Caspian Learning has produced a useful taxonomy of immersive learning simulations in their white paper Serious Games in Defence Education (Word or PDF, 4MB). Although the paper addresses a single vertical market, the taxonomy is of general interest. Here's a list of the categories in the taxonomy (the descriptions are mine, not theirs ... ' advances on the basis of the user's selections from the options available. Real-time strategy sim Simulation ... point and click interface. The action unfolds in real-time. Construction and management simulation games ...

Presentation: Best Practices for Implementing Immersive Simulations Presenter: Corti (Came in late - first person networking) - The 'big idea' (what is your hook) - Defining it - Project team - Vendor Selection - Design it + Paper mock-ups important, incl. storyboarding. Mistakes on paper cheap - Build it + Build to work, then build pretty + 20: 80 rule. For immersive learning, at least 80 percent of the project needs to be done before you can show the client ... differences between the 2. Simulation is how you bring the content together. - Changing design during ...

... kid to figure out to flush the microbe) More is happening on the simulation side than branching. - Not a big fan of branching because it explodes - (so how do you go about building simulation vs. branching) - Advantage of simulation - try ... .). - To gain that literacy - play - Example - immersive language simulations 2 usable game concepts - Grow your ...

Presenter: Ken Spero, James Allen This was more of a quick in and out thing for me Essentially, the presenters argue that we can use some of the higher tech simulations as Instructor-facilitated classroom tools. The simulation he developed made a point of getting rid of the best and worst options. Still complex, decision-based branching. The strength of this approach, he argues, is that it allows for more immediate conversation during the decision process. The entire ... the simulation in teams of 4 (they suggest a combination of 3-5 people) - 10 minutes of feedback and a small ...

... randomization. Ultimately, used combination of simulation and game to educate. - Had to keep checking the goal (which ... . - There were issues with connectivity with some groups. Again - combination of simulation and game Training ...

Cost: Commercial Available: Download To create simulations ...

... simulations, scenario-based training, and robust quizzes without programming knowledge or multimedia skills.” ...

Seeing this pic on the Thinking Worlds Blog of the team at Caspian Learning celebrating their award for best game or simulation at last Thursday's E-Learning Awards in London (and yes that's Donald Clark there on the left, joining in) reinforced for me just how much fun these events can be, particularly when you're a winner. Because it's easy to get cynical about these things, I thought I'd revisit an article I wrote on the subject back in 2004, but which seems as relevant today. Sorry if it's a little long ... At the time of writing, the award season has ...