Author: Richard Tunstall, rtunstall@glam.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: technology-enhanced learning environments

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: business management accountancy and finance

 

Case study tags: online learning, an effect on learning, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, staff satisfaction with e-learning,use of gaming/simulation, use of specialist software, tangible benefits of e-learning,university of glamorgan, technology-enhanced learning environments, business management accountancy and finance

 

Background & Context

 

Why did you use this e-learning approach?

 

As a team consisting of a business school academic and a multimedia developer, both experienced in blended learning development and teaching, we set about targeting a particular section of course curriculum with the intention of creating a simulation game which would allow students to examine a set of key concepts using a hitherto untried approach in the University of Glamorgan - experiential learning through simulation gaming.

 

Essentially we were to create a case study, but rather than being in a linear textual form, this would be delivered in an environment which would allow the 'story' to unfold in a highly interactive and dynamic fashion. Much of the activity in the project was spent in devising the key interactions and activities within the case study which we were to ask the students to attempt. The story and associated activities were created for their pedagogic value and the contribution they would make towards meeting the expected learning outcomes for the module.

 

To support these objectives, we hoped to develop a software application which would not only support this particular project but which would need to be highly flexible and could be used in delivering a range of other learning applications in the future.

 

We wanted to produce an experience that would be highly visual and game-like and avoid the pitfalls of the 'interactive spreadsheets' found in many simulations for business courses. We felt that while appropriate perhaps for specific financial reference systems, these were not very imaginative and compelling experiences and that, strategically, we could imagine a greater range of other teaching programs benefiting from our alternative type of simulation.

 

A fully useable example of the interactive case study can be found here: http://e-st.glam.ac.uk/simulationgames/GameSim_1.htm.

 

Please Note: After closing the mission window, the game opens on the training level. To access the actual case study, click on 'Go to the Street' in the bottom left hand corner.

 

The team welcome any queries about the case study and are actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with other institutions and bodies in developing enhanced versions and in providing consultancy. Please contact; rtunstal@glam.ac.uk.

 

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

 

It was decided that we would target a specific module 'EB2S01 - Enterprise Planning' - a compulsory module for the core undergraduate second-year students at the Business School. This module was delivered through 2 hour blocks, consisting of a lecture and seminar, to 4 groups of 35-40 students per group. There were 3 members of academic teaching staff assigned to the module who took responsibility for delivery to 1-2 groups each.

 

The module had an average of 150 students per year, studying for a variety of awards, and it was felt that this would be a large enough sample to facilitate the evaluation of the effectiveness of the project. The majority of undergraduates in the Business School were aged 19-20, with a minority of mature students. The majority of students were from the South Wales area and South-West England, with around 10% coming from other countries.

 

Based on the experience of delivering the module over two years, a particular conceptual problem that students particularly appeared to struggle with was identified. Within the first term of the module, the focus of teaching was to enable students to meet the first learning objective; 'Demonstrate an ability to use their knowledge of a range of techniques in market and industry analysis'.

 

This was summatively assessed through the submission of an individual report that would consist of an analysis of the issues facing small and large organisations within a chosen industry. Learning was supported through a series of lectures focussing on issues relating to enterprise and small business as well as introducing a variety of analysis techniques. Accompanying this was a series of workshops where students discussed case examples and used analysis techniques. However it was apparent from work submitted for assessment that students often struggled in conceptualising the characteristics of small and large businesses in relation to the specific module aim; 'Enable students to comprehend the differences between large and small firms in the terms of how they operate, involve and interact with the Business Environment'.

 

It was felt that through a simulation case study game, these concepts could be illustrated to students in an immersive environment, supported by classroom workshops to provide formative learning opportunities.

 

The key problems anticipated in this context was that of motivating students, normally used to traditional teaching methods, to engage in a blended learning activity. A further concern for this context was the motivation and skills of academic teaching staff in utilising this tool.

 

What was the design?

 

The design consisted of two parts; that of the e-learning tool, and that of the situated blended learning experience.

