The Gaming Advantage

Whenever I fix a friend's or family member's computer, I'm inevitably asked the same question: how did you get so good at computers?

The answer is simple: we become good at what we enjoy. Think of your favorite hobby or pastime. How much time have you put into it? Clearly, when given the choice, we'll spend our time doing what we love and, consequently, will learn more about it. No-one wants to spend time on something he hates.

Unfortunately, most of us at some point are forced to learn how to do something we don't like. That new software at work isn't going to learn itself. So, what's the best way to learn something we're not particularly interested in? Sure, it's possible to cram information into our heads the night before a test, or read and re-read a manual or proposal, but that's doing things the hard way. There are much better ways to learn: namely by making the material you need to learn fun. And one way to do that is to take the information you need to know and incorporate it into a game.

To illustrate this point, let me ask you a question: which way would you rather learn…

By listening to this guy?

Or playing this?

Now, I admit you won't learn much from World of Warcraft, unless you run a dragon removal service, or perhaps teach Jr. High. But the point here is that a lot of learning occurs when playing games, due to the high level of attention the player devotes to them. Many studies show that retention is vastly increased when material is presented in a gaming format instead of being presented directly.

That brings us to:

Gaming Advantage #1 – Information is presented through a variety of channels: sound, graphics, and interaction.

Adding sounds, graphics and interaction to otherwise bland material can make the information more interesting. Human beings, like most animals, are drawn to things that move or otherwise change. There's a reason children prefer watching SpongeBob SquarePants to reading text books. And once you go a step further and introduce interaction—say, by making a SpongeBob video game—the information becomes even more engrossing. Participants are now actively involved instead of passively involved. Is it any surprise that movies and television are losing ground to video games in terms of both dollars and time spent on each?

There's more than just sound, graphics and interaction that make games good tools for teaching, though. Take a look at these two pictures:

Computer-based games have come a long way over the last 20 years—the ability to both process and present complicated information has increased. We can both better measure the learner's improvement as well as present instruction with more elaborate graphics and sounds. The result is a much more responsive, immersive experience.

Suppose you're trying to correct your golf swing.

One option is to record your golf swing and then watch yourself. This takes time, and doesn't really help you to nail down the problem unless you know what you're looking for.

A better option is to hire a golf instructor and have him watch your swing. The golf instructor may also use golf-swing analysis software to help train you.

But wait! Now that technology has improved, we can take golf instruction one step further by using a golf simulator.

You swing a club over a machine, which analyzes the angle, speed, and other parts of your swing, and simulates where the golf ball would have gone. Nintendo's new console, the Wii, features a simplistic golf game, but it isn't so different from what more expensive simulators, such as the one above, have been doing for years.

Now you can see the results of your swing and get feedback on your swing at the same time. It's faster than going to the driving range, plus it shows you exactly what you did wrong and offers immediate, constructive feedback.

Which brings us to:

Gaming Advantage #2 – Immediate feedback, both as a reward and assessment of what you have and have not learned.

In gaming, knowledge is reinforced while it's still fresh in your mind. You are given the opportunity to correct, and recheck your behavior instantaneously. It's the same promise of immediate reward that makes gambling so addictive for so many people.

Let's look at one form of learning interaction that provides immediate feedback: the multiple choice question.

This screenshot is an example of something we use frequently at Allen Communication to reinforce basic knowledge. A multiple choice question is interactive and it provides immediate feedback—remember the first two principles—so using a multiple choice question to learn is better than just reading information.

The problem is that multiple choice questions are not inherently fun or engaging—we don't have a game just yet. To create a game, you need more than just interaction. You need more than just immediate feedback. You need a sense of purpose. That means creating incentives and rewards to keep the learner actively involved, otherwise the material you want to teach ends up being an electronic page turner. That's why examples like the one above are typically combined, or blended, with other learning activities and motivations to give the learner a sense of purpose, which results in a game.

Take one of the more successful learning games: Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego?

In it, you play the role of a detective charged with tracking down the infamous master thief, Carmen San Diego, as she and her henchmen steal famous artifacts from around the world. You're always one step behind, visiting cities only after the criminal has already left and must gather clues to reveal where you should travel next.

What makes Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego such a great game is that it uses a combination of plot, funny graphics, and animations to maintain interest. Instead of throwing pages of text at you, the game rewrites the information into a "clues" or "interview" format. For example, you may visit a bank where you ask the teller about the criminal you are tracking, and he'll respond by providing you clues such as "He was exchanging his money into yen," or, "He said something about going spelunking." Not only do you learn that the currency of Japan is yen, but you expand your vocabulary by learning what spelunking is.

When it comes time to test this knowledge, you are presented with a question of where to go next: Tokyo, Moscow, or New York, for example. It's still a multiple choice question, but it's cleverly disguised, and made interesting. The feedback is also more subtle. There is no "good job" or "incorrect." If you make the wrong choice, you find yourself wasting time on travel (giving the crook more time to get away) and when you interview the locals they say they've never seen the person you're asking about.

Now, let's imagine for a minute that you really are chasing a criminal and you make the wrong choice about which city to go to. Congratulations, you've just wasted at least a day of travel. The mistake you made has real, tangible consequences.

That leads us to:

Gaming Advantage #3 – The ability to test behaviors without suffering permanent consequences.

The military uses games and simulations to train pilots and soldiers. Why? It's a lot better to crash or get shot in a simulation than it is in real life.

Wouldn't you want a resident surgeon to practice an operation a few times with a simulator before practicing on you?

If you don't have to suffer consequences for your actions, you're free to vary your responses, and ultimately perfect your behavior by seeing how each change in your behavior affects the results. You can explore the full range of permutations and possibilities. In fact, failing within the confines of a simulation can actually be more helpful than harmful: not only do you learn what not to do and why, but you can experiment with how to respond to and minimize the consequences of any failure. How close can you fly to the ground in a single engine plane? How should you respond to a stall? What should you do if you smack into a bird? Simulations prepare you for the bad as well as the good.

Of course, even with the best of simulations, at some point a person has to actually step into the field and do the real thing. Getting your feet wet is unavoidable. Good training, though, can minimize the shock of this experience, through what is known as "accommodation."

Below is a photo of Jean Piaget, a Swiss developmental psychologist who is famous for his constructivist theory of learning.

One of his most well-known theories was that of "accommodation." Jean Piaget postulated that whenever we learn something new, what we're really doing is fitting that new information into a previously learned concept or way of thinking. When you learn to ride a motorcycle, you may learn it through the lens of riding a bike, or thinking about how it compares to a car.

What this means is that if the real cockpit is very similar to the simulated cockpit, the transition from the simulation, which you are already familiar with, to the real situation, will be easier.

So, in summary, gaming has three main advantages:

#1 Gaming increases retention by presenting information through multiple channels: audio, visual, and interactive. In gaming, learners are rewarded for different strategies and different ways of learning. But remember: merely adding flashing lights and sounds to something does not make it into a game.

#2 Gaming provides immediate feedback and reinforcement. You know what you're doing right, and what you're doing wrong, immediately. Every time you succeed, your brain's pleasure center is rewarded. Learning with gaming is similar to a dolphin who gets a tasty fish every time he does a somersault. But remember: simply slapping a reward structure—like points—onto boring information doesn't reinforce as well as contextual feedback.

#3 Gaming allows the learner to test different behaviors or decisions without suffering permanent negative consequences. You can save money and time, and take risks you could otherwise not afford to take.

If you have any thoughts or comments about gaming in learning, drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you.