Company overview

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Serious Games for eLearning When games become
serious business applications
Kevin Corti, Founder, PIXELearning.
Company overview
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Company background

• Established in 2002, Coventry University
  Technology Park
• Business education, vocational and management
  skills development
• 1m sales 400k investment in GBL technology
  platforms
• Clients - Coca-Cola, Scottish Enterprise, AWM,
  Edexcel, Skillsmart Retail many schools, colleges
  and universities
• A growing reputation in UK overseas

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What
Blending instructional, game, simulation, graphic
and software application design
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Serious Games definition v1.0
The use of computer game technologies and/or
approaches for primarily non-entertainment
purposes.
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Serious Games definition v2.0
Coventry University
University of Central England
University of Warwick
Birmingham University
BECTa
EA Games NESTA
JISC
A.W.M.
D.T.I.
The MOVES Institute
M.I.T.
Penn State University
Microsoft
Carnegie Mellon
NOKIA
Intel
University of Southern California
LearningLab
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Games-based learning Provide safe, realistic
and meaningful environments ..in which
learners actually apply information to develop
knowledge and skills.
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This isnt new!
You can learn more about a man in an hour of
play than in a year of conversation
Plato
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This isnt new!
You can learn more about a PERSON in an hour of
play than in a year of conversation
Plato (2006)
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How often does this happen?
Pleasejust another hourI really want to finish
this course
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Does eLearning engage?
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Does eLearning engage?
Ummno thanks!
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(No Transcript)
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The F word
There is a lot more to Games-based Learning than
simply trying to make learning fun.
.although that wouldnt be a bad start!
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A theory of fun
Fun is.. GO BUY THE BOOK
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This isnt about using Pong or Millionaire to try
to help learners memorise facts.
Chocolate-coated broccoli still tastes like
broccoli
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We know games are compelling
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Games engage beyond the bedroom!
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Its not all Single-player!
Games are increasingly social (e.g. XBOX live
MMORPGs)
Multiplayer GBL Social learning environments
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Characteristics of games
Realistic environments systems
Clearly defined rules structure
Clearly defined objectives
Drama story
Truly interactive
Humour
Characters
Clear outcomes feedback
Challenge
Adapt (flow state)
Higher cognitive activity
.and they are enjoyable!
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So why should YOU be interested?
Performance improvement Awareness of
role Competency testing Assessment/ROI Recruitment
Customer education Promotional
tool Induction Motivational tools Aspirational
tools Best practise
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Customer (learning) needs

• Auditor training
• Diversity inclusion
• Marketing fundamentals
• Introduction to finance
• Complex sales processes
• Call centre (IT product awareness)
• Promoting careers in the retail sector
• General business awareness
• Consultancy skills for public sector workers
• Customer care
• Front line sales
• Awareness of financial products
• IT skills
• Personal finance skills
• Company induction training
• Project management
• Business studies (education)
• Health safety at work
• Operating a franchise

...and the list goes on!
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Pedagogy??

• Andragogy (Adult learning)
• experience (including mistakes) provides the
  basis for learning activities
• problem-centered rather than content-oriented
• interested in learning subjects that have
  immediate relevance to their job or personal life
• Malcolm Knowles (1913 to 1997)

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Experience
GBL is heavily experiential
GBL gives learners virtual experience which they
can use for real in workplace
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Experience
Ask yourself Would you let your new management
trainees run your organisation?
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Experience
Ask yourself Would you let your new management
trainees run your VIRTUAL organisation?
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Problem-centred learning

• Games are pre-defined problem spaces
• Solving the problems satisfaction
• GBL problems are authentic relevant

Game over! You won
Game over! You won
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Problem-centred learning
What you do (or dont do) has an obvious and
meaningful effect in the game. The game changes.
Each time you try itit is different. Information
/ choices / behaviours / approaches / tactics /
strategies ..meaningful outcomes
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Relevance to the user
What
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That word. Game
The first step is admitting it! - Gamers
Anonymous My name is Kevin and I ama gamer.
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That word. Game
Lonely hearts Spotty, white, teenage male with
poor social skills seeks fellow XBOX enthusiast
to share long nights in front of the bedroom
TV. Trevor, aged 15 from Guilford
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The gamer demographic

• The reality
• 18 to 35 core market for Sony Microsoft
• 41 female
• 42 aged 25 to 49
• 35 income of 50k to 100k
• 16 income gt 100k

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The natives are digital

• Key message!
• Learners are changing
• Opportunity NOT threat
• Organisations needs to evolve to take advantage.

