Simulations and Collective Environments: New Boundaries of Inclusiveness for Organizations?

International Journal of Advances in Psychology (IJAP) Volume 3 Issue 4, November 2014 doi: 10.14355/ijap.2014.0304.01

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Simulations and Collective Environments: New Boundaries of Inclusiveness for Organizations?

Nunzio Casalino* Department of Business Strategies and Innovation Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi CERP - Centre for Studies and Research on the Economy of the Networks and New Professions Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy *

n.casalino@unimarconi.it

Abstract Virtual environments developed thanks to the use of advanced technologies, allow participants to experience in a full and total way learning and knowledge, from a subjective perspective, where multisensory interaction is provided. The social business context of learning can be improved by the content itself. It is suitable to create social on-line places that, in organizational disciplines, can be deep interpreted connected with social sciences; content can be created by interactive business learning environments with unique, simulated and social contexts for learning. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of simulations and role plays and how these tools, if well managed, offer a variety of powerful information sharing and collaboration features.

Understanding perceptions and usage behavior of these systems is a very important goal, because the success of them depends on several social and psychological factors. In addition, the benefits of 3D graphics for education have been explored. 3D models are very useful to familiarize with features of different shapes and objects, and can be particularly useful in boundaries teaching activities. Some courses have been developed using 3D images that the user must interact with in order to learn.

Keywords Business Simulations; Training Processes; Collective Environment; Virtual Labs; Virtual Reality; Blended Learning

Introduction The aim of this essay is presenting and discussing the experiences achieved on online courses’ design from the complexity and interaction points of view. Besides it is important to explore some new inspiring ways for creating an online learning community similar to that which one might experience in a face-to-face university (Casalino et al., 2007). Virtual reality has become very popular and successful in many areas including learning and organizations’ training. The

Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi (www.unimarconi.it) is the first Italian Open University officially recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research. In compliance with the three-cycle system established by the framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area, this institution offers a wide range of programs and courses including first and second level degrees, masters, certificates and PhDs. Thanks to an innovative learning methodology consisting in merging e-learning, m-learning and t-learning solutions with traditional activities such as lectures, workshops and seminars and to a personalized tutoring and students support service the University answers the different target of students needs according to their personal skills and background. In recent years the new dynamics of functioning in the knowledge economy, the transforming nature of learning and the changing needs of the learners have urged to create a real balance between university courses and the requirements imposed by the evolution of both the job market and the technological sector (Arina and Viitamäki, 2010). Taking into account those profound societal and economic changes, Marconi University is constantly engaged in offering flexible format and innovative technological solutions, allowing graduates to easily settle in a professional career or to empower their abilities. The University’s educational offer is based on the principles of innovation and quality assurance. Indeed, in order to enhance the didactic efficiency and to improve the production of study material, Marconi has changed the traditional way of learning shifting from a traditional approach to a pro-active one based on the principles of flexibility and able to evaluate the many factors that influence the achievement of learning 103

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International Journal of Advances in Psychology (IJAP) Volume 3 Issue 4, November 2014

results (Burdea and Coiffet, 2003). The level of development and satisfaction achieved so far by the users of its courses makes believe that this kind of model is certainly successful in terms of expected results for both users and promoters. According to this the Students population has reached a current number of 14.707 students enrolled. Being aware of the new challenges coming from both the globalization and the necessity of an internationalization of knowledge, in 2006 was founded GUIDE - Global Universities in Distance Education, a large network currently joined by around over 120 distance/open universities located worldwide (www.guideassociation.org). The main objective is to promote the spread of an equal, supportive and sustainable knowledge making use of Information and Communication Technologies in the respect of cultural specificity and values of each member. In this framework, were established a number of cooperation agreements with European, Latin American and African institutions aiming at fostering transnational mobility, improving higher education systems quality, designing and implementing joint programs and courses envisaging the release of double certifications. In order to continuously encourage a culture of quality and excellence in education both the University and the Association are engaged in the process of Knowledge Sharing and Content Development through a project launched by GUIDE aiming to favor the production of innovative learning contents through the exchange of fitting information, ideas, suggestions, and expertise among international institutions. The objective is to provide on the one hand a common space for circulating educational best practices and research findings and on the other, a place for creating innovative and multidisciplinary postgraduate curricula internationally recognized (Dickey, 2003).

The internationalization aim together with the efforts and work dedicated to the production of online excellence contents and didactic and technological solutions have led to development of different educational projects like virtual labs, interactive and multimedia paths, role-play, simulations and 3D learning path.

