Go to the Home Page


The Bob Pike Group
14530 Martin Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Online Contact Form
1-800-383-9210
 
Having Fun? Wiiiii!
By Liz Wheeler

With the advent of Nintendo’s Wii and the sports simulations (including sports training modules included in various games), it’s no surprise that Wii is being utilized for business training and education.

 

David E. Stone, a research fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has adapted Wii for business training by combining it with Second Life, a virtual reality on the Internet. Stone told Wired magazine that the Wiimote motion-sensitive controller is "one of the most significant technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science." Stone is using the gaming technology to provide training simulations for companies that want to train new power-plant managers or train surgeons.

"The training world in particular has been struggling to find effective mediums to deliver training via technology that engages the user," Paul Terlemezian told Wired. He’s president of iFive Alliances, a consulting firm in Atlanta. "How do we get people to embrace it? How do we get people to practice what we've trained them on?"

For education, Wii Degree is now available through Big Brain Academy. Fifteen games are split into five categories according to the Associated Press: visualize, compute, identify, memorize and analyze. The purpose of the timed games is to improve thinking skills—duh! Using the Wiimote, players can point at the screen to choose their answer or next step.

 

Is your company involved in human resource development on Second Life? Have thoughts on interactive simulations using gaming technology? Sound off to the editor at EzineEditor@BobPikeGroup.com.

 


Related Articles · More Articles
New Study shows Corporate Social Networking Trends in Talent Management Overused words banned from English Stress from a computer screen?
If learners are motivated, they retain more information. But can you extrinsically motivate your session attendees? Is it possible? “While you can’t make your participants be motivated, you can create a motivating environment,” said Becky Pluth, vice president of training and development at The Bob Pike Group. Research shows that interacting with your learners “is one of the most powerful factors in promoting learning” while “interactions among learners is another” (Angelo 1993). And teachers who present the information in a dynamic manner and display a genuine interest in what they
Getting people to use learning resources in the company library can be tricky, Kathleen Miller-Buettner and Susan Hayley-Gates say. Their library has books, videos and audio tapes on communication skills, management skills, balancing work and home lives, and dozens of other topics. But, as in many organizations, the materials once went mostly unused. To encourage corporate library use—and learning—the training department initiated a TOM (theme of the month) Club. Membership is free. Each month has a topical theme – effective feedback, industry information and the like. Trainers, however, don’t disclose what the month’s theme is. Instead they post clues throughout the office and via email on the first day of each month. Employees guess the theme, placing their guess in one of the special TOM Club raffle boxes around the workplace.
Back To Archives


©2004 - 2009 The Bob Pike Group (Creative Training Techniques) - All Rights Reserved.