I was really pleased with last week's webinar on serious games. The application of game technology and "game mechanics" to human capital management purposes at first seems to be a new and radical departure from conventional practices. However, I think in some sense it represents technology catching up with tried and true training and performance management approaches. The medium of serious games really represents a return to active learning and "learning by doing". This is a far more natural and engaging approach to instruction than the passive, power-point delivered learning experiences that otherwise predominate.

Likewise, serious games and virtual enviroments offer a way to take "competency models" out of documents and system dialog boxes and put them into "3D." Virtual worlds can give employees the opportunity to try, reherse, and refine their competencies in a safe environment. Multiplayer environments can provide transparency across teams and opportunities to learn from both team members and competitors.

Thanks again to the panelists, Randy Brown, Virtual Heroes; Steve Mahaley, Duke Corporate Education; and Karen Sopko, Creative Bandwidth Games