Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Games Coming to a Workplace Near You

This post is a continuation of my observation from this past Corporate Advisory Council at Bloomsburg University concerning generations and their different learning styles and expectations for how training is delivered.

Check out ASTD’s Buzz News (link:
http://www.infoinc.com/astd/buzznews.html)

It provides a summary (Gaming Gets Down to Business; Toronto Globe & Mail (05/03/07) , P. B20; Scott, Graham F.) about the growing popularity and use of games and simulations in corporate training, and the observation that a different (more interactive) approach to training is wanted:

"They're (participants) going to corporate training courses and they find someone standing at the front with a PowerPoint show when they're used to being engaged in a different way."

PowerPoint has its place, and used properly remains a useful way of delivering information. But to avoid training that has become too static, we need to look at other delivery options as well. Gaming may be one avenue. Our “on-the-go” culture makes podcasting another strong contender for delivering information and instruction in a manner familiar to the present digital generation.

As information and knowledge continue to expand, learning-delivery methods will need to keep pace and provide the depth of content that is available for any subject, in order to give the learner the most complete exposure to the information available for that particular subject. Of course, the information needs to be presented (and made available after the training) in such a manner that the information is accessible and structured to avoid content overload and information not related to the subject under review.