Group Innovation Project- Dream Team Pro

By

Group 3 - Innovation Nation

A Paper Presented in Fulfilment Of the Requirements of EDID6506 [Issues, Trends, Innovations and Research in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology and Distance Education] Trimester III [2013]

Team Lead Email: University:

tanza.allen@my.open.uwi.edu University of the West Indies Open Campus

Course Coordinator: Dr. Camille Dickson-Deane e-Tutor: Date: Ms. Sandhya Gunness December 10, 2013

Table of Contents

Content................................................................................................................... Page Executive Summary................................................................................................... 4 Introduction to Innovation......................................................................................... 5 Supporting Evidence for Innovation......................................................................... 7 Innovation Mock-up and Explanation....................................................................... 9 Sample Collaboration Exercise...................................................................... 11 Sample Communication Exercise.................................................................. 12 Sample Problem Solving Exercise................................................................. 13 Feedback from Audience........................................................................................... 15 Questions....................................................................................................... 15 Sample Feedback Received........................................................................... 15 References.................................................................................................................17

Table of Figures Content................................................................................................................... Page Figure 1: Mock up of Sign-in Screen.......................................................................10 Figure 2: Mock Up of Whos Who Game Play........................................................12 Figure 3: Mock up of What Did Sherry Say.............................................................13 Figure 4: Mock up of What Do We Do Now ...........................................................14

Executive Summary Organisations, social groups, educators, people in general need to work in teams at some point in time to accomplish a particular goal or set of goals. Teams are usually formed to find solutions to problems that cannot be addressed by an individual for a variety of reasons. Rather, solutions can be derived from the collection and pooling of ideas, personal experiences and knowledge of a group. Marquis (n.d.) found that teamwork was an effective method of improving communication and cohesion amongst those that work in a team and by extension, the entire organisation. A vast amount of learning also occurs because the team members learn from each other, about each other and about information that can affect departmental or organisational operations. Several training interventions have been used to make more effective teams such as icebreakers, trips, and more intensive retreats, workshops and team building exercises to handle more critical team issues. Most of these interventions usually incur significant cost to training expenditure and strains on time and resources, particularly human resources. In order to participate in a team building exercise, a person would normally be required to take time away from their regular daily activities or duties and put them aside until the completion of the team building events. Dream Team Pro is an online game designed as instructional intervention for the individual interested in increasing their knowledge, skills and abilities in the area of team work. The game brings together learning and technology and puts the control, pace and motivation to learn in the hands of the player (individual). Its main purpose is to alleviate the challenges associated with traditional training interventions and make the learning possible at the players convenience. The game design is based on sound constructivist principles and its tasks and

activities are all geared towards increasing the knowledge of the player as well as facilitating behavioural change. This paper will provide evidence that will explain and support the games innovation in its instruction, delivery and technology. Three keys areas of team work, Collaboration, Communication and Problem-solving have been selected to demonstrate a portion of the games exercises and activities and how the player/s are expected to play the game. Feedback was also solicited from a small, unrelated group to gain their opinions of the game, recommendations for its improvement and areas where it performed well.

Introduction to Innovation Dream Team Pro was inspired by UNI-GAME Game-based Learning for universities and lifelong learning from the Minerva Project database. The UNI-GAME project addressed the concepts of game- based learning with a focus on the higher education sector (Scienter, n.d.). This field was opened to European Universities for student learning but also for continuous education concepts. The project, that utilized research on theories such as Computer Games as a Learning Resource and Online Gaming, spanned the course of two years, from 2002-2004. The principles of this game may be easily applied in the corporate environment. Salen and Zimmerman (2004) define educational games as systems in which players engage in artificial challenge, defined by rules that result in quantifiable outcomes (as cited in Shute, Veiber & Van Eck, 2011). Game-based learning provides a direct link between simulated activities and the real world. Dream Team Pro is a game platform that focuses on developing professional team building skills. These skills include working cooperatively, contributing to the group with ideas and suggestions, communicating effectively, conflict resolution skills, and group decision-making. Throughout the game, the player is prompted to demonstrate desirable behaviours based on his/ her cognitive and emotional reactions to instructional content provided.
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Activities are categorized as role-plays that foster participation in problem solving, effective communication, and teamwork and leadership skills. The game is based on constructivist principles and collaborative learning and is designed to promote attaining specific learning goals. The game is accessed via a website and has both single and multi-player features fostering interactivity and creativity. This game is innovative as it reflects the following features: It offers adaptive problem solving challenges designed to meet the needs and skills of the

