The following are my notes from a session at Virtual Worlds London...apologies for the sketchiness, I was taking notes live.
Dr. Sara de Freitas, Director of Research
SGI (Serious Games Institute)Coventry University Technology Park
Trends
- by 2011 80% of all active internet users will have an avatar (Gartner)
- currently 80 vws, next year another 100, (100+ aimed at kids)
- studies demonstrating the efficacy of serious games for training
- wide uptake of social software (eg, facebook, wikipedia)
- lines between vws, games and social software are blurring
How can you use virtual worlds in business?
- support b2b collaboration and communication
- meet with customers remotely located
- provide training for sales staff
- provide mentoring and support staff
Demos:
*Business Nexus Island (SL)
*New hire orientation on OLIVE
Spending on Gaming:
by 2011, $12.5 billion US, $48.9 billion Global
Demo of serious game:
Triage
***Data shows significant difference in learning between traditional learning and game play
"New" research on efficacy
Edgar Dale, Cone of Learning (Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching (3rd Edition) Holt
Chi et al 1989
Strengths of virtual worlds for learning:
- accelerated learning
- engagement
- motivation
- role-plays
- rehearsal
- longevity of learning
- experiential/exploratory learning
Will Virtual Worlds change how we do business?
Example:
*Virtual Philadelphia
KO commentary:
I thought this was the best session I attended. One reason, it wasn't a panel. Another, it focused on learning and research, and let's face it...that's my thing. I think the opportunity for data and case studies emerging in the next 6 months that demonstrate superior learning outcomes in these types of training programs is all but guaranteed. Once these outcomes have been proven, the future of enterprise learning will change forever.
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