlines Enterprise Uses of 3D Spaces
Brands Under the Hammer in Second Life
IRS Saves Millions by Using Second Life to Market Its Employment Opportunities
Results From Spring Brainstorm on Choosing Immersive Technology