Forio's Forum

pauldsmith — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:37:51 +0000

Webinar May 13: Leadership through Dramatic Times

pauldsmith — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:14:14 +0000

Leadership through Dramatic Times Preparing Managers using Model-based Simulations Please join us for a 60-minute webinar to demonstrate how Fortune 500 companies are using Forio off-the-shelf simulations to prepare managers for leadership through dramatic times.FREE simulation to play during and after the webinar May 13, Wednesday, 3:00 ET / 12:00 PT (1 hour duration) Who should attend: L&D Managers, [...]

Six Point Checklist: Making a User Friendly Login Page

wglass — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 06:16:27 +0000

An important feature of Forio Broadcast Professional is the ability to restrict access to registered users. Broadcast contains a number of features to make the login process smooth and your application appear professional.

Reporting Totals in a Simulation

wglass — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:08:27 +0000

I promised to explain some of the new features in Broadcast in a series of articles. My favorite new feature in Forio Broadcast solves a real problem, is simple to apply, and I've started using it everywhere. In a nutshell, you can now easily calculate totals in the user interface. If you've struggled with this as much as I have you'll probably be jumping for joy.

Enhancements to Forio Broadcast

wglass — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:01:17 +0000

One of the benefits of offering Forio Broadcast as online software is a complete change in the nature of upgrades. Since we launched the site five years ago we have added new features on a regular but fairly quiet basis. You will find that some of these enhancements simply make existing simulations work better. Other times you might find a surprising new capability to use when building a new simulation. It's easy to look past such continual evolution, so I wanted to highlight some of the subtle improvements and new capabilities made available in the last six months.

How Effective are Training Simulations?

Michael Bean — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:10:01 +0000

Most of the evidence that simulations are effective teaching tools has been anecdotal. But fortunately, there have been some carefully designed research studies that examine the effectiveness of simulations and test these anecdotal assertions. Research studies examining the effectiveness of simulations have found that students learn more effectively using simulations and games than alternative learning tools. Also younger managers who have used computer games since early childhood enjoy simulations and games more than case studies. Other studies have shown that simulations are effective at getting students to apply concepts that they have learned through lectures or reading and that simulations can be used for testing because they can evaluate the level of comprehension of key concepts taught throughout a class. Other studies have found that measured by performance on a final exam, students who played the simulation performed significantly better than those who did not play the simulation

Global Warming Simulation

Michael Bean — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:51:16 +0000

The Global Warming Interactive Simulation is a serious game that explores the relationship of global warming to economic, political, and science policy decisions. The simulation, developed by a nine person team headed by Professor Michael Hillinger and simulated with Forio Broadcast produces estimates of the CO2 emissions over a period of 100 years. The model also takes into account social and economic variables such as development of alternative energy sources, taxes on carbon production, unemployment levels, and even public opinion.

Oracle Adversim: Lean Manufacturing Simulation

Michael Bean — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:45:38 +0000

Try the Simulation

Advergaming is the practice of using computer games to advertise a product or service. Last year, Oracle, through Grey Advertising, commissioned Forio to develop an advertising simulation (adversim) that explains how Oracle’s ERP systems and databases can improve Lean Manufacturing. Like other companies that sell sophisticated products and services, Oracle has traditionally offered white papers through its website as a way to educate potential customers and generate leads. This year Oracle decided to experiment with a more interactive approach through the Lean Manufacturing Simulation. While advergames have been targeted to consumers, adversims are targeted to businesses. Adversims help managers learn about products and services by allowing managers to experiment with tactics and strategies in an engaging way. In The Lean Manufacturing Simulation, you are the director of a US-based plant that manufactures hybrid cars. Your manufacturing plant is in trouble. Senior management is concerned about high delivery delays, excessive inventories, unpredictable supplier performance, and a wide variation in production levels.

How the U.S. Government Designs War Games

Michael Bean — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:39:58 +0000

A recently declassified U.S. war simulation conducted in 1999 by U.S. Central Command to explore post-occupation Iraq scenarios illustrates the use of war gaming within the U.S. government. The formerly secret simulation, called Desert Crossing, included 70 military, diplomatic and intelligence participants who role-played for the exercise. The simulation and seminar was essentially a change management [...]

Game Master: The New Yorker Reports on Will Wright’s Spore

Michael Bean — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:57:26 +0000

New Yorker reporter John Seabrook writes about Will Wright and his upcoming release of his new game, “Spore” by Electronic Arts. Seabrook provides a brief history of gaming, starting with Atari’s Pong, developed by Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn and advancing to “God games” in the late 80s. Seabrook writes: Computer animation is a brute-force project of converting graphic art into two-dimensional pixels, and, more recently, into three-dimensional polygons, the building blocks of digital pictures. But to create a truly absorbing simulation, one that offers some insight into the nature of real life, is a much more difficult proposition. The designer must play God, or at tleast the notion of God in Boethius’ “Consolotion of Philosophyy” — a god that can anticipate the outcome of the plyaer’s actions and yet allows the player the feeling of free will.