I often take for granted that readers of the blog and our customers know the different types of roles available through Visual Purple’s training simulations. It wasn’t until we re-crafted our website text that I began to realize we had never really spelled it out publicly. So here it is officially on the blog and also showcased on our newly designed website.
An often-overlooked critical aspect of simulation training is the best manner in which to train: individual or collectively. Visual Purple offers three modes:
1) Single Player, Single Role – The trainee will always play one role; synchronous interaction with live players not supported or desirable due to intelligent simulation world.
Available: Decision-Based, Virtual World, Hybrid, Embedded
2) Single Player, Multi-Role– The trainee may select from available roles and play the simulation from the unique perspective afforded by that role; synchronous interaction with live players is not supported or desirable due to intelligent nature of simulation world. Expect longer production time than single player, single role simulations but per role production time and costs will be lower.
Available: Decision-Based, Virtual World, Hybrid, Embedded
3) Multiplayer– Playable by several trainees at the same time with the ability to choose from a variety of different roles. Live interaction supported for collective training but not required through use of intelligent Non-Player Characters (NPCs) that fill-in for trainees that may not be able to participate as expected. In other words, the training can always occur if even only one trainee shows up. Expect increased production costs to craft and support a custom, intelligent persistent virtual world.
Available: Virtual World
Not that my 94 year old Grandpa is going to start playing Xbox anytime soon, but according to this particular survey gamers are an average of 34 years of age. So my point is that training departments can’t be naysayers about how the generation that works for them currently wouldn’t be interested in a video game since they aren’t hiring teenagers. In addition the study found that 40% of gamers were female and more than two-thirds of US households play video games. If you would like to see more statistics from the study, click here.
It’s no mystery that the human race always relates to other people better when they know them or have had more of an introduction to a person. That’s why movies spend quite a bit of time developing the storyline and characters, before jumping in to the “edge of your seat adventure”…well, the same holds true in simulation development. The trainee is better able to relate to the training program when the storyline and character development are presented in an in-depth matter rather than just seeing “Joe Schmoe” walking around the environment. Not only is character development an important factor in simulation design, but also realistic looking and acting characters are crucial to simulations replicating all of the complexities that the real world offers. Believe it or not…When developing simulations each character’s move is purposefully planned out by the developer- a simulation just doesn’t randomly have a person raise their hand for no apparent reason. I believe that the feeling of immersion and realness are the keys to drawing people in and making training stick.
I briefly introduced our latest and greatest technology, what we call “Hybrid Simulations” a few months back on the blog. Now I am pleased to say that we have an in-depth whitepaper available for download, click here to visit our home page.
A little more about what Hybrid Simulations are: Think of it as integrating decision-based elements within virtual worlds (and taking the best of each training type). Thus allowing for a lower cost solution with reduced development time to making it enticing to a variety of organization types, large and small.
With the new website design launch we decided it was time to give the Visual Purple blog a new look too, so welcome to our fresh new looks for 2011. Since beginning the Immersive Training Insights blog over two years ago we have delved into many topics from social media to virtual world training, intelligent avatars and serious games. We look forward to providing you with many more insightful blog posts and welcome hearing your comments. And remember that with a new year it may be a good time to look into new training opportunities for your organization, contact us – we’d love to help you save money and increase training retention!
In the past few weeks I have noticed a buzz word going around… “GAMIFICATION”. The name itself piqued my interest so I decided to go out and learn what it was all about. Here is a brief synopsis of what I learned.
Wikipedia defines Gamification as:
Gamification is the use of game play mechanics for non-game applications (also known as “funware“), particularly consumer-oriented web and mobile sites, in order to encourage people to adopt the applications. It also strives to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in connection with the applications. Gamification works by making technology more engaging, and by encouraging desired behaviors, taking advantage of humans’ psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. The technique can encourage people to perform chores that they ordinarily consider boring, such as completing surveys, shopping, or reading web sites.
