Preface vii

The Author x

Part I What Are Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds Really, and Why Should I Care?

1 Understanding Highly Interactive Virtual Environments 3

Do Highly Interactive Virtual Environments Work Better? 4

The "Why" 5

Clarifying What We Mean by Highly Interactive Virtual Environments 6

2 Embracing Interactivity 15

Interactivity Levels 0 through 6 16

Interactivity Levels and Leadership Models 19

3 Sims: A New Model of Content 21

Simulation Elements 22

Game Elements 23

Pedagogical Elements 25

Tasks and Levels 27

Genres of Stand-Alone Sims 29

Four Concluding Thoughts 37

4 Highly Interactive Content from the Students' and the Instructor's Perspective 39

Different Culture, Different Rules 39

Learning to Love Frustration and Anticipate Resolution 40

When the Most Valuable Thing for a Coach to Do Is Nothing 42

part II Choosing and Using a Highly Interactive Virtual Environment

5 Identifying the Right Approach for the Right Need 47

Why Use Distance Learning Programs at All? 48

When to Use Highly Interactive Content 49

Costs Associated with HIVEs 53

6 Doing the Prep Work 55

Connect with Other Interested Professionals 55

Access the Content 55

Infrastructure Selection Criteria 63

Content Selection Criteria 66

Self-Paced/Single Player, Asynchronous, or Synchronous 69

Trust 71

Might Virtual Worlds Be the Universal Interface to (Other) Sims? 71

7 Integrating and Piloting 75

Technical Support for Students 75

Chunking Content 76

Piloting 81

Conclusion: The Need for Front Loading 83

8 A Brief Example of a Simulation Deployment 85

Peter Shea's Sim for Writing 85

Online versus Face to Face87

Students as Real-Time Evaluators of Sims? 88

9 The Processes of Using a HIVE and the Role of Coaching 89

The Setup 89

On Ramp: From Real Life to Simulation 92

Teaching the Interface 93

First Public Simulation Play 93

Putting Together Groups for Multiplayer or Team-Based Sims 95

Coaching during the Student Use 97

After Action Reviews 99

Off Ramp: From Simulation Back to Real Life 101

Into the Breach 102

10 Creating Evaluation Strategies 103

Why Not Measure Experience with a Multiple-Choice Test? 103

Assessment Strategies 105

Assessment Techniques for Grading Student Performance 107

Conclusion 111

Part III Other Considerations

7 Selling Interactive Environments Internally-Getting Buy In from Administrators, Department Heads, Colleagues, Parents, and even Students 115

Building Support for HIVEs 116

What Does Success Look Like for You? 120

Epilogue: The New Attraction of Distance Learning 121

References 123

Index 125