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How the designers see it
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How the developers see it
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Diversity in the Workplace
Project The Diversity Game Client Large US
Bank Corp fast food brand Business
problem Face to face training too expensive
eLearning fails to tackle sensitive issues
well Audience 50,000 across USA in several
thousand branches Seat time 2 hours Cost US
6 figures Time 6 months
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Audit intern training community building
Project Audit Intern Simulation Client
US-based Big 4 accountancy firm Business
problem How to enhance support f2f training of
interns per year in audit fundamentals Audience
2,000 interns/year Seat time 6 hours Cost US
6 figures Time 6 months
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Commercialising IP/research in academia
Project The Proton Challenge Client ProTon
Europe Business problem How to train 900 EU
universities to establish KTOs and generate
income from IP Audience 392 university KT
office staff (2 to 10 per uni) Seat time 1 to 2
hours Cost US85k Time 3 months
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Building marketing awareness/skills
Project Get Marketing! Client Scottish
Enterprise Business problem SMEs marketing
capability limiting growth Audience
(Potentially) all small businesses across
Scotland Seat time 1 to 2 hours Cost
US120k Time 4 months
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Sales process training
Project The SEER Bat Client Seer
Limited Business problem How engage audience
adequately so that they learn software tool
process Audience IT sales professionals Seat
time 2 hours Cost US25k Time 2 months
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Promoting careers in the retail sector
Project Skillsmart Retail game Client
Skillsmart Retail Business problem How overcome
teenagers perception that retail is a dead end
career? Audience 14 to 19 year olds, cross
UK Seat time 30-45 minutes Cost US55k Time
3 months
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PIXELearning products
Business, Enterprise Finance Games
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Ambient Performance
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Implementation issues
How quick? How specific COTS or bespoke? How
easy to update? Web-based? IPR? Cost /
licensing model?
Assessment criteria? SCORM/AICC? Curricula/quali
fication? Who designs it?
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In a perfect world

• If budget time were unlimited and they all had
  top of the range PCs
• Full blown 3D engines
• High poly characters and environments
• Dynamic lighting effects
• Real time physics
• Highly realistic facial animations
• Body language / MOCAP
• Lip synching
• Natural language conversations
• Computer-generated voice
• Cutting-edge AI
• 42 HD monitors
• 3D surround sound
• MMORPG
• Expansion packs and downloadable patches
• Dedicated 8Mb/s connectivity

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In the real world

• We want it tomorrow!
• You will warrant that it will operate perfectly
  at handover
• No post release patches!
• Integration with commercial LMS/LCMS platforms
• Integrate with open-source VLEs (Moodle)
• Interoperability compliance SCORM, AICC
• 100 secure (limits networking component access)
• Assessment, assessment assessment
• Minimal proprietary multimedia/graphics plug-ins
  allowed
• Accessibility standards compliance (e.g. Section
  508, DDA)
• Business systems integration (ERP, HR, student
  management)
• Access at work, at home and on the move
• Capturing and reporting of in-game KPIs for ROI
  calcs.
• Multilingual/localised
• Easily editable by customer in the future
• Low spec / thin client PCs

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The clients IT environment
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The budget time frame
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Core technology in place?

• gt Minimise risk
• gt Cut cost
• gt Reduce delivery time
• gt Easy to update
• gt Profitable for provider

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Core technology in place?
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PIXELearning Ltdwww.pixelearning.com T 44 (0)
24 7623 6971
Kevin Corti,Managing Director kevin.corti_at_pixelea
rning.com