Chief Learning Officer - February 2008 - (Page 37)

tactics Having revolutionized entertainment, video games are now about to upend corporate learning. From their start in arcade parlors in the 1970s, video games have grown into a multibillion dollar industry that has surpassed Hollywood movies in revenues. Moreover, in the past 10 years, they have moved out of entertainment and into development and learning. The military was among the first to harness these “mindless toys” for serious purposes. Faced with a recruiting crisis in the late 1990s, the U.S. Army was forced to rethink its methods for attracting, developing and retaining a new generation of soldiers. It took the radical step of meeting the next generation in their world. The military has used interactive multimedia technology — a natural outgrowth of war games and strategic planning — to create advanced immersive virtual environments such as America’s Army, a recruiting game to test troops in limitless real-world scenarios. Figure 1: Top 10* Learnings From Purely Entertainment Video Games 45% Critical thinking, strategy, complex problem solving 26% Role-playing in story/world, learning to observe surroundings 24% Relieve (or create) stress 23% Coordination, reflex improvement 20% Emotional training, patience, positive attitude, perseverance 19% Collaboration, teamwork, working with diversity, leadership 18% Cognitive training, keeps you on your feet, sharp 18% Content skills, sports program requirements, sports strategy 18% Creative thinking, imagination, outside-the-box 9% Basic skills, time management, attention to details, typing *By percentage of responses in an open-ended question Source: QuestG, 2007 Today, the video game generation has fully entered the workforce, but only a few corporations have embraced games and other interactive media and collaborative technologies to win the engagement of this new generation of workers. However, unrelenting pressures to improve productivity and performance, combined with this fundamentally different technology and the new mix of skills and attitudes of this next generation of workers, portends powerful shifts in how businesses will be managed and run. The next generation of workers enters the workplace with capabilities tailor-made for global teams, collaboration and making a difference, but is also saddled with some wellknown weaknesses in communication and basic business skills. Planting them in traditional classroom settings or requiring them to click on the “next” button of “interactive” e-learning will be neither cost nor time effective, let alone inspiring. UPS found that it took three times longer to train new hires under the age of 25 in the basics of its business using traditional learning tools. This generation is wired differently, and training approaches, tools and techniques must be adapted to how they learn. Yet, some corporations have been reluctant to take even baby steps into this new world of learning tools. Despite their considerable promise, misperceptions about the cost and complexity of implementation, along with kneejerk resistance to innovation, have impeded their adoption. Yet, the cost and complexity of video game development has reduced dramatically in just a few years. An immersive 3-D learning application that took years and millions of dollars to develop not long ago can be built today in just 90 to 120 days for a few hundred thousand dollars. Less cutting-edge but still effective 2-D games can be built even more quickly and cheaply. The pedagogy of video games was first broadly explored by James Paul Gee, professor of literacy studies at Arizona State University. What caught his interest was how effective games seemed to be as a teaching tool, even though they were not created for that purpose. There was no academic body of knowledge about learning guiding their design. Some of the enticing principles of video game pedagogy uncovered by Gee are shown in Figure 3 (on page 40). How Video Games Support Learning Video games have a place in the corporate learning landscape, but like any other tool, they must be used properly. When developed with sound pedagogical design, they create an immersive, engaging experience that can develop skills and new behaviors. And they are particularly attractive to next-generation workers. There are many different video game genres, and most have direct application in business. While single genres can be used, the best pedagogical 37 February 2008 Multiple Genres, Multiple Business Applications I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer Today, the video game generation has fully entered the workforce, but only a few corporations have embraced games and other interactive media. http://www.clomedia.com

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Chief Learning Officer - February 2008 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Business Impact Trends Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial Learning Solutions Home Depot: Building Better Associates CLO Profile Environment Realizing the Vision of “One Philips” Tactics Sun Microsystems’ Next-Generation Worker Video Game Recruiting Tool Productivity The Regence Group: Blended Measurement Human Capital NASA: A Case Study in Technical Leadership Development Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - February 2008

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