individual learner (feedback and progress is dependent on responses received) There is a high degree of learner control (constructivist principle) over pace of learning The game is remotely accessible at any time providing there is an Internet connection Cost-efficient for the organization (vis-a-vis classroom or off the job training) Offers single and multi-player features for team building skill development Motivational stimuli emotional and cognitive based, driven by curiosity and challenge Clear goals and rules for playing (minimizes uncertainty, confusion) Consistent measurement of learning outcomes by levels of success in the game Ongoing feedback provided in the context of the game and the learners responses A reflective aspect that provides players with an opportunity to meditate on the

experiences shared within the game.

Supporting Evidence for Innovation Teamwork is integral to any organization. Through teamwork, organization can unlock great potential in their human resources and achieve many of their goals. According to Six Sigma Online, an online training institute, In order to be efficient and to reach your target as an organization, every member needs to do their best and work well together. Employee teamwork is essential to business success. Unfortunately not all employees are able to work as part of a team for one reason or another, and as such organizations go to great lengths to develop and foster teamwork among employees. Some organizations go on retreats, others implement meeting to undertake teamwork activities. Through these activities, not all members of the team benefit from this exercise. Dream Team Pro is a solution to reduce the resources organizations spend to develop and foster teamwork while ensuring that everyone that interacts with the solution gains the benefits. A game based solution was developed because of the many benefits it provides. According to the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), education and game scholars find that computer games succeed as educational devices because they provide long exposures to concepts through re-playability, contextualize educational information, teach problem solving skills, develop multi-player socialization, and allow players to be producers and not just consumers. Another benefit that gaming provides is that it can facilitate players developing higher order skills in a fun and informal way. CAISE (n.d.) advised that The continuum of skills and knowledge conveyed by games ranges from learning facts through rote memorization to expressing a more complex and flexible comprehension. One of the goals of the solution was to have it be accessible so many persons could benefit from the game. Having it online or via an organizations intranet allows that objective to be achieved.

Game based learning has a positive impact on learning. Games build on learner curiosity, help learners develop motivation and confidence in the learning journey as games facilitate immediate feedback, encouragement and reinforcement of concepts. Edery (2008) explained that when teaching teamwork skills, a game based approach could be to focus on specific problems that may be hard to identify and correct. In his article, Edery mentions a game called Everest, designed by Harvard Business School and Forio Business Simulations that forces players to face issues and overcome them as a team. Dream Team Pro is an innovation with a similar concept that focuses on specific teamwork skill development through a number of challenging scenarios. Several persons in the field of instructional design have commented on the benefits of scenario-based training, and Dream Team Pro is designed to capitalize on some of these benefits. Clark and Mayer (2013) write that the most significant advantage Scenario-based e-learning offers is that of opportunity to gain practical experience in less time that real life. Change Factory (2013) also adds that scenario-based training is able to provide this opportunity by mimicking real-life learning. Other benefits include repetition which facilitates long term knowledge creation and fun (Change Factory, 2013). Clark and Mayer (2013) hold the view that scenario-based learning allows persons to learn from mistakes, as opposed to being motivated by competition as in a game. Along with all the mentioned benefits, Dream Team Pro responds to player actions both by awarding points and in the form of 'real' tangible changes in the scenario. In this way, players receive dual feedback, which helps them keep moving forward, while learning through reflection and action. As a solution based on UNI-Game, Dream Team Pro similarly attempts to provide training for soft skills or social skills of cooperation and communication. Scenario-based training has been used for this kind of training, for negotiation, customer-service, etc. One notable

training application, Quarantine, developed using Adobe software, has similarities to Dream Team Pro (Partridge, 2013). Both training games provide a large scenario or context in which learners practice the target behaviour in order to sharpen real-life skills. Quarantine is an example of how Adobe Captivate software can be used to develop such a training tool. Another software that can be used is Storyline Articulate.

