Table of Contents
Preface vii
The Author x
Part I What Are Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds Really, and Why Should I Care?
1 Understanding Highly Interactive Virtual Environments 3
Do Highly Interactive Virtual Environments Work Better? 4
The "Why" 5
Clarifying What We Mean by Highly Interactive Virtual Environments 6
2 Embracing Interactivity 15
Interactivity Levels 0 through 6 16
Interactivity Levels and Leadership Models 19
3 Sims: A New Model of Content 21
Simulation Elements 22
Game Elements 23
Pedagogical Elements 25
Tasks and Levels 27
Genres of Stand-Alone Sims 29
Four Concluding Thoughts 37
4 Highly Interactive Content from the Students' and the Instructor's Perspective 39
Different Culture, Different Rules 39
Learning to Love Frustration and Anticipate Resolution 40
When the Most Valuable Thing for a Coach to Do Is Nothing 42
part II Choosing and Using a Highly Interactive Virtual Environment
5 Identifying the Right Approach for the Right Need 47
Why Use Distance Learning Programs at All? 48
When to Use Highly Interactive Content 49
Costs Associated with HIVEs 53
6 Doing the Prep Work 55
Connect with Other Interested Professionals 55
Access the Content 55
Infrastructure Selection Criteria 63
Content Selection Criteria 66
Self-Paced/Single Player, Asynchronous, or Synchronous 69
Trust 71
Might Virtual Worlds Be the Universal Interface to (Other) Sims? 71
7 Integrating and Piloting 75
Technical Support for Students 75
Chunking Content 76
Piloting 81
Conclusion: The Need for Front Loading 83
8 A Brief Example of a Simulation Deployment 85
Peter Shea's Sim for Writing 85
Online versus Face to Face87
Students as Real-Time Evaluators of Sims? 88
9 The Processes of Using a HIVE and the Role of Coaching 89
The Setup 89
On Ramp: From Real Life to Simulation 92
Teaching the Interface 93
First Public Simulation Play 93
Putting Together Groups for Multiplayer or Team-Based Sims 95
Coaching during the Student Use 97
After Action Reviews 99
Off Ramp: From Simulation Back to Real Life 101
Into the Breach 102
10 Creating Evaluation Strategies 103
Why Not Measure Experience with a Multiple-Choice Test? 103
Assessment Strategies 105
Assessment Techniques for Grading Student Performance 107
Conclusion 111
Part III Other Considerations
7 Selling Interactive Environments Internally-Getting Buy In from Administrators, Department Heads, Colleagues, Parents, and even Students 115
Building Support for HIVEs 116
What Does Success Look Like for You? 120
Epilogue: The New Attraction of Distance Learning 121
References 123
Index 125