The Contextual Knowledge and a New “Cognitive Risk” Learning paths and environments to be autonomously selected and developed need of virtual classrooms, laboratories, e-tutors, open source shared educational resources, as an alternative to exclusive knowledge

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production. The present-day myth of “contextual knowledge”, which can be created and access everywhere and at every time, runs the risk of being an “out of control” learning process. Learning time and modality are defined according to indeterminate and accidental choices related to specific contexts and situations (Attwell, 2007). According to this new “symbolic view”, if before the learning world seem to be naturalized and the coincidence with individual experience can be considered as a secondary element lacking in sense, on the contrary in the new technoscience, net and virtual world age, life, social context and real world lack in sense (Thurmond and Wambach, 2004). The cognitive and experiential approaches related to the evaluation of actions and behavior change: the knowledge of human actions is based on an external evaluation, a distance evaluation which corresponds to the representation of the analyzed phenomenon (Zhang, et al., 2004). This way it is not possible to understand, experiment, evaluate, measure and interact with a system without being part of it, even if just virtually. In this new knowledge economy which cannot set aside collaborative processes and knowledge sharing, exists yet a high “cognitive risk”. In the last years we are living in a context where concrete objects are losing their importance and significance and are rapidly substituted by knowledge, information, symbols, “immaterial elements” which are recognized as “social objects”. In any case the fundamental risk is to not be able to develop new cognitive competencies, suitable for including the “immaterial objects” within our knowledge background and particular vision (Siemens, 2006). Too often researchers continue to make reference to a traditional intelligence, linked to local and repetitive factors, while is the “connective intelligence” which linked us to the external world, the intelligence of the present and the future.

Consequently, the prevailing elements are concrete and material but today information, symbols and knowledge (Ciborra and Schneider, 1991) are no longer secondary elements as they represent the essence of our life and world.

The Experiential Approach and Inclusiveness in the Virtual Labs Virtual environments developed thanks to the use of advanced technologies, allow participants to experience in a full and total way learning and knowledge, from a subjective perspective, where multisensory interaction is provided. The educational

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method taken as point of reference for the planning and development of this kind of educational object is the mastery learning, a didactic model following 5 stages: -

establishment of objectives;

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division of contents in significant units;

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technical and methodological structuring of the teaching activities;

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inclusion of mid-term evaluations to create possible individualized learning paths;

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development of a final and comprehensive evaluation.

Fundamental elements of mastery learning are: -

realistic results respecting the students’ initial conditions;

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learning gradually and sequentially;

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evaluation as correction instead of selection tool.

To each applicative and demonstrative session is generally associated an applicative phase allowing students to reproduce the actions/activities shown by the teacher or the virtual tutor: on the basis of the acquired knowledge and procedures, students are able to develop a project work (Cross, 2009). This way the didactic experience acquires a concrete and tangible significance: in a virtual situation, not real but realistic, the student can see, listen to and interact with situations and objects that in other condition cannot be known and experienced. The planning of these laboratories has to take into account theoretical requirements to overcome the problems related to the “cognitive risk” we are previously talking about (Gibbs, 2006). The didactic design will balance all the elements contributing to the efficacy of the practical application knowledge experience. These elements are: -

information, valorization;

data

and

previous

knowledge

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knowledge and control of the student individual and subjective conditions;

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importance of the context sensitive perception and verisimilitude.

These elements are linked to intangible factors related to the students’ cognitive experience, such as: perception, imagination, intuitions, emotions, memory (Casalino and Di Persio, 2004). This way the guidelines for the virtual laboratories planning refer to some

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fundamental requirements: -

teaching contents has to be always oriented to experiences, subjects and problems of an environment which is near to the student situation/condition;

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the knowledge approach has to be creative, addressed to stimulate imagination, inventiveness and emotions;

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learning can be first of all an individual experience, based on different paths allowing students to take their time for the closer examination of each study subject;

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the method used can foster planning and group activities, problem solving, autonomy and selfassessment and collaboration;

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experimental activity can be situational and not linked to pre-established conditions;

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from the audio-visual perspective it is necessary to create a pleasant and fascinating experimenting set, which facilitates the achievement of the learning outcomes.

3D Technology to Improve Inclusiveness and Immersiveness E-learning programs need to not only deliver content but also a social background for education is acceptable if the social context for learning is not simply imported on-line from traditional learning contexts. In this framework, 3D technology is another tool favoring immersiveness in distance learning, maximizing the visual impact of the different learning elements. This technological solution is able to improve students’ learning thanks to the combination of symbolic, reproductive and perceptional processes (Falchikov, 2005). The teaching experience in threedimensional virtual worlds allows the user to perceive and interact with all that is far from us in space or time, which is too big or too small, has too long or too short times if compared to our biological rhythms; is “abstract”, and therefore cannot be perceived with the senses; is dangerous or too expensive, etc. What is the efficacy of a virtual environment three-dimensionally rebuilt? What are the benefits of a three-dimensional virtual experimentation? First of all actively participating in an environment that has the appearance of reality; secondly experiencing environments and situations that are not possible to experience in everyday life; lastly living an

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educational experience in a subjective perspective and according to a multisensory approach (Casalino, et al..

