Toolwire has
won two silver medals at the 2015 International Serious Play Awards for its Virtual Medical Internship and
Writing Game Series products. Providing a “virtual internship” experience at a
fictional television news station, the Toolwire Writing Game Series
challenges students to review, practice, and demonstrate college level writing
skills in authentic workplace scenarios.
Toolwire
Writing Games immerse students in photo-realistic settings with
interactive video-characters and hands-on simulations that leverage on a
seamlessly integrated “natural assessment” infrastructure. Along the way,
students make decisions, study with experts, play learning games, receive
dynamic remediation, and attain contextual relevance for English Composition in
the real world.
The series consists of 17 writing games that enable
students to apply knowledge related to key writing objectives (grammar, thesis
statements, paragraph construction, revising & editing, and research &
citation) in a way that is relevant and engaging.
Each game takes about 20 minutes to complete and
targets one to three specific learning objectives. These games deliver
personalized learning with built-in formative assessments and performance
analytics that measure outcomes as students build skills and knowledge.
Here are two examples out the seventeen games
available in the series :
Game
1: Thesis Topics: Get Focused
A game where students must help prepare focused
broadcast news stories by completing a series of tasks focused on thesis
statements and topics. Proficiency demonstration includes classification and evaluation.
Game 2: Thesis Statements: What’s the Point?
Game 2: Thesis Statements: What’s the Point?
A leveled burst game where the objective is to get
three news stories aired on the fictional Live!News broadcast. To succeed, the
student must build a series of effective thesis statements that include
properly-scoped topics, clear positions, and well-formed supporting points.
A distinguishing characteristic of Toolwire
games is the use of authentic, photo-realistic digital media with live
characters filmed in real locations. This authenticity enhances relevance and
believability, both key components for student engagement. Cognitive research supports how experiences
that elicit emotional responses lead to deeper learning.
About
Toolwire
Toolwire, Inc.
is a leading innovator of immersive online simulations and games for higher
education. For over 15 years, the
company has developed, hosted, and supported immersive learning technologies
for the world’s leading institutions in education and corporate training. Since
2011 Toolwire has delivered over 600 million minutes of simulation and game
usage – the equivalent of approximately 130 years of continuous play.
Earlier this year, Toolwire announced it will
launch 80 new game-based learning products in 2015. Covering topics such as
writing, student success skills, critical thinking, psychology and
environmental science, the company expects these games will help higher
education institutions engage and retain students within core general education
courses.