Happy Monday everyone. Annie and Vlad here!
We’re pumped to guide you through this exciting OER all about Digital Game and Corporate Simulation Training—where cutting-edge tech meets real-world learning to turbocharge skills, empathy, and inclusion in the workplace. Think of this as your personal F1 race track for mastering how Game and (VR) simulations transform corporate training.
⭐ Access our OER here: https://sites.google.com/view/etec522-digital-games/starting-line-welcome-to-our-oer ⭐
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Here’s what you can expect on this week’s fast-paced journey:
The Race Track — Five Dynamic Stops
You will begin at the Starting Line, navigate five interactive pit stops, each packed with immersive content, quizzes, and challenges designed to shift your perspective and deepen your understanding of Digital Game and Simulation training, before reaching the Finish Line. We recommend pacing yourself, but feel free to hit the accelerator and complete it all at once!
The Race Rules — Points and Prizes
Modeled after a real Grand Prix, in this race, your performance is tracked by Speed (earned through Speed Points), and Quality (earned through Stamina Points).
- Speed Point: Be one of the first 5 racers to complete all 5 stops and return to this thread and leave a final reflection comment. You’ll receive points using a simplified F1-style scoring system:
- 1st: 25 points
- 2nd: 18 points
- 3rd: 15 points
- 4th: 12 points
- 5th: 10 points
- (Anyone finishes after 5th place will get 1 point.)
- Stamina Point: At every phase of the race, there is a small check point, which can either be a quiz or a discussion prompt. Answer these quizzes correctly, contribute to the discussions meaningfully, and you can earn Stamina Points.
- Knowledge Tokens (5 points each): Earn up to 5 points at each of the quiz stops (Stop #2, Stop #4)
- Discussion Stars (10 points each): Earn 10 points per stop for thoughtful contributions to discussion prompts at: (Starting Line, Stop #1, Stop #3, Stop #5)
- Point Tally: At the end of the week, we will announce the Podium Finish and the TOP 3 Racers, based on the total Speed Points and Stamina Points. We hope this will stimulate your learning experience this week.
Final Reflection
Once you have completed the race (well done!!), come back here and leave your thoughts in the comment section below. We’d love for you to take a moment to reflect on your journey. Please share with us your total score + respond to one or more the following questions in this discussion thread:
- What was your biggest takeaway from this OER? Did something challenge your perspective, or give you new insight into simulation-based training?
- Which stop or activity did you find most engaging, and why? Was it a quiz, a case study, a VR example, or something else that stuck with you?
- How did the race format affect your engagement with the material? Did the gamified structure motivate you? Would you recommend it for other topics?
Note: Please leave your total score in the comment, so we can add it to the final leaderboard.
Even though it’s a race, we are a team
Vlad and I will be your Crew for this week, sending you good vibes and helping you answer any questions you may have. We had a great time designing this, and we hope you will enjoy it too. We are also learning, so if there are any glitches or bugs on the OER, we welcome constructive feedback.
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That’s all from us. Are you ready?
On your mark ….
Get set….
GO …!!!
Results Are OUT!
*Drum roll* Congratulations to our top racers
- 1st: Duncan
- 2nd: Mark
- 3rd: Victoria
You can view the leaderboard from this link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10H-gUrxp75ZEI7YCz6JxNFsJL62qtunuXy7iAue9dZQ/edit?usp=sharing
** Please note that we weren’t able to tally some scores at the different stops since we could not verify your names. Feel free to input it yourselves and you’ll see your final score.
Wow – great work Annie and Vlad! I love how far you took the gamification for this OER, the points system absolutely propelled me through it. Clearly competition through gamification is a major motivator for me, I am itching to see where I land on the leaderboard (although I forgot to tally my own quiz points – my bad!).
My main takeaway was certainly the gamification/simulation spectrum, which I really didn’t appreciate until now. I had not considered how each step of the spectrum leverages different game characteristics in service of different outcomes.
