Game-Based Experiential Learning in Online Management Information Systems Classes Using Intel's IT Manager 3

1. INTRODUCTION Experiential learning approaches such as cases (Mauffette-Leenders, Erskine, and Leenders, 1997) or computer simulations and games (Becker and Parker, 2012) can be used to impart greater level of understanding and increased retention of concepts and relationships than more passive educational pedagogy, enabling students to better transfer lessons learned to the business world (Anderson and Lawton, 2009; Shute and Ke, 2012). A simulation can be seen as the recreation of real management situations where participants are allowed to experiment with different decisions, and are permitted to fail and try again while learning to understand the consequences of their actions (Leger et al., 2011) and begin to recognize the complexities of the system dynamics. Functional and factual learning can result from the use of games (Connolly et al., 2012). It is however recommended that pedagogical mechanisms need to be in place in order for deeper recognition and comprehension to develop through the reconciliation of theory and practical experience. We use a strategy of reflection to reinforce students' understanding of the management theories and concepts learned in class which is guided through the use of specific questions. This is consistent with constructionism in game-based education (Ulicsak and Wright, 2010), where learning is reinforced by having to explain it. The use of digital games as an alternative way to support learning has been examined in various disciplines. The premise is that educational games can increase student engagement and provide an authentic and rich picture of the learner (Shute and Ke, 2012). Games provide context and situations, which are necessary for useable and robust knowledge (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989). Playing games invokes problem solving, creativity, persistence and other valuable skills and competencies required today but not well supported in current educational systems (Shute and Ke, 2012). Research on educational games was virtually nonexistent prior to 2006, and by 2010 made up a small portion (3%) of educational technology articles in the 6 Journals studied by Hsu, Hung and Ching (2013). Connolly et al. (2012) examined evidence in a meta-study of research articles on games as learning tools. They found that "the most frequently occurring outcomes were knowledge acquisition/content understanding". Dondlinger (2012) describes this learning outcome in other terms as "complex concepts and abstract thinking", in another meta-study on learning outcomes from educational video games. Similarly, Ke's (2009) review of the literature on game based learning also made a similar conclusion, where she states "An interesting pattern is that games seem to foster higher-order thinking (e.g. planning and reasoning) more than factual or verbal knowledge acquisition." (Ke, 2009, p.22). Simulation games can help students not only develop problem solving skills, but also the skill to anticipate future problems (Lin and Lin, 2014). We used the IT Manager 3 game in our classes to deepen our students' learning about IT management issues and better internalize the course curriculum by experiencing firsthand how budgets, risks, and employees behave in a dynamic environment. In the following sections of this paper we discuss prior literature on games in higher education and we summarize characteristics of good games. We then describe how the game we adopted in our online Management Information Systems class contributed to learning. We conclude with a discussion of the outcomes, and recommend how instructors can apply our experience to successfully utilize games such as IT Manager 3 in their courses. 2. THE PEDAGOGICAL VALUE OF GAMES Games can provide organized and structured play that is voluntary, motivating and requires active physical or cognitive engagement (Shute and Ke, 2012) and which allows for experimentation, identity shaping, freedom of effort and interpretation, failure and recovery (Klopfer, Osterweil, and Salen, 2009; Sutton-Smith and Pellegrini, 1995; Rieber, 1996). …