Try your hand at any of today’s really popular mobile games. After only a few rounds, you soon realize that one of the crucial factors is the built-in learning process.
To improve in a game is to learn. This is true whether the game is considered “entertainment” (e.g., Angry Birds) or “serious” (e.g., a Nasa flight simulator). The University of Colorado Denver Business School released results from a 2010 study that found over the course of a year, employees using video games during training experienced an 11% higher factual level, 14% higher skill-based knowledge and 9% higher retention rate than comparable trainees.
The same factors that make well-designed games highly motivating also make them ideal learning environments at face-to-face events. Good game design creates a risk-free setting for attendees to experiment and assimilate new information. Hands-on applications provide an opportunity for physicians and students at a trade show to practice new procedures on virtual patients. Competitive gaming platforms motivate meeting attendees to model best practices and attain new levels of excellence.
What are the principles of effective game-based learning ? How can you put them to work at your next trade show or event? Check in next week for the answers.