On the subject of competition, an ethical conundrum that arises with “leaderboards” in educational contexts is one around equity. By its nature, someone is at the bottom of the leaderboard. Though for some this can be a catalyst for motivation, for others it is a discouraging highlight of their performance, which may have been good individually but bad relative to their peers. Would this make the competitive aspect of gamification in education a market risk? In your market research, was there any evidence of products which addressed this in any way?
Hello Duncanha, and thank you for your kind words and thoughtful insights. We are glad the points system resonated with you and increased your interest in our topic. You are absolutely correct about the ethical dilemma surrounding leaderboards in education. Although competition can motivate some, it can be a downfall for others. In our project, we mainly focused on the corporate markets, where gamification and competition tends to be focused on cost, efficiency, and other measurable outcomes; in fact, in my opinion, companies only care about their performance and ROI above all else. Having said that, your point resonated with me since I remembered those test score sheets with student numbers on it in my schooling days. Sometimes those scores were confidence boosters, sometimes humbling moments and immediate calls for action and more studying for me; thus, teaching me lessons about accountability and resilience. However, these days, I’ve noticed a shift in schools (both in Secondary and Elementary schools) where deadlines are flexible, or nonexistent if we are brutally honest, and failure is optional. While well-intentioned, I’m curious if it sends the wrong message to students about the real world, or as the old proverb says “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Finally, in my research I didn’t come across any specific tech tools on dealing with equity issues, but it is worth exploring and studying further.
Excellent work, Annie and Vlad!
I believe I earned 10 points from the quizzes and participated in two discussions, so I assume my total is 30 points?
Overall, I found the game-based learning experience very engaging. Although I don’t play many games myself, I think most learners appreciate the opportunity to have fun while learning—so this approach really works.
One of my biggest takeaways was how widely simulation training is used across industries. I hadn’t realized how effective it could be, and I ended up spending most of my time reading about that aspect—really fascinating!
One small suggestion: as I mentioned on the discussion board, I found the “recognizing keywords” game a bit challenging. I wasn’t familiar with the format and only later realized it was similar to what I had seen in Canadian newspapers. For learners from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds, a bit more instruction or scaffolding might help. For example, an HP5-style “fill-in-the-blank” activity might work well—where learners drag key terms into the correct places in a paragraph. That could help reinforce the definitions of key concepts too.
Just some thoughts—great job overall!
Hello Yan, thank you for engaging and participating with our OER, as well as, your thoughtful feedback at the end. We’re glad the simulation-based training grabbed your interest, indeed, it is a versatile and ever-growing sector, being utilized in many industries across the board.
Also, thank you for pointing out the challenges you’ve experienced with the recognizing keywords game, making your HP5 suggestion a clever alternative to the current activity. We’ll keep that in mind for our future work.
Great work Annie and Vlad! I thought your OER was an excellent resource and helped me make a lot of connections between the material you presented with other ideas I’ve encountered through the MET program. I thought the topic and discussion around simulation-based training (Stop 5) to be the most interesting to me. I also thought your OER outlined the topic in a way that enabled us to think critically about the potential of those technologies, especially in light of advancements in AI. I was surprised to learn that many companies are using these technologies to train employees in how to interact with customers.
For me, the gamified structure wasn’t really what motivated me but I don’t think it detracted from the learning experience either. I appreciated how you tried to balance speed with engagement. I also found the race structure with laps actually helped orient me on the website. Awesome job! I think I’m the 3rd person to post here, so I believe my score is 54.
Hello Mark, thank you for the thoughtful feedback and congrats on the highest score thus far – 54 points! We are glad you found some value in the simulation-based training section. It is a fascinating and kind of alarming theme in general, considering how AI, and the inevitable advancements in AI, will shape the way employees are trained and able to handle complex or real-world situations, be it for the good of humanity or bad.
Finally, we truly appreciate your take on the gamified structure of the website and the laps tool; thus, highlighting our aim to keep things engaging and not overwhelming on the website.
Congratulations Annie and Vlad for such great work, especially in such a short time!
My biggest takeaway was learning more about simulators and digital games for the corporate world. It was a topic I knew little about, and you managed to present valuable information in a very easy-to-digest way. I also found the market data fascinating — especially seeing the potential for growth. It sparked many ideas for me, like possibilities for POS training, technical school programs, and more.
