Smarter Games for Education and Training

Learning through ‘Smart Play’

Gaming is not merely a global phenomenon for entertainment. It also can be applied as a strategy to more effectively engage and prepare our workforce. Games provide rich, realistic, immersive learning environments through which players can build knowledge, skill and competencies directly aligned with work performance.

Simulation games immerse trainees in artificial decision-making exercises via personal computers, allowing them to learn the consequences of their decisions in artificial environments. A recent 2010 study conducted through the University of Colorado Denver Business School reported that workers trained on simulation games—versus formal classroom or web-based tutorials—do their jobs better, with greater skill and higher retention of relevant information. They also became more confident in their own ability and competence to perform effectively in challenging situations, and felt greater motivation to attain the desired goal or outcome.

• IBM Serious Games Capabilities (448KB)

Challenges in Schools

There is no shortage of challenges for schools across the country, from elementary, middle schools and high schools, to public and private colleges and universities. State and federal education budgets are tightening while class sizes are increasing, and teaching and testing policies are expanding both in quantity and complexity.

In this environment, educators struggle to provide exciting educational experiences that meet student needs yet still fit within budget.

SmartPlay Platform in Education

Serious Games as educational vehicles are hosted on our IBM SmartPlay Platform. These state-of-the-art tools can be incubated in public education by a partnership of IBM, schools, game developers and an independent body of content certifiers.

The partnership of these experienced and creative minds ensures each game will:

• Engage students with top-of-the-line user interfaces and game content
• Meet state, local and federal education standards
• Integrate with educational platforms supported by schools
• Provide student assessments in non-standardized test formats
• Provide reporting and assessment

Serious Games in Education

Serious Games provide various psychological incentives that naturally promote learning. They also have practical application and benefit for:

Curriculum that meets all state and federal guidelines, as it was developed and certified by qualified institutions.

Self-paced learning that offers alternatives to the lecture / homework classroom model that ofen disengages the gifted and frustrates the struggling.

Assessments for students and teachers that provide instant feedback, offering the opportunity to adjust teaching and learning methods to ensure student success.

Eliminating expensive, and quickly outdated text books , and replacing them with mobile devices that are a natural platform for interactive learning games.