Learning by Doing


Book Description

Designed for learning professionals and drawing on both game creators and instructional designers, Learning by Doing explains how to select, research, build, sell, deploy, and measure the right type of educational simulation for the right situation. It covers simple approaches that use basic or no technology through projects on the scale of computer games and flight simulators. The book role models content as well, written accessibly with humor, precision, interactivity, and lots of pictures. Many will also find it a useful tool to improve communication between themselves and their customers, employees, sponsors, and colleagues. As John Coné, former chief learning officer of Dell Computers, suggests, “Anyone who wants to lead or even succeed in our profession would do well to read this book.”




The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games


Book Description

"Ready to blow your mind? Spend 15 seconds reading Clark Aldrich's The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games. Witty, fast-paced, and non-linear -- it's Spock meets Alton Brown." -- Lynne Kenney, Psy.D., The Family Coach This exciting work offers designers a new way to see the world, model it, and present it through simulations. A groundbreaking resource, it includes a wealth of new tools and terms and a corresponding style guide to help understand them. The author -- a globally recognized industry guru -- covers topics such as virtual experiences, games, simulations, educational simulations, social impact games, practiceware, game-based learning/digital game based learning, immersive learning, and serious games. This book is the first of its kind to present definitions of more than 600 simulation and game terms, concepts, and constructs.




Engaging Learning


Book Description

Learning is at its best when it is goal-oriented, contextual, interesting, challenging, and interactive. These same winning characteristics also define the best computer games, which suggests that the most effective learning experiences are also engaging. Learning can and should be hard fun! The challenge is to get in touch with what it takes to design learning experiences that will excite your audience. Engaging Learning offers a much-needed guide for training professionals who want to create learning programs that are both effective and engaging. Clark N. Quinn Learning, a system designer, presents a unique framework for systematically aligning the key elements of learning and engagement with a proven design process for e-learning games. This nuts-and-bolts guide, which is both research-based and grounded in experience, offers the tools needed to transform learning experiences from humdrum to fun.










The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games


Book Description

The first computer simulation book for anyone designing or building a game Answering the growing demand for a book catered for those who design, develop, or use simulations and games this book teaches you exactly what you need to know in order to understand the simulations you build or use all without having to earn another degree. Organized into three parts, this informative book first defines computer simulations and describes how they are different from live-action and paper-based simulations. The second section builds upon the previous, with coverage of the technical details of simulations, a detailed description of how models are built, and an explanation of how those models are translated into simulations. Finally, the last section develops four examples that walk you through the process from model to finished and functional simulation, all of which are created using freely available software and all of which can be downloaded. Targets anyone interested in learning about the inner workings of a simulation or game, but may not necessarily be a programmer or scientist Offers technical details on what simulations are and how they are built without overwhelming you with intricate jargon Breaks down simulation vs. modeling and traditional vs. computer simulations Examines verification and validation and discusses simulation tools Whether you need to learn how simulations work or it's something you've always been curious about but couldn't find the right resource, look no further. The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games is the ideal book for getting a solid understanding of this fascinating subject.










Business Simulations, Games, and Experiential Learning in International Business Education


Book Description

If you find traditional lectures and course material ineffective for teaching students how to develop a sensitivity to cultural differences and apply “home grown” technologies to foreign situations, Business Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning in International Business Education is the guide to help you remedy this predicament! Helpful and easy-to-use, this text teaches you how to use computer-based games and experiential learning exercises to teach international business. You’ll learn how to place students in realistic situations where they can experiment with new behaviors and receive immediate, constructive feedback and then take what they have learned beyond the classroom. Business Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning in International Business Education helps you introduce students to global competition and business cultures as you explore important ethical, political, and social issues with them. You can better prepare your students for the challenges of international business if you pay particular attention to the book’s discussions of: different levels of power-sharing alternatives to traditional international business course materials and methods changing the norms and behaviors of organizations and institutions the role gender plays in effective gaming environments simulating a European Works Council within a classroom environment promoting decisionmaking and flexibility in management style understanding business rules and regulations of different countries Academics teaching and researching in international business will find Business Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning in International Business Education an immensely useful tool as you struggle with the challenges of readying students for the international work environment. As you know, it is not enough that students be schooled in the latest developments and technologies. Use this book’s games and learning techniques to emphasize to your students that international businessmen and women must not only know their field, but also be respectful of others’cultures and values, be linguistically flexible, and be aware of foreign business rules and regulations.




Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulations


Book Description

At a time when scientific and technological competence is vital to the nation's future, the weak performance of U.S. students in science reflects the uneven quality of current science education. Although young children come to school with innate curiosity and intuitive ideas about the world around them, science classes rarely tap this potential. Many experts have called for a new approach to science education, based on recent and ongoing research on teaching and learning. In this approach, simulations and games could play a significant role by addressing many goals and mechanisms for learning science: the motivation to learn science, conceptual understanding, science process skills, understanding of the nature of science, scientific discourse and argumentation, and identification with science and science learning. To explore this potential, Learning Science: Computer Games, Simulations, and Education, reviews the available research on learning science through interaction with digital simulations and games. It considers the potential of digital games and simulations to contribute to learning science in schools, in informal out-of-school settings, and everyday life. The book also identifies the areas in which more research and research-based development is needed to fully capitalize on this potential. Learning Science will guide academic researchers; developers, publishers, and entrepreneurs from the digital simulation and gaming community; and education practitioners and policy makers toward the formation of research and development partnerships that will facilitate rich intellectual collaboration. Industry, government agencies and foundations will play a significant role through start-up and ongoing support to ensure that digital games and simulations will not only excite and entertain, but also motivate and educate.