Gaming As a Form of Training

In Chapter 19 of Lee & Owens, the idea of using games as a method of delivering training is presented. According to the chapter, games that are carefully constructed situational games that are appropriate to all media that can have positive outcomes on training. With games, people can enjoy learning and will be more likely to retain information longer. What companies are using games as a form of training right now? I found an article online, in which a Cold Stone Creamery manager plays a video game that teaches employees portion control and time management. The military is one of the largest advocates for games as a form of training. Other notable organizations include Cisco and Canon. The article states that trainers are expecting the games to attract younger employees who are media-savvy. About 15% of games are non entertainment, in other words, used strictly for learning purposes. What are some of the advantages of playing video games in training environments? For one, games are cost-effective for most organizations and allow for training material to be shared among all employees. Games also provide a sense of interaction and repetitive training that most lecture based material can not provide, which in turn helps students retain more information. As a future employee, I would like to be able to utilize this form of training because to me it would make training fun. For me, having fun while learning leads to better retention of the material. Hopefully, more organizations will be turning towards games as a method of transferring knowledge.