Gamification.org is a fast growing website that devotes all of its content to the subject, from game design to game psychology and everything in between.
You also might enjoy watching a video on Gamification from YouTube instead of just reading about it?
Gamification on YouTube
We’ve been working behind the scenes updating our website to a more simplified format, although we thought Flash was pretty cool we decided it was time for a fresh website look to mirror our expanding hat trick of capabilities. We have some interesting projects with new technology in play that we’ll be announcing in the near future and the re-design of the website is an important step in the process. Click here to take a look around.
With the new site design we have also highlighted the newest training type that we offer called “Hybrid Simulations”. We are also excited to show off the latest and greatest technology that we offer, called “F.I.S.T” which stands for FloChart Integration System Technology.
I had to laugh when I wrote the title of this blog post. It’s something that I have thought for a long time, but recently there has been a buzz about this on TV and the Internet. So here I am to prove it to you and then you can pass it along to other non-believers…CNN recently published an article by Scott Steinberg entitled “How video games can make you smarter” in the article, Steinberg outlines that the interactivity of video games help your intelligence. Backing up the article is one study from Loyalist College which showed that students playing a simulation saw test scores jump from 56% to 95%. And not to mention Directory of Duke University’s Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, Dr. Jeffrey Taekman stating that “Serious games and virtual environments are the future of education.”
The key take-aways (just as I have been preaching) are:
-Build brain cells by requiring extensive problem solving, dynamic decision-making skills and teamwork.
-Encourage players’ confidence
-Hands-on experience
-Job training
-Contextual learning
-Teamwork and collaboration
So there you have it, I hope I have made a believer of you now.
Rear Admiral Randy Mahr from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) recently posted a blog entry on virtual worlds. While we have seen some RFP’s and dealt with some other military specific virtual worlds it seems like it has been a long road to go down to see traction that virtual worlds so deserve. So I was pleased to hear RDML Randy Mahr’s thoughts on the subject. Looking at virtual worlds to improve their training systems, albeit Second Life but nevertheless it’s a virtual world, right? According to the Rear Admiral “While this type of “real” training is valuable, for some recruits the shock of experiencing the events can sometimes slow the learning process down. Using a virtual world to pre-immerse and familiarize the recruits holds the prospect of having them better prepared, and helping them get more out of the event.”
Mahr goes on to state: “Before we get too excited we need to acknowledge there are problems we’ll need to overcome. Our existing security firewalls and the NMCI system are not designed to permit this type of virtual interaction. We’ll need to overcome the perception that the virtual world is for “gamer”’ only, just like we finally accepted search engines were powerful tools used by everyone for things other than shopping online. (Did you realize that over 1500 colleges and universities, including Harvard, are already using virtual world technology to deliver some of their education for credit?)
Finally, we’ll need to further bridge the digital divide between the generation that has grown up fully immersed in electronic technology, and the generation that is still making the decisions about where to invest our budget.”
Urghh the firewall thing again, I just hate when that comes up (but we have found solutions to that problem). In my opinion virtual worlds are a big step in the right direction to train our future military personnel.
All too often a client gets confused with all of the different types of training available, from E-Learning to CBT and Decision-Based simulations to Virtual Worlds (and now Hybrid Simulations)… the possibilities just seem endless. For those unfamiliar with the different styles of training available on the market today the task of choosing the right training method can be daunting. In the end it all comes down to utilizing the right tool to get the job done, in the most cost efficient and timely matter.
Let me highlight a few differentiating factors that an organization should consider when looking into employing a new type of training, you’ll notice that Visual Purple offers checkmarks in all of the below boxes.
• Highly interactive
• 3D
• Intelligent World – trainees don’t have the luxury to just ‘play’
• Compelling storyline
• Character development and quests
• After Action reviews
• Aptitude screening
• Realistic scenarios
• LMS reporting
• Reduced cost
• Short development time
• Easily updateable
• Reference documents
The obvious choice here is a modern approach to workforce training whereby an organization can cost effectively build an efficient training tool that is proven!