 

Given the innovative nature of the e-learning tool itself, the blended learning experience was deliberately designed to integrate with the existing delivery pattern, in a form that both students and staff could relate to. In this instance it was felt that the tool should be delivered in a similar way to a case study, by offering either a lecture on the related topic, asking students to individually use the tool and perform analysis over the period of a week using predefined questions relating to the topic, then engaging in a tutorial discussion with other students guided by the teacher. Alternative approaches were attempted with providing the topic lecture after the tutorial.

 

The tool itself consisted of a 3D environment simulating a small and large business environment where students could command an avatar which could be moved around the environment and interact with various characters. The environment was designed to both provide a complex realistic case study while also offering a game-like experience with competitive motivation. The game platform was deliberately designed to be reusable, to enable future development opportunities with a lower development timescale.

 

The tool was designed using the following synchronous process;

 

Stage	Game Elements	Content	Technical Design
1	Relied upon completion of content stage	Based upon critical issues identified within the module aim and the learning outcomes of the module, we focused on the concepts and issues which were to be addressed. This educational framework was the basis for the rest of the project.	Relied upon completion of content stage.
2	Discussion on how challenge and competition could be fitted within the educational framework which has emerged from stage 1. Will the gameplay elements be focussed on learning incidents, fun and/or motivation?	We then looked in more detail at the framework, thinking about the characteristics of small and large firms, as identified within academic literature and how these might restrict and enable interactions within the game.	Methods to create and display the rooms identified and created. Some required functionality emerging - the boundaries of the application are being described
3	How can we apply the gameplay around this scenario?	Identifying scenario and context which included overall environmental content decisions including describing the organisational size, form and physical room design and overall 'feel'.	Graphical elements developed together with the required functionality to render the rooms and environments
4	How can we take advantage of the functionality within our chosen gameplay? For example: If we can now pick up and give objects what does this mean? Where might this fit into the prevailing gameplay?	As details of potential within the technical environment emerge and decisions regarding requirements of game elements are made, we started to identify roles and key actions available to player and game characters within the environment. For example: Giving objects to characters seen as way of realistically creating reasons for interaction. What objects can be picked up and what happens when they are given to different people? Depending on the prevailing gameplay, these objects may be significant, as may the consequences of giving them. How does this relate to the educational framework?	Functionality added - For example: picking up objects
5	Making the stories, characters and histories interesting and engaging	Character descriptions added in terms of personal histories and personal wants and needs in order to add further realism and to relate to the educational framework.	System needed to store and retrieve conversation text for each character and question asked. In what ways do questions affect the environment?
6		Bearing in mind the combined effect of game play, functionality, context, scenario and educational framework, character issues and mini-scenarios were developed (as in a TV soap opera). For example The 'secret' set conversations you can overhear from within the toilet at key points in the players investigations of each organisation were developed. We review the application in order that these do not conflict with each other, while ensuring that all elements of the framework have been given proportional representation and that no 'phantom' issues are given undue emphasis.	More advanced functionality - moving around between rooms. As content is created, put into game engine and review. For example Passive dialogue system developed to show 'set' conversations.
7 - BETA	BETA TESTING - bug finding - test the gameplay for enjoyability, user interface, navigation, engagement.	Following input of scripts into game environment, these are reviewed and edited in context. Testing coherence of the scenarios - does the story make sense? Is the application viable as a learning experience?	BETA TESTING - bug fixing

 

Technical design was led by the multimedia development manager with his team, content was led by the business school academic with the assistance of e-learning editors, game design was led by the academic and multimedia developer together with the support of a instructional designer. Beta testing was conducted with the support of student volunteers, academic deliverers and IT helpdesk staff.

 

Blended learning delivery was developed with the academic delivery team.

 

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

 

The first stage of implementation took place through beta testing, which gave IT Support staff the opportunity to both assist with bug testing and to fully experience the tool while noting potential problem areas where students might require support.

 

After agreeing how the tool would be embedded within the module teaching schedule, all academic delivery staff were fully briefed about the ways in which the blended learning experience could be led and integrated into the course. Academic staff were also given the opportunity to try out the tool themselves and ask questions.

 

Academic staff introduced the tool during teaching sessions and tutorial question papers gave full details of the tutorial requirements and contact details for IT Support staff.

