1. Games-Based Learning Some Initial Findings

2. Blood, Guts and Violence. Negative publicity about Games hides many potential benefits IT Admins established practice = discourage games on the network But what is the interest of today’s (and tomorrow’s) learners in games? PewDiePie YouTube Channel = 26m subscribers = highest subscribed channel in the world … all he does is record himself playing video games and narrating in his Swedish accent

3. The “market” is already well developed in certain sectors …less well in others Poses challenges to Colleges – but also provides advantages over Schools/Universities

4. The benefits: Introduction to Industries/Careers Simulation / Active Learning Functional Skills / Independent Learning Teamwork / Communication Decision Making / Prioritisation “Natural” Learning platform for today’s generation Mostly off the shelf except for customised development and sandboxes

5. The Issues: Matching product with requirement Development time / Customisation Engaging interest Costs – better hardware? Lock-down and security, firewalls, games written for consumer, not roaming profile, environment

6. Added term: Gamification In the old days we would be given stickers/symbols for good work and achievement Fast forward – today we have ‘Gamification’ of work-place processes to recognise and reward good performance Can be applied to learning and teaching even in non-ICT activities

7. Professional Simulation / Serious Games At the top of the market Specialist games commissioned by companies/organisations Use modern game engines and mechanics Likely to be expensive for non-industry providers Used for customised training for specialist industry or corporate needs Border over into areas of pure simulation where the premise is to recreate as accurately as possible real-world scenarios

8. Enthusiast “Serious” Games Complex simulations which require a high degree of commitment to play Time consuming But can provide the greatest level of skill / knowledge development in comparison to more consumerised ‘action’ games Example include Eve Online

9. Education Simulation and Training Games For the most part, targeted specifically at age groups and skill sets Unlikely to be very modern in approach or ‘glamorous’ as the market is a lot smaller Abundantly available for Schools, less so for Colleges Very little in the way of FE specific content

10. Commercial Off-The-Shelf Games Quality of course a lot better than many educational games Often harder to match to curriculum requirements However, an increasing range of simulations and other game genres which provide useful generic skills Could be easily utilised for introductory material to a sector / area of study

11. Multiplayer / Online Games Extremely important for a number of skills Merits a separate discussion

12. Mobile Games About the lowest level in terms of complexity Some really useful apps aimed at the niche areas Functional Skills in particular

13. Sandbox Environments Minecraft is a prime example Very high potential for adaptation and customisation Best use cases in US Schools Second Life, now a dated example

14. Some Approaches to Implement Evaluate what’s out there by collecting and sorting games, simulations, and related products Evaluate phases and levels of learning throughout the student journey where games could slot in - vocational, functional and cognitive skills areas Do a student survey – gauge interest in for example a Games Club/Clan/eSports league

15. Conclusion Learning needs to be more interactive than it is currently. An online quiz is hardly engaging. This is (for me) a new area which is ‘uncharted’ and requires work to promote eLearning, the Mobile, the App, the Social Network are now established tools for “learning” but… …games are actually a more established learning tools which need to be modernised. IT Managers should be aware and promoting

16. Conclusion 2 I got an Oculus Rift Development Kit Go and play with it! Don’t blame me if you get motion sickness! Dev Kit 2 out in June = better resolution, low persistence OLED display, better sensors, less risk of motion sickness Kudos to first IT Manager who gets his management to buy a trolley-load