There are many potential exciting, fun, and educational ways to train and inform people.
Through the use of interactivity and simulation, creative methods can be used to engage these people and assist them in understanding the many dynamics that are involved within the industry that interests them.
There are 3 main potential uses of games:
Assessing a students’ ability in order to direct them towards appropriate education
Doing the education itself
Testing the impact of the education
By incorporating gaming into a training program, the users will find their educational experience to be much more enjoyable, and therefore more memorable.
Single player or multi-player?
Online learning games are usually presented to the end user as a single player game. This is often the best solution based on the game’s content, learning objectives, game design, and a project’s budget and timeline, however, it is becoming increasingly feasible and affordable to develop multiplayer games and in some cases, they can be better learning experiences than single player. A well-developed multiplayer game may become both a shared learning experience as well as a social network for end users who are interested in the same topics.
Focus on learning and Fun – Deep Learning
We believe that learners at all stages of life learn more deeply when they are highly engaged with their subject matter, by being voluntarily immersed in it rather than forced to endure it.
Modern immersive tools like simulations, games, and virtual worlds promote Deep Learning and are poised to have the same kind of impact on learning as videos and computers. This is known as deep learning.
Here are some of the reasons why Deep Learning is becoming so powerful in the world of interactive learning:
• Learning by doing: Learners make decisions that have consequences; they actively participate in the worlds they inhabit.
• Learning by experimenting: Learners can safely try multiple solutions, explore, and discover info and skills.
• Life-like learning situations: Virtual worlds can provide environments that respond the same way the real world responds, allowing the learner to transfer knowledge and experience between the two.
• Believing in abilities: Rewards and levels in games foster the belief you can achieve things. This generates a positive attitude towards overcoming obstacles and increases the learner’s success rate.
• Clear objectives: Well-defined game goals allow players to make more progress toward learning objectives.
• Team learning and skills: Multiplayer games allow for group problem solving, collaboration, social interaction, negotiation, etc. Players learn not only from the game, but from each other.
• Learning ’without boundaries’ – Virtual world and game environments naturally transcend barriers of language, geography, race, gender and physical abilities. Players who are self-conscious in real life because they are ’different’ have no way of being set apart online.
Fun!
Learning should be Fun!
Learning games and simulations let people explore and learn about subjects, scenarios, and environments while giving them the freedom to interact with things in new and interesting ways. Learners are challenged according to their age levels, but in ways that are highly engaging and fun. These positive experiences reinforce learning, encourage completion of the material, promote repeat use, and encourage word-of-mouth publicity of the experience.
Offline play and online updates
One of the advantages of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad is that they allow a user to have both offline and online experiences. Once a game or application is on the device (either downloaded or pre-loaded), a game can be designed such that it does not require constant online access. If elements such as high scores, stats reporting, and turn-based multiplayer game play are part of the game, the user can have the option to play while disconnected from a network, then upload their data when re-connected via either the cellular or Wi-Fi network.