I found the scoring a little confusing (I got 5/5 on both quizzes, so 10 points, and participated in 3 forums — so +30? I think that makes 40 overall?).
The gamified structure was interesting, though not what engaged me the most — and I mean that in a positive way! The content itself was so clearly structured and well presented that it naturally kept me engaged.
Congrats again on a great OER!
Great job you two! I still really enjoyed the sequence of activities you laid out and I really appreciate the gamification of your presentation on game-based learning. I also applaud you for setting the bar very high for these!
Looks like I’m not in the top 5 so I just get a single point plus 50 from the Stamina system for a total of 51.
1) My biggest takeaway was how rapidly corporate training organizations have embraced this technology. I found that a bit surprising at first but the factors you raise regarding safety, cost, and proven effectiveness explain this shift quite well.
2) I really enjoyed stop 3 and seeing how incredibly realistic and advanced the FI racing simulations are. There are mountains of money in that business, so they can surely afford this kind of thing more than your average K-8 school but over time, experiences of that quality will surely become less expensive and may one day be commonplace in schools – I find that possibility (eventuality?) very exciting.
3) It helped motivate me to take each quiz a but more seriously and to ensure I spent a bit of time engaging with each section. I also don’t think it really distracted from the overall experience so I think it was a very well executed tactic on your part that could and should be employed to drive engagement with learning materials.
On the quizzes I scored 10 points and I also contributed to all discussions as thoughtfully as possible for another 40 points. I finished, but likely last place for another 1 point. I scored 51 points total, I believe.
Thank you for your work. I am impressed by your OER Annie and Vlad. I appreciate its design (being succinct and engaging) and the content (being relevant and accessible). The biggest takeaway for me (as an educator) is knowing that VR simulation and gamification are now such major aspects of job training. To prepare students for relevant futures, introducing them to learning via simulation and gamification seems best practice. I do have some issue with leaderboards as well, as mentioned by duncanha: “By its nature, someone is at the bottom of the leaderboard. Though for some this can be a catalyst for motivation, for others it is a discouraging highlight of their performance, which may have been good individually but bad relative to their peers.” Any teacher would likely agree with this assessment, yet there is value to competitive comparison — perhaps more-so for the teacher, assessing a whole class, and less-so for the immediate feedback offered to individual students/users.
The race format was a fun way to model how gamification can hook a learner, then engage them through meaningful activities thereby creating interest and a desire to stay, keep going, and learn. I’m not much of a racer though, so I took my time. I am the tortoise, certainly not the hare.
Hi Patrick, Congratulations on finishing the race. 51 is an excellent score, and we genuinely appreciate the time and care you put into the discussions as well. The tortoise is a classic archetype for a reason slow and steady absolutely wins in meaningful learning. ????✨
You raise a really valuable point about the role of leaderboards. That tension definitely came up during our planning: we wanted to model the motivational potential of competition without letting it define the entire learning experience. The purpose behind a scoring structure is to ensure that one can complete this OER at their own pace, while engaging it in a meaningful way. Hopefully, the flexible pacing and multiple ways to engage (not just quiz performance) helped broaden the sense of achievement.
I believe in a real world application, clear communication of the intention behind a leaderboard and gamification system is very crucial.
1. My biggest takeaway from the OER was that VR training can be used in so many more ways to enhance training scenarios than just the usual suspects (flight simulation, military training). The Walmart DEI simulation training was particularly fascinating to me and definitely a way to use VR training tactics that I have never even considered before.
2. I was interested to learn about the corporate learning spectrum, that was a new concept for me. After seeing the spectrum, breaking down gamified learning like that makes a lot of sense. Gamification in learning is a lot more than turning a lesson into a video game or a competition, there are different levels to gamification and some of those levels should be taken a lot more seriously than others.
3. I think the concept was great, and the website was very well put together. It was be nice if the scoring was done for me (I know we’re not computer scientists here so I’ll cut you some slack) but it does take away from the gamification aspect a little bit that in the moment I don’t really know what my score is and I have to keep track. Overall really great job though, you set the bar as the first group to display their opportunity forecast.
