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Why Business Training Games are so effective
There is a great deal of hype around "business training games" and their impact on learning. Is it really going to change training or is this just another flash in the pan?
Business training games are suddenly news. According to recent research business training games will be used for training in most organisations within five years. But it also seems that nobody can agree about much in the field of business training games - including whether that is even the right term to use.
So just what are business training games, and what impact will they have on learning and development?
While games are part of every child's educational experience, the consensus is that business training games refers to the application of games `for primarily non-entertainment purposes', a definition that includes learning.
The phrase business training game is supposed to express this idea of using games for more than just entertainment, but the term raises hackles among many experts in the field. Others suggest that serious is precisely what games shouldn't try to be. Training & Human Resource experts try to be even-handed about the term, but essentially all agree that the word `game' is going to cause trouble with any organisation's board and maybe with the HR department, too.
To shed some light on terminology and the whole field of serious games in a recently completed year-long survey. Corporate Learning Games in Europe polled views from games developers, the learning industry and the corporate marketplace. The corporate respondents apparently saw great potential for games in learning: 100% agreed with the question `Do you see great potential for using games in organisational learning?' and 66% predicted mainstream adoption within five years. As predicted, over 40% thought the perception of games at management level would prevent short term adoption.
Is it hype or happening?
So is this just another example of a love of the new? Are these gaming enthusiasts the same people who predicted in 1999 that e-learning would lead to the death of the classroom in a few short years? A recent survey noted that by 2012 between 100 and 135 of the Global Fortune 500 will have adopted gaming for learning, with the USA, UK and Germany leading the way.
There is substance behind the recent hype. Many organisations are now ready to make a real commitment to games-based learning: We are starting to see a real budgeted appetite for the use of games approaches and technologies.
A new training approach?
While there may be wide uncertainty about the term business training games, there is at least consensus that mainstream organisations are likely to adopt the method for training in the near future.
But have training games had another effect - on expectations? Do users believe that any games or simulation should naturally have high-quality content, and a great deal of interaction? Not always. Apparently context is king.
It seems, then, that business training games are here to stay, and can offer an engaging experience that - in many cases - justifies the outlay. Does that mean that gaming will sweep all before it? Of course not. Training Games are only part of the learning mix: "We should be focusing on what games do well that might have pedagogical relevance. This includes motivation, engagement, interactivity, providing rewards and reinforcement for skill improvement."
In other words we can expect business training games to be an additional, tool in the educational box.
