August 12 & 13, 2010
Incorporating Games & Gaming Techniques
into Your e-Learning
202
Practice Makes Perfect:
How Games and Simulations
Improve Adult Learning
Rose Pilgrim & Rob Van Hyfte, Centrax Corp.
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Practice Makes Perfect
How Games and Simulations
Improve Adult Learning
1
Practice Makes Perfect
 Rob Van Hyfte
• Centrax Corp.
• Instructional Designer/Project
Manager
 Rose Pilgrim
• Centrax Corp.
• Instructional Designer/Project
Manager
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 1
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Wheel of Fortune
Poll
 What types of games do you play?
•Educational games in work-related training
•Kids games (with them, of course)
•Virtual worlds (can’t stop playing World of Warcraft)
•Video games (Pac-Man rules)
•Mobile games (have a BlackBerry habit)
•All of the above
4
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 2
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Topics
• Different types of games
and simulations
• How playing games
effects the brain
• When practice fits to
augment learning
• How games and simulations
can facilitate transfer
• Design criteria for
educational games
• How businesses are using
games and simulations
• What positive impact games
have on training and business
How games affect the brain
 Elicit emotional response
•required for brain to release chemicals that make
creating a memory possible
•emotional link makes memory easier to recall
 Like real world learning
•watching and doing
•failing
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 3
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Why games are good learning tools
 Intrinsic Learning Motivations
• Malone and Lepper
• Challenge
• promote perception of personal competence
• promote learner self-esteem
• Curiosity
• innate human desire for completeness, consistency,
parsimony
• Control
• innate human desire to strive for competence and selfdetermination
Why games are good learning tools
•Fantasy
• Emotional component
−satisfaction of power, success fame, fortune
−improve memory
• Cognitive component
−Analogy or metaphor
• provide learner with opportunity to apply previous
experience, then apply to real-world
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 4
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How can mass be used to identify?
Goal: To purchase a
bag of peanuts for
$0.55
 You have 15.290g of coins in your pockets
 Do you have enough in coins to purchase?
($0.01) Penny= 2.500g
($0.05) Nickel = 3.950
($0.10) Dime = 2.268g
($0.25) Quarter = 5.670g
9
How can mass be used to identify?
Yes, you can eat because you have:
Weight
Cost
3.950 g
$0.05
 Two Quarters + 5.670 g
+ 5.670 g
Total
15.290 g
+ $0.25
+ $0.25
$0.55
 One nickel
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 5
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Marble game
How games facilitate transfer
 Learning take place in context
• immersive simulations and VW
 Active / critical learning is encouraged
• learner directing how interaction with material
happens
 Encourage people to “think out of the box”
• learn how to problem solve, rather than passively
absorb information
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 6
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How games facilitate transfer
 Involve multiple people
•enhances cooperation as in real-world
 Allow fun practice
•ability to take risks with no real-world consequences
•failure
• acceptable
• part of learning process
 Break away from linear learning
•reading
•PowerPoint
•some eLearning.
How games facilitate transfer
 Engagement can be immersive
•“Learn to do”
•“Learn to or be”
•not “Learn to know”
 Uncover learner misconceptions or superficial
understanding
•Role playing
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 7
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Evacuation Training in Second Life
NEMS (Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys)
16
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 8
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
NEMS Online Training
•Purpose:
• Combat increasing epidemic of adult and childhood
obesity by developing well-defined and reliable tools for
measuring nutrition environments (stores and
restaurants)
•Audience:
• Researchers, community advocates, and leaders
• Use for research and community action
•Won USDLA Bronze Award for Distance Learning
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
NEMS Online Training
Results
 85%
 85%
 85%
 75%
Response*
 rated store simulation 4/5 on 5 point scale
 Confident /Very Confident -ability to
complete NEMS measures in real world
setting
 4 /5 on 5 point scale –How helpful was
the store simulation in preparing for real
world?
 have tentative or definite plans to use
measures
* 101 responses, course live only 3 months to date
18
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 9
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Different types of games and simulations
Educational simulation
Serious games
Frame games
Virtual worlds
Example
Flight simulator
SimCity
Jeopardy!
