Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders

Immersive Learning Simulations

Podcast Video | Posted by Phil Leigh on September 1, 2007

If you would like to learn how serious multi-player online games, (Immersive Learning Simulations) can provide productive learning experiences for management, this interview is for you.

Our guest today is Steve Wexler who is the Director of Research for the eLearning Guild. Earlier this year he, and his co-authors, completed a research report on the value of computerized Immersive Learning Simulations.

Last year Wired Magazine ran a story about a man who had applied for an engineering management position at Yahoo!. He was a strong contender and clearly in the running. But he had one qualification that may have given him a decisive edge: He was one of the top guild masters in the online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

As explained in Wired:

“Gaming tends to be regarded as a harmless diversion at best, a vile corruptor of youth at worst. But the usual critiques fail to recognize its potential for experiential learning. Unlike education acquired through textbooks, lectures, and classroom instruction, what takes place in massively multiplayer online games is what we call accidental learning. It’s learning to be - a natural byproduct of adjusting to a new culture - as opposed to learning about. Where traditional learning is based on the execution of carefully graded challenges, accidental learning relies on failure. Virtual environments are safe platforms for trial and error. The chance of failure is high, but the cost is low and the lessons learned are immediate”.

To better understand how serious multi-player games can be important learning tools, we contacted the Research Director at the eLearning Guild and discussed their recent report on Immersive Learning Simulations.

Length: This video interview is covered in about 23 minutes.