Game-Based Learning in Industry

So far, in this blog series, I’ve discussed the uses and effectiveness of game-based learning in schools and in the military.  In both of these realms the use of gaming for learning is a perfect match.  School students from preschool through college are digital natives and are, in most cases, familiar and adept with the use of gaming systems.  Today’s new military recruits are also most likely digital natives and many have been gaming for years before joining a chosen military branch.  Gaming provides a cost effective, low-risk, evaluative, and highly engaging way for students and military recruits and personnel to learn information and skills.  This is also why game-based learning has increased in frequency and usage in an industrial setting.

Photo Provided By: Chris Devers

Many employers now use game based learning to recruit and train new employees, and to sharpen the skill sets of existing employees.  Corporations like Aetna Insurance, Cold Stone Creamery, Marriot Hotels, Canon, Cisco Systems and many others are using game-based training, in addition to traditional training methods to teach employees sales techniques, customer service skills, management techniques, and how to use delicate equipment. The healthcare and airline industry are also well-known for using simulators for surgeons to practice difficult operations before performing them and for pilots to train in flight.  A University of Colorado Denver Business school study found that employees trained on video games do jobs better, have higher skills and retain learned information longer than employees trained by traditional methods (UCD Business School).

  Game-based instruction in industry works for many of the same reasons that it works in schools and in the military.  It takes advantage of the use of multiple intelligences, so there’s something that will reach everyone.  Games are engaging and motivating and the learning taking place while playing them is active.  It is easy to weave storytelling into a game.  An example of this would be weaving the history of the corporation, or other information that an employee should know, into game’s storyline. Additionally, gaming provides nearly immediate learning of needed skills (Brink).

The amazing thing about teaching with gaming in industry is that it doesn’t just seem to be the digital natives who benefit from game-based learning.  According to researchers from the 2006 Serious Games Summit, employees of all ages seem to enjoy and benefit from gaming (Brink). Based on the success that it is having so far, chances are that game-based learning in an industrial setting will continue to be a growing trend.

                                                  Sources:

Brink, Laura.  “Game-Based Learning for the Corporate World.” Training Magazine. May 7, 2012. Web

http://www.trainingmag.com/content/game-based-learning-corporate-world

Trybus, Jessica. “Game-Based Learning, What it is, Why it Works and Where it’s Going.” Carnegie Mellon University. Web.

http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html

“Study Shows that Employees Learn Best from Video Games” University of Colorado Denver Newsroom Website. Oct. 19 2010. Web.

http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/newsreleases/Pages/Videogamesmakebetteremployees.aspx