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Saving the World through Online Games

April 17, 2010 in Big Picture | No comments

Last month I posted Jesse Schell’s vision of an augmented-reality future, and it generated more buzz than anything I’ve posted previously — mainly because of the Orwellian implications.

A few weeks ago I came across a very different vision of saving the world through games, one that appealed to me more because positive behavior change is viewed as — and shown to be — a long-term effect rather than something you do at the moment for a gold star or a number of points. It was also mind-opening to me as a gamer who is very aware of the time and effort spent… some say wasted… in online games. And this week’s #lrnchat reminded me that I hadn’t posted it! Doh!

If you haven’t seen it, you definitely want to. Here is Jane McGonigal’s incredible TED Talk, Gaming Can Make a Better World.

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Is Your Life Just One Big RPG?

March 1, 2010 in Big Picture | 2 comments

My husband sent this video to me this week: a recording of Carnegie Mellon professor, author, and former Imagineer Jesse Schell talking about the future, game design, Facebook, and lots more at DICE 2010. There are several ID implications here, but one that speaks to me most initially is about motivation.

As a trainer, I often fell for the idea that if I was giving out prizes, trainees would only value them if they were “valuable”. But in fact, mere measurement does change behavior, and the oddest things can motivate us: achievements in WoW (most of which give nothing), virtual prizes (like clipart of a car that I saw one webinar presenter give out this past week), or simply seeing a full row of green checkmarks because we got 100% on a quiz.

There’s lots of stuff to discuss here. Watch. Tell me what you think.

(Alternately, view in parts on YouTube…)

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I’m Not a Doctor, But I Play One in Second Life…

July 28, 2009 in Design | 3 comments

I have a list of examples I’ve encountered in which I think that Second Life is truly serving a functional training purpose.

And even though virtual worlds have been one of the biggest buzz items in the T&D world in the last several years, the list is very short. No doubt, part of my reluctance is because as “tech-savvy” as I am, in SL, my virtual clothes still attach to unusual parts of my virtual body.

However.

I’m adding this to my list.

Photo: Imperial College London

Photo: Imperial College London

Obviously, as a sometime patient I want medical professionals to get as much hands-on practice as possible. If it’s preceded by virtual practice, I say so much the better. And though the article doesn’t mention it, I have to think SL could prove a very useful tool for doctors’ continuing education, as well…

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