2012). In general, the immersive simulation systems emphasize: -

active engagement of the subject, that is the guided personal research;

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experience of decision making in realistic environments with a quick and continuous check, where the reactive cycle indicates the consequences of actions and the most appropriate behavior;

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opportunities to experience little risks or the offer of personal choices and self-control;

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variety of presentation with a mix of methods and materials that involve auditory, verbal, visual and manual skills;

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real constructivism of so called “learning by doing�.

In conclusion we can say that 3D virtual worlds have a high potential of adult users’ involvement and make them feel immersed in the reality to be studied where they can become actors rather than passive beneficiaries.

Simulations and Role-Playing The social context of learning can be created from the content itself. If we can create social on-line places than in so far as disciplines connected with the social sciences are concerned, that can become effective interactive learning environments by unique, simulated and social contexts for learning (Baudrillard, 1981). With role-playing tools the participants assume immersive roles of the characters and can create collaboratively business stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their description and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games (Preece, 2000).

Simulations or role plays are really a method commonly used by trainers to illustrate and apply the theoretical knowledge in an appropriate context. But as a response to cost-effective training plays an important role. Role playing not only benefits the students through the application of concepts to practical examples; in addition, it facilitates effective communication skills and social skills through the joint efforts of their peers. In class, students are classified and occasionally asked to play or act short 106

views. It is an effectual way to strengthen what they have learned and makes storage much higher (Monahan, and al. 2005). In e-learning, role play can take place in a virtual environment, with or without interaction with other students. The interior of a model training set can be created automatically, but respond intelligently to the reactions of the user or student. Business simulations tools are the best examples of complex and meaningful interactivity.

Such applications model a real or theoretical system, allowing users to manipulate input variables to change the system behavior and view the results (Nijholt, 2000). With such applications, learners can construct and test hypotheses and receive feedback as a result of their actions.

A Managed Simulation: the Multimedia Political Economy Course An example of simulation created for the Political Economy course it is a real role-play where the students can act as the Prime Minister of a country and to conduct political choices to guarantee the general balance among the interests of families, companies, employers and the international finance system. The tutor/avatar, who looks like the teacher of the Political Economy course, introduce the simulation clarifying to the students its final aim and objectives. What the speaker said is also reported in a textual form. The student has the possibility to choose among the free experimental path or other path where the starting point has been already set. These landscapes presents different complexity level, starting from the elementary level and going to the advanced one. We can now imagine that the student chooses the advanced level. It is a real role-play where the students are asking to act as the Prime Minister of a country and to conduct economic political choices to guarantee the general balance among the interests of families, companies, employers and the International finance system. The tutor/avatar, who looks like the teacher of the Political Economy course, introduce the simulation clarifying to the students its final aim and objectives.

The student has the possibility to choose among the free experimental path or other path where the starting point has been already set. These landscapes presents different complexity level, starting from the elementary level and going to the advanced one. The speaker/avatar of a television news introduces the political and economic situation of the country where the student/prime minister will make important

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chooses for 4 years. Guided by the voice of the tutor/avatar, the student/prime minister is now on the environment where he has to conduct his 4 years mandate.

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the Ministry of Labor;

-

the Central Bank director;

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the Ministry of Finance and economy;

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the director of the communication office.

Each of them can give him precious information and data to accomplish his role.

FIG. 1 TEACHER’S AVATAR INTRODUCES THE ECONOMICS POLITIC SIMULATION FIG. 3 THE STAFF COUNCIL THAT SUPPORTS THE “PRIME MINISTER” STUDENT

Other actors will condition the Prime minister/student action: -

employers;

-

companies;

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privates and families;

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the international finance system.

At this point the student/prime minister will be able to define and put into practice a strategy by detecting the political and economic parameters.

FIG. 2 THE MANAGING PANEL WITH THE SETTINGS FOR ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL SIMULATION

The management panel, includes all the economic and financial evaluation parameters, as input or output to take into account to develop an effective political economy plan: -

the real money offer;

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the public expenditure;

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the direct taxes;

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the re-distributive transfer;

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the social burden;

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the propensity to consume.

