Can virtual training be better than real life? Over recent years, courses have started to be offered online as well as in person, and people in Scotland and Cornwall can ‘meet’ using Skype or webinars. Now, simulation games – hitherto used for military training, and in healthcare, where virtual patients can be treated – are being extended to early years as well.
Digital Bridges is a project from the University of West Scotland (UWS) and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in partnership with universities and developers across Europe. The project challenges students to find solutions to multiple simultaneous ‘real-life’ scenarios such as injuries, parents collecting children from school, and disagreements among children, to help prepare them for life in the nursery.
Professor Thomas Connolly, head of creative technologies at UWS, says the game can go where reality cannot in terms of creating a safe environment. ‘In a real-world environment, if you make a mistake, it has real-world consequences. However, in a virtual environment, it has no impact.’
Players of the game take on the role of a childcare practitioner during a morning session at nursery. They see children arrive with their parents/carers and take part in a number of activities such as sand and water play, painting and role-play, before being collected. A total of 16 children attend the virtual nursery, which is staffed with two practitioners, who can be called on for help.
As players navigate the virtual environment, they are given real-life scenarios (see boxes) to deal with, grouped under the themes of communication, well-being and resilience, and health and safety. For each scenario they are presented with a choice of options. The decision they make shapes the next lot of options available to them.
Players can choose to end a scenario when they wish and review their progress.
According to Professor Connolly, the game also gives students the opportunity to deal with scenarios they might not normally encounter while on work placements.
‘The difficulty with work placements, where students gain most of their practical experience, is finding learning opportunities and suitable mentors to guide them through the process. However, the virtual nursery presents users with scenarios they are unlikely to encounter in training, and their decisions can be reviewed by their tutors/lecturers,’ he says.
However unlikely it may seem, simulation technology has already been used for training nursery workers – over a decade ago. In 2003, a study from Bar-Ilan University in Israel recommended a virtual reality simulation to train nursery teachers after findings showed that those who used the technology had a ‘significantly’ better understanding than teachers who attended traditional workshops.
The study of 89 nursery school teachers compared the effectiveness of 20 hours of training via a 3D virtual simulation model with the same number of hours of workshop training.
After the training, which aimed to develop the practitioners’ understanding of children’s cognitive perceptions, the teachers were observed in their settings over a period of two days. An abstract from the paper read, ‘In light of the results of the study, it is suggested that teacher trainers should favourably consider using virtual reality simulation models in the training of nursery school teachers in order to maximise the effectiveness of the teacher training process.’
When it comes to the Digital Bridges project, the jury is still out on its effectiveness as teachers are still being trained, with the 500 students due to take part in the pilot early next year. Professor Connolly stresses the game should be used to supplement and not replace face-to-face learning. It will be interesting to see the results.
For more information visit: http://digital-bridges.eu
EXAMPLE SCENARIO: ALEX AND HER TUMMY ACHE
Alex arrives at nursery complaining of a tummy ache and asks her mum if she can go home. Alex is dropped off at the setting as normal. Mum, who is in a hurry to get her younger child to the doctors, says she is acting up.
When approached, Alex tells the player she feels sick. The player is given the following options: ask her how she feels, tell her she will be OK and her mummy will be back at lunchtime, or ask ‘Why don’t we find something to play with?’.
The player chooses to ask how she feels and Alex says she wants to go to the doctors with her mummy. The player is then given the following options: to take Alex’s temperature, tell her she will be OK, or play with the other children.
EXAMPLE SCENARIO: LOUISE AND THE WATER SLIP
Fred knocks over some water onto the floor and Louise slips on it. Fred says that ‘Louise has hurt herself’. Louise is crying and lying on the floor. She complains that her hand hurts.
As the player goes over to Louise, she says ‘ouch’. The player can choose to ask if Louise is OK, comfort her, or tell her to stop crying as she is fine. In choosing to comfort Louise, she says again that her hand hurts.
The player is then given the options to either get something for Louise’s wrist, or tell her to sit down and carry on having her snack, or to go and sit in the reading area while the mess is cleared up.
EXAMPLE SCENARIO: OSCAR AND THE EYEPATCH
The student practitioner informs the player that Oscar has taken off his eyepatch. Oscar says he won’t wear the eyepatch as it ‘feels funny’ and his friends won’t know who he is.
The player goes over to Oscar, who holds up his eye patch and says he won’t wear it. The player is given the following options: to ask why he won’t wear it and tell him his mummy says it helps his eye get stronger, say it’s up to him and you will let his parents know when they arrive, or tell him it’s his choice.