Learning Online with Games, Simulations and Virtual Worlds

When I read the Amazon email advertising Clark Aldrich’s new book, I thought it sounded like the perfect way to kick off my independent study on immersive Learning, especially since I had just picked up the textbook he co-edited, Games And Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks, and noted that it was chock full of tables and statistics.

I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed in the book. In addition to providing an overview of different types of what he calls HIVES (Highly Interactive Virtual Environments), he offers very practical guidelines for choosing, implementing and “selling” the right HIVE strategy to senior management and participants. Even though his approach is straightforward, he doesn’t just present a list of shoulds and oughts. Rather he encourages readers to make their own decisions about issues such as determining how much support to provide participants during a session. I was impressed that Aldrich seems more concerned with making sure that people make thoughtful choices rather than pushing a specific agenda.

The book is divided into three sections. In “What are HIVES and why should I care?”, Aldrich discusses each aspect of the four elements that constitute a HIVE: 1) Simulation, 2) Game, 3) Pedagogical, and 4) Tasks and Levels. He then differentiates between virtual labs, frame games, branching stories, interactive stories , practiceware and mini-games. He also brings to light a number of participant behaviors that should be addressed like “back channel chatting” and the threshold to quit (i.e., How do you strike a balance between challenge and anxiety so that the participant moves smoothly between moments of frustration that characterize the early moments of learning and resolution?)

Part 2, “ Choosing and Using a Highly Interactive Environment”, centers on identifying the right HIVE for a particular issue and understanding what ‘s involved in selecting a HIVE. He then talks about piloting and deploying the HIVE, paying attention to the preparation and materials needed to make the deployment a success. He ends with offering a number of evaluation strategies that should be taken into consideration once the HIVE has been deployed.
Part 3 is a short but offers very useful advice on how to sell a HIVE to Management. I found myself sketching my own strategy while reading it.

My appetite has now been sufficiently whetted and I’m not only ready to dive into more materials but am already itching to design and implement my own HIVE.