The Financial Times describes in “Recruits fired up by virtual rivalry“ how some of the largest companies in the world are using online games to attract recruits and also train employees. These games are part of the trend of “experiential learning” which education experts promote as improving the quality of college and business education. I see learning through playing as a form of helping people to learn by “doing” as opposed to just learning by “reading”, as discussed by Zen Habits in “Stop Reading About It and Do It“.
Amongst the examples given is BNP Paribas’ Ace Manager, which includes game sections for asset management and investment banking based around a virtual tennis industry. BNP Paribas has spent more than $1 million on the game which is purely meant to develop the bank’s brand. For internal employees BNP Paribas has developed Starbank which is a game that helps new employees understand the business better.
Airbus have developed a game that will promote their brand amongst college students whereby the players will help Airbus to come up with new innovations for their aircraft development programs.
Apparently IBM is the grandpa of using games in the corporate environment, and Innov8 helps students develop the skills necessary to work well in the services industry, since a large part of IBM’s business is now services such as consultancy rather than computing products.
One of the directors at Learning Dynamics, a leading developer of training games for corporations, talks about how these games are multi-media experiences that immerse the player in a “realistic” situation where they player can learn in a “risk free environment”.
However, for investors Texas Holdem Investing takes game-based training to one level further. Rather than learning skills in a “risk free environment”, players learn to invest by putting their own money at risk. Because learning to invest in a “risk free environment” is about as useful as learning drills in the army with wooden guns. Risk is an integral part of investing – and Texas Holdem Investing teaches players about risk in the most direct way possible.
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