Second Life
Primary learning goal
Deep skills
Awareness
Review
Primary success criterion
Accuracy
Engagement
Fun and relevance
Increase learner engagement
Review knowledge
• Dynamic content
• Practice critical skills in low risk When to use
environment
• One person
Real‐time community
Immersion
• Interact with community
• Practice skills in low risk environment
• Multiple people
Essential Design Criteria for Educational Games
1. Winning should be based on
 knowledge or skills
 not random factors
Rationale:
When chance factors contribute to winning,
knowledge and effort of other players are devalued
20
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 10
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Essential Design Criteria for Educational Games
2. Game should address important content, not trivia
Rationale:
Game sends messages about what is important in the
class
Essential Design Criteria for Educational Games
3. Dynamics of the game should be easy to understand
and interesting for the players, but not obstruct or distort
learning
Rationale:
 The goal is to provide a practical, yet challenging
exercise
 Added “bells and whistles" should be minimal and fulfill
an important purpose
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 11
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Essential Design Criteria for Educational Games
4. Students should not lose points for wrong answers
Rationale:
Punishing players for errors also punishes their effort and
generates frustration
Essential Design Criteria for Educational Games
5. Games should not be zero-sum exercises
 In zero-sum games, players periodically receive rewards
for game-sanctioned actions, but only one player
achieves an ultimate win
Rationale:
Several students may demonstrate substantial learning but
are not recognized as winners.
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 12
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
Threadneedle: A Leader in Global Investing
 Purpose
•Learn about Threadneedle investment manager and
funds offered
 Audience
•Financial Advisors
 Won Mutual Fund Education Association’s (MFEA) Star
Award for Best Advisor Services, Large Company
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
Threadneedle: A Leader in Global Investing
Results
• Judges comments
• “Wonderful concept!”
• “Very educational, engaging and efficient”
• “Fun and interactive”
• Users enjoyed
• the competition of the game
• the improved the quality of the training
− helping to motivate them to do well
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 13
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How does this align with Essential Design Criteria?
How could we have aligned it more effectively?
Handling Food Complaints
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 14
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
Handling Food Complaints
•Purpose
• Learn how to handle food complaints and identify
problems with food preparation areas
•Audience
• Convenience Store CSRs and Franchise Owners
• Won Brandon Hall’s Bronze Award for Best Custom
Content
How Businesses are Using Games and Simulations
Handling Food Complaints
 Results:
• Client quote:
• "We tracked the impact on performance through
"mystery shop" calls to the stores and saw a 20%
improvement in the knowledge and appropriate
responses of the CSRs.”
− Dan Balzer, ampm US Retail, Training Technology Manager
• Video contains our best user feedback at this point
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 15
Incorporating Games and Gaming Techniques
into your e-Learning
Aug 12 & 13, 2010
Positive Impacts Games/Simulations Have on
Training/Business
 Brainstorming Activity
Resources
 Aldrich, C. (2009). Learning online with games, simulations, and virtual
worlds. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Gee, J.P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and
literacy. New York ,NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
 Gredler, M. E. (1990). Analyzing deep structure in games and simulations.
Simulations/Games for Learning, 20(3), 329–334.
 Malone, T. W., & Lepper, M. R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomy of
intrinsic motivations for learning. In R. E. Snow & M. J. Farr (Eds.), Aptitude,
Learning, and Instruction; vol. 3: Cognitive and Affective Process Analyses
(pp. 223-253). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
 Kapp, K.M., & O'Driscoll, T. (2010). Learning in 3-D. San Fransisco, CA:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Link to free NEMS registration: http://nems.nursing.upenn.edu/
32
Session 202 – Practice Makes Perfect: How Games and Simulations Improve
Adult Learning – Rob Van Hyfte & Rose Pilgrim, Centrax Corp.
Page 16