The student has at his disposal also the advice of the cabinet to give suggestions and orient his chooses: -

the Ministry of Development;

FIG. 4 OTHER ACTORS OF THE ECONOMIC SIMULATION

By putting the different percentage values, he can, at the end of its first mandate, see the results of his chooses.

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International Journal of Advances in Psychology (IJAP) Volume 3 Issue 4, November 2014

FIG. 5 A SCREENSHOT OF THE DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE GRAPH SIMULATION

This interactive graphics offers a dynamic view of the political economy put into effect and it is possible to access to a quantitative detailed analysis of what happened, visualizing the effects in graphical and numerical terms. In this changed landscape the student/prime minister will govern for the second year, adopting corrective measures to favor the economic growth of his country maintaining the electoral consent. The simulation/role playing continues for the following years until the fourth year of mandate when the student can see if their government has been efficient and if he still have the electoral consent.

Considering the choices made, we can register a growth of consumption and of the real PIL, as a consequence of a positive judgment of employers, families, companies but at the same time an inadequate consideration of the international finance system. For this reason the evaluation of the government after the first year of mandate is going down from 4.75 to 4.5. In this changed landscape the student/prime minister will govern for the second year, adopting corrective measures to favor the economic growth of his country maintaining the electoral consent. The simulation/role playing continues for the following years until the fourth year of mandate when the student can see if their government has been efficient and if he still have the electoral consent.

Multimedia Contents: the Modigliani Laboratory of Art A multisensory path represents in an effective way and through different media (static and/or animated texts, photos, illustrations, static and/or animated graphic, audio/video contributions, etc.) the most

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relevant content from a didactic path and a deep study on specific topics (Kitchen and McDougall, 2008).

Often we are talking about inter and intra- disciplinary, that is didactic objects that due to its multidisciplinary dimension, deal in a transversal way with specific thematic aspects. These are multimedia didactic contents suitably chosen and organized to be part of an important close examination and re-elaboration of knowledge (Chiu and Wang, 2008). An example of immersive learning path is the Modigliani Laboratory of Art, which is a Marconi University School of Arts project dedicated to Contemporary Art. It provides students with a multidisciplinary approach to the study of Contemporary Art, allowing them to understand the relationship among the different disciplines belonging to the same artistic movement.

FIG. 6 “MODIGLIANI AND HIS WOMEN�: PAINTING, SCULPTURE, MUSIC, LITERATURE

Starting from the Modigliani choice of women always involved in art the portrait of this unconventional artist is drawn and the connections between contemporary music, literature, sculpture and painting are highlighted.

FIG. 7 A 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

The purpose of this laboratory is to offer students an immersive experience in contemporary art and in the Modigliani world, through a 3D environment which allow them to live again the atmosphere of the artist cultural period and to personalize their study path.

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influence the strictness of the didactic planning, the humanistic approach, the participant-centered method and the instructional design techniques, as the basis of efficient and results-oriented boundaries learning paths into organizations (Casalino, and al., 2007).

Together the 3D environment and communication facilities related to the courses described will not only ensure participants have a real continual access to course material, but also help maintain their interest and keep them engaged and encouraged in their learning activities.

FIG. 8 A MULTIDISCIPLINARY VIRTUAL PATH OF “AMEDEO MODIGLIANI LABORATORY OF ART”

A combination of multi-user environments and instant communication techniques are employed to achieve this. A 3D environment production process usually needs of a team of specialists containing several experts:

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thanks Dr. Laura Ricci and Dr. Paolo Francescone for the technical provision and the supporting survey.

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Nunzio Casalino was born at San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), on 16.7.1976.

He is Associate Professor of Business Organization and Human Resource Management as well as Director of Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master in Human Resources and Organization (MRUO) at Guglielmo Marcony University – Department of Business Strategy and Innovation. He is also Adjunct Professor of Business Organization and Business Organization (advanced level) at LUISS Guido Carli University – Department of Management. He received the Ph.D. in Business Information Systems Management, Faculty of Economics in 2004, with a fellowship financed by ASI (Italian Space Agency) at LUISS Guido Carli University. His research interest areas are in Business Organization and Human Resource Management, E-learning, Enterprise Resource Planning, Computer Supported Collaborative Work and Groupware Systems. He is Director of Centre for Studies and Research on the Economy of the Networks and New Professions (CERP) at Guglielmo Marcony University and Member of EURAM - European Academy of Management and of AoM - Academy of Management. He published over 80 scientific publications and articles on Organizational Behavious, Human Resources, Governance, Business Organization, Innovation, Organizational Change, Non-formal and Informal Learning, E-Learning, Decision Support Systems and Outsourcing.