 

A training level had been developed within the tool to help students learn how to play through the e-learning tool and this was demonstrated in a teaching session before students were instructed to play through themselves. Concerns about student motivation did not materialise and the only problems for students were related to individual access issues that were resolved by IT helpdesk staff. Academic staff were comfortable with the blended learning approach developed.

 

An evaluation process was developed to capture student feedback through quantitative and qualitative methods following their completion of the blended learning experience.

 

Technology Used

 

What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you?

 

The intention was to develop a tool that students could access through the internet. The University of Glamorgan uses the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment as the standard platform through which students engage in blended learning materials, so for this reason the intention was to use Blackboard as the platform for accessing the specific tool. As students enrol onto specific 'Courses' within Blackboard to access materials for individual modules, this had the added benefit of allowing us to restrict access to the specific targeted students, while also allowing us to gain basic access statistics to gauge the amount of times the tool was accessed and dates of access by individual students.

 

As no existing development tools were available, the tool itself (known as 'Tileworld') was developed from scratch by the in-house multimedia development manager. The application was created using Flash, and was designed using an object-oriented approach so that subsequent projects (3 at the moment) could add to and reuse the range of functionality developed. Flash was chosen as we wanted to create a web-based application which could work on fairly low-spec equipment but could integrate with a variety of web-based learning systems. The scripting language used by Flash, ActionScript, is becoming increasingly sophisticated and allows for the object-oriented approach we wished to adopt. Data for the content and functionality is held in a series of customisable XML documents allowing for easy editing of the content and subsequent projects use a MySQL/PHP combination to store and retrieve user data.

 

 

Tangible Benefits

 

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

 

This learning tool was specifically intended to develop formative learning opportunities for students, both due to the nature of the course problem (which was not summatively assessed) and due to the innovative nature of the tool which was thought best tested on a non-assessed element of the course in its first use.

 

Following qualitative and quantitative in-depth feedback, students appeared to broadly support the use of the game, suggesting that it was at least as valuable to learning as tutorials and lectures. Furthermore the game was the preferred method expressed by most students for absorbing a case study (75% agreeing or strongly agreeing 10.71% not sure); Comments (from recorded verbal feedback) included;

 

'It's a better way of learning than reading the case study...' and 'I seriously think there is no substitute for experience and this is the closest you can get - through a game'

 

After exposure to the game students expressed that they would like further opportunities like this in other modules (78.57% agreeing or strongly agreeing 12.5% not sure). Students reported;

 

'One thing I liked about the game - it was very general - I found it very...integral to the course...', 'I think it's good to have as an option to have it in a module especially in areas where it's particularly difficult so you can read over it and re-iterate over and over again it might give you a different perspective...But like I think if this was like on an area you were going to do like an assignment on.'

 

while one made the point that;

 

'I wouldn't mind some opportunities but if we have it all the time we're just going to get fed up with it like normal case studies, so like a balanced diet.'

 

Students also expressed a preference for the tool as a form of active over passive learning; regarding the benefit of the game over reading texts, one student suggested in terms of the e-learning tool in relation to didactic teaching and reading texts;

 

'...I prefer (the game) - because I don't think that someone standing in front of the class, you know speaking, speaking is enough to learn sometime we need to learn by ourselves, and its not just reading only books, sometimes its by, you see something and see what is happening, it help you to learn and remember it more. Doing something, because you are part of it you are doing something, you know because doing something you want to go ahead and see what is happening, and it draws your attention you observe, you know observations come more close than just listening to (the lecturer) just speaking, speaking, you might fall asleep but if you're playing a game you won't fall asleep.'

 

Finally in relation to relating theory to practice one mentioned;

 

'You can also see the theory being applied to real life, because sometimes they give you points and you say - maybe that's not possible, so then you see it in the game and I thought 'yeah that really happens.''

 

Academic staff were very enthusiastic for the e-learning tool, both within the delivery team, where staff were both impressed with the tool and grateful for the way in which it was embedded into traditional teaching methods, and more generally across the Business School where some staff requested the use of the tool in other modules and courses.

