Applying Gaming and Simulation Techniques to the Design of Online Instruction

Gaming and simulation may be two of the most powerful tools available to those who design online instruction because they engage and challenge the learner in a very personal way. In order to succeed in simulation and gaming, the learner must work at a higher cognitive level than the recognition and recall that often succeeds in the traditional classroom. Instead, the learner must become immersed in the situation and apply both new knowledge and old skills to outwit the forces and obstacles thrown in their path. Not all gaming and simulation is instructional, but instruction that can apply the techniques of gaming and simulation has a good chance of capturing the learner’s attention for extended periods of time. When the U.S. Army Armor School at Ft. Knox, KY contracted with the University of Louisville and its partner Northrop Grumman Mission Systems to design and develop an online course for Army captains, they requested that the course include as many gaming and simulation techniques as possible so as to engage online learners in military problem solving and decision making. Because this course is Web-based, the major challenge was to apply gaming and simulation techniques while still respecting the rigorous connectivity and software limitations of the far-flung learner group. This article discusses the instructional design and programming solutions developed during Phase 1 of the Army Captain's Career Course-Distance Learning (AC3-DL) course that balanced the goals of gaming and immersive simulation with the strict limitations imposed by some military users' access to the Internet and computer technology. Many of the solutions presented have broader applications to the design of online instruction.