Simulation games for students

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Simulation games for students

SIMULATION GAMING

Creative, participatory teaching techniques are very important tools. One such set of tools is Simulation Games, which are the kind of games that are designed to motivate students to learn any information by involving them in simi-real events with allowing them to make their own decisions. Such games might be played on several levels, from simple to more complex and realistic versions .
Adams defines simulation as "a controlled detailed mode intended to reflect a situation found in the real world. It is a dramatic view of life existing for the serious purpose of learning about real experiences ."
Such learning technique is so helpful for the students, for it develops many of the students skills unconsciously just by their active participation and involvement in any gaming or stimulation situation. One of its endless advantages is that it allows students to be introduced to difficult concepts that will be meaningful and understandable when experienced. Moreover, it allows students to practice any activity that is hard to be done in real life, simply like practicing flying a plane. Problem-solving skills, self-motivation, and self-confidence are also enhanced through simulation experiences.
One of the first simulation games is the American strategic, life-simulation, computer-game known as The Sims. The Sims focuses entirely on the lives of "Sims", placing the player in control of their virtual "world" and their daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, reading, and bathing. Will Wright, the game's designer, calls it a "digital dollhouse". The idea for The Sims is thought to be drawn from Will Wright's experience in the 1991 Oakland firestorm, when his house and many of his possessions were destroyed in the fire. Wright was required to move his family elsewhere and rebuild his life; these events led to Will's inspiration of creating a simulated game about life.

Nowadays, It has been widely known that the best learning mostly occur in the absence of the teacher. So, teachers must know how to use these simulation games to facilitate the learning process for the students. For example, the teachers of the Economic field could use simulation games for students to participate directly in a market by managing a simulated firm and making decisions on price and production to maximize profits. Also, Medicine teachers could use these games to train students for surgeries. "SimuLearn" has created a Virtual Leader training environment that teaches communication, project management, and team building skills (http://www. simulearn.net /).

Are Simulations possible in physics class? In the classrooms of Hal and Kali in Lawrence, Massachusetts, simulations were used much more than a digital depiction of “trajectory” or Newton’s laws of motion. Hal has been using STARLOGO TNG to create digital simulations to demonstrate the principles of complex concepts such as evolution or the factors in a forest fire , two concepts that would otherwise be difficult for the students to experience. Another great simulation that could be used by history teachers is the game "Civilization™". It provides contextual game play in the art of cross-cultural communications (http://www.civ3.com /faq5.cfm) . The goal of this games is to command and conquer, along the way the player learns about History, geography, political and military strategies, and negotiation through multiple cultural encounters.

Simulation environments are potent instructional tools. From illustrating physics principles to practicing medicine on a virtual patient, it is easy to understand the importance of providing such learning environments to science and engineering students. Simulation focus learning not simply on the knowing of facts and ideas, but on the USING of facts and ideas since it provides manipulative experiences unavailable in the normal physical space of a classroom environment.

Simulation games for students:

     students behave differently when communicating online compared to a face-to-face situation. Research has shown that when communicating online, students show fewer inhibitions, display less social anxiety, and reduce their public self-awareness. (Kiesler et al., 1984; Siegler et al., 1986; Matheson & Zanna, 1988; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991; Bradley & Lomicka, 2000). They also tend to be more willing to divulge personal information and more honest and forth coming in presenting their personal viewpoints. Based on these findings, it seems that a virtual learning environment may constitute a more relaxed and stress free atmosphere than a classroom. The low level of inhibition and social anxiety, in particular, would be advantageous in foreign language learning, as it would result in increased language production.
simulations and video games allow students to put the language into the context of dialogue, experience, images, and actions. They allow language to be situated. Furthermore, they don’t give players lots and lots of words out of context before they can be used and experienced or before they are needed or useful. This is an ideal situation for language acquisition, for acquiring new words and new forms of language for new types of activity .
Students also are able to hear digital words and sounds in other languages from their computers. Anna Krauth in the Languages Department says that she occasionally uses games in her language classes. "It's usually when we have some time left," she writes. "They are games that make students work on particular vocabulary or sentence structures. Students seem to enjoy them for the most part, maybe just because they provide a nice escape from the traditional classroom subject. I think a language class should be fun, so we do many other things that provide a nice escape from the books ."
   In addition, Richard B. Powers, a long time user of simulation games at Utah State University says it succinctly. "Games bring together the rarely associated elements of play, laughter, and learning which bring joy to learning. Why not make learning in our schools joyful (Powers, 1994, p. 235". )

Some Simulation games and Cool sites to check out :
http://www.digitalspace.com/traveler/
Onlive Traveller - online community where avatars can communicate in the user’s voice, with microphones instead of typing.