 

The game platform was deliberately designed to be reusable, and two further game/case studies have been developed; one as a training simulation for a nursing course (based around a virtual hospital), the other as an induction game for all new students at the university (based around a faithfully produced virtual model of the entire campus). Other environmental possibilities are limitless; a shopping mall; a haunted castle; a sports field; a motor race course. While current versions include human-like avatars on the same scale, other more creative uses could be developed; ships at sea, insects in a field, vehicles in a city.

 

While current major developments require the input of a multimedia team, small edits are possible in existing games - for instance game missions and individual characters speech as well as other text can be altered quickly, as was experienced in a second iteration of the game.

 

While the current game depends on the specialised platform developed at Glamorgan, it is possible to develop future versions with other institutions and share the resulting games/case studies/simulations with others, as illustrated by the example provided in this case study. All versions of the platform are internet-based, with low computer specification requirements.

 

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

 

Initial disadvantages came with the amount of development time required to design the game (around 3 months of academic staff time and 6 months of multimedia developer time) and the associated cost of staff time. However this time was largely perceived to be due to the innovative nature of the project, and it was expected that future iterations of the tool would take much less time to develop, due to the reusable design of the game platform.

 

Largely reports of dissatisfaction from students appeared to originate from students wanting more and we acknowledge that we could have offered richer information sources and game environment (which would have added further complexity). However limitations in project resources meant that in this instance this was as far as we could go, though intended future developments of the platform may provide opportunities to build on student feedback.

 

A further concern was that the final tool could not be modified without the support of the multimedia development team, however as new iterations of the tool platform are developed, it is intended that an academic staff interface should be developed to provide easier modifications for a wider variety of uses. In the meantime, the existing game platform has proved to be very useful in allowing the multimedia team to develop new versions for other courses. Interestingly, while the original tool was developed to focus on a specific set of questions, its intentional complexity has allowed it to be used in other course contexts within the Business School, as is typically in traditional case studies.

 

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

 

The tool did fit within the universities blended learning strategy, particularly within the 'e-enhanced' model. There was no specific blended learning strategy within the Business School at the time, so in this context the e-learning tool developed was beyond the school's strategy. Since the tool's development, it has been embedded in an additional three modules. As part of this it has become the central part of a core module within the Business School's main new undergraduate programme, which has a specific strategic focus on enhancing delivery through blended learning. The tool platform has been developed through a further two iterations, initially for a nursing simulation and currently for an induction simulation for all new students at the university, and new opportunities for collaborative development are actively sought.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Summary and Reflection

 

We hope that the findings here demonstrate that our intervention has had a positive impact on the students. Most students felt that the experience was enjoyable, beneficial, delivered knowledge as well as other benefits, added value to their course, would be one they would seek to repeat and as a blended learning activity integrated well with traditional campus-based approaches. These findings are in line with those found in other studies examining the use of simulation games and indicates that this is a valid form of instruction which offers benefits to teachers and learners and one which should be more widely employed.

 

We think that the particular value of this tool and blended learning experience came for students in terms of their engagement in double-loop learning in terms of ways of thinking about theories and how they relate to organisations. In addition we found evidence that this experience engaged student's interest and encouraged them to engage further in both tutor-led and private study. As students expressed an interest in alternative ways of using the tool, we need to explore alternative ways of using simulation in traditional contexts, such as part of a lab-based session, or 'walked through' in an interactive lecture.

 

We need to further explore possibilities of developing this approach both in relation to delivering high-quality, immersive case studies and simulations as well as entertainment games. For this emerging expertise in developing interactive case study simulations to develop and deepen, we need to seek further opportunities to develop projects which will extend our educational and technical capabilities in designing and delivering educationally relevant and valid learning experiences using simulation game methodologies.

 

As we take on further projects of this kind we need to be aware of the significance of the creative partnership that needs to exist between the academic and technical roles and the critical importance of educational design as the glue which binds the relationship.

 

Further Evidence

 

'The particular value of this tool and blended learning experience came for students in terms of... ways of thinking about theories and how they relate to organisations... this experience engaged students' interest and encouraged them to engage further in both tutor-led and private study.'

 

'Just listening to [the Lecturer] speaking, you might fall asleep but if you're playing a game you won't fall asleep.' [student comment]