Innovation Mock-up and Explanation The tools being considered to create the Dream Team Pro are Storyline Articulate and Microsoft PowerPoint. Combining these tools affords us the opportunity to transform, create, and narrate and annotate PowerPoint presentations to develop an online game. The tools will also facilitate the ease of sharing with multiple users and provide for a more dynamic and interactive user experience. Other benefits of using these tools are that they can be used on any digital device and the assessment techniques and scoring mechanism are easily integrated. Upon start up, players of Dream Team Pro select a character, which will be his/her role for the duration of the game. He can also select a country in which to live, where he will experience a natural disaster, and respond to various tasks aimed at developing and testing his teamwork skills. Having selected a character and a country of residence, the game begins. The scenario involves the player living in a community where he will be part of the disaster management team once a hurricane watch has been issued by the meteorological office. He will be expected to work alongside four (4) other persons of various backgrounds.

Figure 1: Mock up of Player (s) Sign-in Screen

The overall goal is for the player and his team to come through the hurricane/natural disaster safely, with all property secure and undamaged. Simultaneously, the player must demonstrate good teamwork skills at each level of the game, and earn points by demonstrating his ability to collaborate, communicate, and problem solve, effectively as part of a team. The meaning and examples of these key components of team work can be accessed by the player by clicking the Help/Hint icon and they can do this at any point within the game. Throughout the game, players are able to access the following controls: Start/ Continue game Exit Help Options - Players can adjust some game features for their account like display, sounds, alerts, etc. Soundboard - Discussion board for players to post feedback, comments and questions. They can also share their real life teamwork experiences.

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The interface will also feature the players current score, and a graphics showing the hurricane/disaster path/information as appropriate to the stage of the event the player is at.

Sample Collaboration Exercise The collaboration exercises designed for the game are expected to increase the players understanding of the concept of collaboration in teams and by the end of the game the player should be able to apply this new knowledge to a real world team situation. As part of the game, the player will be one of the members of the Disaster Management Team. The team is made up of persons of different backgrounds and situations and each have their own opinion about the way should handle the impending hurricane and the plans that should be put in place. Even though they all live in the same community, they are not familiar with each other and in order to get the team started they need to decide on their individual roles on the team. The player is required to figure out the skills and abilities of each team member and this will be accomplished by the player choosing a skill or ability, from a list provided, and dragging and dropping it to the team member that he/she thinks it best matches. The player receives points for every correct match. See Figure 2: Mock up of Whos Who game play. The player goes on to the next level where he/she will now have to select the most suitable combination of team members that will best be able to accomplish the goals of the team. The player is allowed several tries and once they have arrived at correct combination, they will receive points and an extra bonus of additional emergency relief supplies. The more incorrect attempts result in the delay in emergency response, displaced residents and insufficient supply of food, water and utilities.

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Figure 2: Mock Up of Whos Who Game Play

Sample Communication Exercise The aim of the communication tasks in the game is for the player to demonstrate and develop his listening and feedback skills, as these are critical when working in a group. Through a number of challenges, the player will use these skills to benefit his team and the achievement of their goals. It is intended for the player to assess his own strengths and weaknesses in this area and the impact on his team - virtual and real. One example task which assesses the players listening skills involves him taking reports from his team after the field visits to the community. Tasked with the responsibility of compiling a list of preparedness supplies, the player must listen to the reports (audio clips in the game) and check off on a list the items actually required based on what persons said. Points are awarded based on the number of correct items the player selects, see Figure 3: Mock up of What Did Sherry Say. Additionally, anything that is left off, will
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impact the teams ability to help the community survive the storm. Similar communication tasks are situated in each level of the game, in increasing difficulty as the player progresses.

