The Use of Game-Based Learning in the Military

 

        We’ve learned that game-based learning is highly beneficial and motivational in a school setting.  With the vast influx of technology, classrooms of the not too-distant-future are expected to rely more and more on learning via digital means.  Schools are not the only institutions taking advantage of the motivational and memorable benefits of game-based learning.  Each year, the United States Military has the responsibility of recruiting and training new soldiers to fill the ranks of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.   The US Military has been on the cutting edge of digital technology for many years, so it’s no wonder that they use game-based learning as a tool to lure recruits and train new soldiers.  In fact,” the US Military is the world’s largest spender on, and user of, digital game-based learning” (Prensky).

                  Each year the US Military is responsible for training 2.4 million serving men and woman, and over 1 million civilians, with a high turnover rate. These people are trained in 150 military jobs with thousands of occupational specialties and subspecialties.  The majority of new soldiers entering the military are usually high school graduates or non-graduates who have never been in a real work setting before.  It is crucial that they are properly trained and game-based learning one of the highly effective ways that the US Military makes sure its new recruits receive knowledge (Prensky). 

                  The US Military uses game-based learning to train all military personnel to master the expensive equipment that they will use in their specific jobs.  They use games to train commanders to efficiently communicate with their troops while in battle. Games are used to train other officers to graduate from tactical to strategic thinking.  Games also help to teach teamwork, and simulate weaponry response and battle scenarios.  The military even uses gaming to teach troops how not to fight when helping to maintain peace (Prensky).

Photo Provided By: The U.S. Army

       War games have always been used by different militaries. Perhaps the most extensive in the 19th use was by the Prussian Army, which invented a board game that’s still in use today.  The military also invented flight simulators in the 1930s and they have been expanded to all kinds of simulated equipment like tanks and submarines. Currently, the US Army has a game designed to entice possible recruits called “America’s Army.”  This program allows players to simulate the use of different weapons in different combat scenarios. Another program that is widely used by the military for Joint Task Force operations is called “Joint Force Employment.”  This program simulates the actions of thousands of individuals participating in various operations up to a national level (Prensky). 

                  The use of game-based learning in the US Military is the perfect fit for young men and women joining its forces.  These new recruits are digital natives who have grown up used to technology.  Game-based learning gives soldiers and their commander’s instant feedback and saves the military money and lives.

                   

                                                                                         

                     Sources

Prensky, Marc.  Digital Game-Based Learning. True Believers:Digital Game-Based Learning in The Military (McGraw-Hill, 2001). Chapter 10.