Computer games and simulations are increasingly being used in all areas of education. The languages have become benefactors as well, especially with the ability of students to hear digital words and sounds in other languages from their computers. The vast majority of commercial computer games/simulations being developed today could easily be adapted for educational use. Simulation and gaming, whether computer based or not, can be a powerful tool when used properly and in the right setting. They help students actually experience a system or problem and not just read or hear about it. Computer simulations are especially able to allow students to create and manipulate systems and problems within certain parameters and without the normal constraints of time and space. And besides all that, they are interesting, attract students to learn, and are usually down right fun. For all these reasons TEACERS have tried to apply such teaching technique trying to motivate their students. http://spinner.cofc.edu/~seay/cb/simgames.html?referrer=webcluster

This is A Simulation Model for ESP Classes:

Let's Do Business
Overview. To bridge this gap between simulations and testing, I have developed a task-based model at Tokyo Foreign Language Business Academy as part of an ongoing research project to evaluate the effects of simulation techniques in ESP classes, taking in account the need and desire to measure language proficiency (in this case, business English) at the intermediate level .
Design. Students are required to participate in a business simulation called "Let's Do Business" as part of the final evaluation near the end of the second year. This simulation deals with the rise of a travel agency called Fly Company from its inception through the research and development of a new sales promotion over a six-month period (which actually takes place during four consecutive class periods of 90 minutes each). I allocate each student the role of office manager, sales representative, or office clerk, and they are required to put into full use the language, behavioral, and business skills they have acquired during the past two years. In this case, I divide students into four branch offices of the company that are supposedly located in cities throughout Japan by partitioning the room into four sections, each equipped with a computer and printer, table and chairs, white board, phone, calculator, and access to a fax machine .

I make elaborate preparations to fulfill, what Jones (1982, pp. 4-5) terms, the three essential elements of simulations: (a) Reality of function (participants are assigned roles and are told they must fully accept them both mentally and behaviorally as if they were actually those people); (b) simulated environment (a realistic setting constructed to enhance role-acceptance by utilizing a variety of realia, e.g., in this case, specially printed business cards, time cards, name tags, letterhead, technical support including computers and a fax machine, and memorandums); and (c) structure (the whole action is built around a set of problems or tasks---not invented by the participants but rather evolve as the action progresses ).

The groups are asked in a memorandum from the company president, William Johnson, to devise a new marketing strategy for domestic travel tours in Japan based on the results of a comprehensive survey of Japanese consumers' tastes and preferences. After analyzing the data, participants at each branch discuss their target market, decide how they are going to promote their services (e.g., television or radio spot, newspaper advertisement, direct mail, fliers, etc.), communicate their ideas and progress with the other branches by fax, phone, or mail, and then write and submit a proposal to the president .

In the end, our main goal is to provide some measure of both the process (how they approached the task orally in English by reviewing, organizing and weighing alternatives, deliberating over the information available to them, etc.) and the product (the proposal they draft demonstrating their English writing, computer, and reading skills). http://www.esl-lab.com/research/simul.htm

To keep up with the educational expectations of today's youth, we should use innovative teaching techniques. Where resources and training programs aren't available to keep pace with our growing technological expansion, methods must be developed and used that involve active learning without depending on high technology. Simulation Gaming is a viable alternative for learning about and experiencing real-life situations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

http://www.joe.org/joe/1989summer/tt1.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims http://www.etc.cmu.edu/etcpress/node/198 http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf
http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/MacArthur.pdf
http://spinner.cofc.edu/~seay/cb/simgames.html?referrer=webcluster

N.Alaamer
A.Almegrin
L.Alaqeel
N.alhuqeal

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