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
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.
The impact of technology to education and learning applications is far too great to sum up in a blog entry. But I did want to take a moment and review how far learning technology has come over the years. The impact of learning technologies (also called “educational technology”) has increased dramatically over the past decade. In fact, innovative types of learning are on the forefront of teaching and training today. Utilizing computers in our everyday activities, both for work and pleasure is now common place thus making computer-based learning technology a clear go-to choice for today’s teaching and training needs no matter the organization or content.
Learning technology has greatly enhanced the learning experience, with more immersive (read compelling) experiences to come. Riding the bow wave of Virtual Worlds, today’s learner is able to enjoy a heightened and almost visceral participation in content. Not to mention all the cool distance learning (DL) aspects but this time done right: immerse, engage…change the way people think! Teaching in Second Life is but a hint of the slowly building evolution, come revolution, in learning technology.
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