Figure 3: Mock up of What Did Sherry Say

Sample Problem Solving Exercise A learning objective of the problem solving module is, through the use of scenarios, the player will apply knowledge of the various steps involved in problem solving. In one of the tasks to access the players problem solving skills, they are faced with a dilemma that involves one of their team members getting injured while undertaking cleaning up activities. The injured team member needs medical attention immediately and the clean up exercise needs to continue so that inundated community members can receive well needed supplies. The aim of this obstacle would be to select the most appropriate solution to address this situation. The Game will
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provide the players with more details on the situation so the player can make an informed decision. The player will be presented with several options and based on the options selected the player will lose or gain supplies or resources for managing the disaster. The more supplies/resources he preserves or gains the more points, which will help him progress to the Pro level, an example is shown in Figure 4. The presence of each kind of task at every level ensures that players receive multiple opportunities to practice and hone skills of collaboration, communication and problem solving. The multi-player feature of the game facilitates players working as a unit to address as many scenarios as they can in the game, in a shorter time-frame. By using the multi-player option, users will be able to reach the Pro Player level easier, by working together.

Figure 4: Mock up of What Do We Do Now

Feedback from Audience

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Being that the main target audience for the game are employees within organizations, individuals from various companies were selected to provide us with feedback for the mock up of this game. Employees from Call Centers, the Health-Care industry as well as the Energy field provided feedback.

Feedback on Dream Team Pro was obtained from the selected audience using the following questions as well as open discussion. 1. How effective do you think this game would be for training persons in teamwork skills? 2. Is this a game that you would play? Give some reasons why/why not. 3. What could we improve in the game?

Summary of feedback received

Sample Responses Question 1 Yes I think it would be effective because it has activities that teach individuals to work as a group as well as to listen to each other and how to make choices to solve problems Very effective, I would say 9 out of 10. Question 2 Yes. It seems that it would be challenging but fun to complete the required actions Question 3 I dont really know. Maybe you could make the team larger

Yes I would play this game. One, its adventurous and two, it will make the player informed in real life situations

I would give the player the option to redeem points to make the community a safer one and by making it safer, players can also improve their rank or score

The feedback received from potential users was mostly positive. Respondents found the game innovative, interesting and relevant in terms of the skills it set out to teach. Some
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respondents would play the game due to its real-life applicability and the adventure it offered, while others suggested another kind of scenario due to different individual preferences. In terms of the actual use of the tool, the audience raised a few issues and questions of efficiency and provision of resources. Access to the game would need to be provided for in an organization where access to the Internet is restricted. Would this access be given during work hours? Would a computer(s) be made available or do potential players have regular access to a computer that could be used to play this game? Before implementation of Dream Team Pro, these questions would need to be addressed. However, it is clear from the feedback that persons believe this is a training tool that would be worth the investment to produce and implement.

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References

CAISE. (n.d.). Game based learning benefits ISE. Retrieved on December 10, 2013 from http://www.informalscience.org/research/wiki/Game-based-learning-benefits-ISE Change Factory (2013). The benefits of scenario based training. Retrieved from http://www.changefactory.com.au/articles/training/the-benefits-of-scenario-basedtraining/ Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2013). Scenario-based e-learning: Evidence-based guidelines for online workforce learning. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons. Available at http://books.google.com.jm/books?id=RAJ1ZuQW1agC&pg Edery, D. J. (2008, April 2). Teaching teamwork skills: Everest. Retrieved from http://www.edery.org/2008/04/teaching-teamwork-skills-everest/ Haws, T. (n.d). Team building. Retrieved on December 9, 2013 from http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/Interventions/teaming_1.htm Marqis, A. (n.d.). Importance of teamwork in organisations. Retrieved on December 9, 2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-teamwork-organizations-14209.html Partridge, A. (2013, April 4). Soft skills/ Scenario based training full source example for #Adobe Captivate. Retrieved from http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2013/04/ soft-skills scenariobased-training-full-source-example-for-adobecaptivate.html Scienter. (n.d.). Uni-game: Game-based learning in universities and lifelong learning. Retrieved on December 10, 2013 from http://www.engagelearning.eu/community/wpcontent/uploads/2009/11/Abstract_UNIGAME_Survey_on_GBL_chapter2_page22_2 4.pdf. Six Sigma Online. (n.d.). The Advantages of Teamwork in Business. Retrieved on December
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10, 2013 from http://www.sixsigmaonline.org/six-sigma-training-certificationinformation/the-advantages-of-teamwork -in-business.html Ya-Ting, C.Y. (2012). Building virtual cities, inspiring intelligent citizens: digital games for developing students problem solving and learning motivation, Computers and Education 59, 2, 365377.

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