Score: 35
Hi Annie and Vlad,
Congrats on an engaging and well-executed OER! I checked in throughout the week, but wasn’t really able to fully engage in the discussions and games until today. My apologies for that!
I really enjoyed your final stop where you drew upon the Brave New World to ask ethical questions around the future of simulation-based training and AI. I really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts and questions. It made me think about how error is human and creates space for creativity. It got me wondering what happens to that creativity if human error is replaced by machine-like efficiency. This was also the stop that I found most engaging!
I enjoyed the gamified structure and found it motivating. With the exception of the word search, I saw a purpose with all of the quiz check-ins. I appreciated the opportunity to check my knowledge and understanding during those quizzes!
I scored 50 points.
Hi Annie and Vlad,
Thanks for leading us in the first week of OERs and getting everything ready so quickly! I really enjoyed the racing theme of the OER and found that the point system was a nice checklist to ensure I had completed everything for the week. My biggest takeaway from this OER is learning about the vast number of industries that already heavily rely on simulation training. I did not previously know that simulations were so realistic that they could be used to train pilots and race-car drivers. I found the “race” format of the OER made it much more engaging and gave me an incentive to finish tasks for the week. I appreciate how you incorporated an activity into each stop to help engage the readers.
Overall, fantastic work and I really appreciated learning about simulation training and its future through your OER!
Sorry I forgot to post my score initially but I got 39 points.
Games can be enjoyable but also incredibly useful when it comes to teaching. That goes for both school settings but also workplace training! Great job on this OER. As a huge lover of gamification and GBL, I really liked this format. It was easy to follow along and I liked the Padlet discussions and quizzes, which gave us a chance to reflect on the content periodically.
I’m a little disappointed at myself for stepping away from the race halfway (work and life got really busy suddenly) and ended up a lower rank than what I aimed for (top three or nothing!!!)
Personally, I think I would use this kind of structure to review content as opposed to learning it for the first time. Students learn at different paces, and there is always a possibility that not making it into the leaderboard can affect their motivation and engagement. By using it for review purposes instead, it could give students a more equal starting point.
Hi Griffin, Thank you for sharing your insights! I completely agree that VR training has incredible potential beyond traditional applications. I’m glad you found the corporate learning spectrum helpful! It’s true that gamification involves more than just game-like elements; recognizing the different levels can really enhance our approach to effective learning.
I appreciate your feedback on the scoring system. We’ll definitely consider your suggestion for making scoring more intuitive in future iterations. Thank you again for your thoughtful comments!
Hi @annaren
Thank you for your kind words! We appreciate your engagement, even if it was later in the week.
I’m glad you found our discussion on Brave New World thought-provoking (kudos to Vlad)! The ethical implications of simulation-based training and AI are crucial, and it’s fascinating to consider how human error contributes to creativity.
I’m also pleased to hear that you enjoyed the gamified structure! It’s great to know that the quizzes helped reinforce your understanding, and we’ll keep your feedback in mind regarding the word search. However, for our team, we intentionally picked out that game, to subtly showcase different variations of game can have different impact on the learning outcome, and not always in a positive way. As you can tell from the discussion board, many of our classmates has highlighted that it was ineffective, or how they would incorporate this activity IN ADDITION to the main instruction content.
But thank you for the honest feedback. We appreciate it 🙂
And Timothy 🙂
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed the racing theme and found the point system helpful for tracking your progress. We are pleased that the “race” format made the experience more engaging and motivated you to complete tasks. Incorporating interactive activities was a priority for us to keep everyone involved, so it’s great to know that resonated with you.
Didy,
No need to be hard on yourself for stepping away; life can get hectic! I really love your ambition for the top three is commendable. It’s awesome to see your competitive spirit. But sometimes you lose a race but win a marathon. Keep the spirit going ^^
In addition, I appreciate your suggestion about using this structure for review rather than initial learning. You’re right that students learn at different paces, and ensuring everyone feels motivated is important. Using gamified elements for reviews could indeed help create a more equitable environment.