Whether you realize it or not, it is very likely that you have interacted with a simulator before. I say this because one of the most common types of simulations are video games. The popular ones are games like Sims, any sports game, or even farming simulator. This genre of gaming is popular amongst all age groups. This is information most of us already know. What some people aren't aware of is a subset of video game simulators.
This subset is used for training, most commonly for medical, business, or military purposes. These games are designed with one of three purposes: analyze a persons skills in strategy, assess a persons ability to formulate an operable plan, or as a learning exercise.
What is so amazing about these simulations is their ability to allow people going into these fields to be analyzed prior to them actually stepping out on to the field. Medicine, business, and the military are all high risk fields. As someone hiring new people you would want to take every measure possible to ensure that they are ready for the real thing. As well as a student would want to ensure that they feel as prepared as possible before starting the real thing. Games are considered a hobby, or not serious, however in the case of video game simulations, they can be considered a vital step in the learning or hiring process.
This subset is used for training, most commonly for medical, business, or military purposes. These games are designed with one of three purposes: analyze a persons skills in strategy, assess a persons ability to formulate an operable plan, or as a learning exercise.
What is so amazing about these simulations is their ability to allow people going into these fields to be analyzed prior to them actually stepping out on to the field. Medicine, business, and the military are all high risk fields. As someone hiring new people you would want to take every measure possible to ensure that they are ready for the real thing. As well as a student would want to ensure that they feel as prepared as possible before starting the real thing. Games are considered a hobby, or not serious, however in the case of video game simulations, they can be considered a vital step in the learning or hiring process.
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, you make some excellent points. I am very familiar with simulations and how important they are in training and preparing for your job. I found an interesting website at https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/simulations/index.html that shows a short video of a college course simulating the stock exchange, very interesting and chaotic! The website also poses an interesting question, “Why Teach with Simulations?” (Teaching with Simulations, 2018) There were several answers listed but the one that really jumped off the page at me talked about ‘deep learning as opposed to surface learning’ (2018). I thought that really summed up my experience with simulations; the ability to get inside a scenario as opposed to just viewing it from a distance really enhanced the learning experience. I look forward to reading more of your blog, thanks.
Craig
References:
Teaching with Simulations. (2018). Pedagogy in Action, the SERC portal for Educators. Retrieved at https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/simulations/index.html
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog on simulations as I am blogging about something similar, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). I chose to blog about all three as they mix more than they are stand-alone. In my research of blogging topics, I previously posted on the discussion board about one specific to education--"Virtual Dissection: High School Biology". The page highlights the following benefits in addition to the accurate, interactive, and immersive experience:
- Ecological, moral, religious beliefs prevent some individuals from participating, and some states mandate that schools give students the option to opt out (dissecting real frogs), through VR everyone can participate.
- single classroom spends upwards of $1,000/year on dead frogs for dissection. According to VictoryVR, the makers of this tool.
- A virtual solution has an up-front cost that may be heavy on the budget, initially, but but will begin to pay for itself over time.
Source: https://learnvr.org/virtual-dissection-high-school-biology/
Simulation and VR, AR, and MR is a great way to prepare for the "real" event while maintaining inclusiveness.
-Lisa
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! Right away I knew I was going to enjoy this particular post because I am a fan of simulation and when you mentioned military use, it hit very close to home. Simulation does allow practice before real application and I appreciate what simulations has to offer especially in the way of budgeted restraints, use of time, and of land. Simulations saves so much in the way of training time and allows for immediate feedback and adjustments before executing the real thing. They say measure twice and cut once, simulations applies the same concept, two times the practice will make the best of the live iteration.
Erric
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog, over the course of my career in the Army we have used many different levels of simulation to raise proficiency levels in people, crews, as well as, build their confidence in using the platforms they are training for examples include flight simulators for our helicopter pilots and unmanned aerial aircraft to Tank simulators training on gunnery skills prior to the crew going onto a live fire range. The hours spent in these simulators build the confidence and knowledge our team mates need to become better at their individual required skills. This saves all of us as tax payers a ton of money as well as insures compliance in safety standards. The best part about simulations it allows the user to make many mistakes and learn from those mistakes without the loss of life or equipment.
Tony
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteYou provide some great examples of simulation or simulators. The Army uses several different types as you mention. I see a bunch of applications for this as technology expands. Medical care is a great field for simulation. I found an interesting article on medical simulation which talks about using patient simulators that give medical personnel a chance to gain experience without harming real patients. They even have a birthing simulator. https://www.healthysimulation.com/medical-simulation/ Great post, thanks.
Chuck
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI am not a real gamer, but as a Soldier I have begun to see the simulation come into my career field.
In Army Aviation we use the Simulator video game during the Flight training of Apache Pilots, so they can learn all the different parts of the Helicopter. I first thought it was a joke, but this game actually works very well for memorization of components on an airframe.
Learning this actually changed my perception of video games and simulation type games, and I now have a better understanding of the technology and its benefits.
Have you seen the inclusion of simulation at your workplace?
Tony Ruiz
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I am not a gamer by any means but, I have played my fair share of Sims and Farmville. I guess I never thought of them as simulations until now.
I really enjoy the concept of using simulations for jobs, and to see how well someone knows the job they may be training for.
I know simulations are used a lot throughout the military, I have some friends in the military who have talked about the use of simulations.
I wish in my profession (teacher) we could use some sort of simulation for trainings or professional development.
Marianna