Simulators offer participative learning, and supports the training of real-world users. Simulation allows participants to purposely undertake high-risk activities or procedural tasks within a safe environment. All that happens without dangerous implications to themselves or their coworkers. Rather than sitting through an e-Learning online course, trainees can practice what they have observed, stage experiments and test, and quickly learn from any mistakes without serious implications.

Here are some advantages:

• Simulators can improve participants skills and allow them to learn from mistakes.
• Trainees are able to gain a greater understanding about the consequences of their actions and understand how important prevent it from happening again.
• Feedback can be given to users immediately and it allow them to understand exactly what went wrong – or right. They also understand the underlying causes, and how they can improve.
• Learners, individuals and teams, use what they have learned hands-on by using there thinking skills. For example, this could be including knowledge-in-action procedures, decision-making, and effective communication. Basically, this also allows for exploration of human factors and their interaction with their environment.
• Simulator-based learning can be set up at appropriate times, locations, scenarios, and repeated as often as necessary.
• It can be undertaken with minimal setup at offices and homes, or it can be undertaken in amazingly high technology simulation centers.
• Simulation-based learning can be customized to suit beginners, intermediates, experts, and even adapt to cater to the learners changing abilities.
• Simulators deepen the learning conversation, improve motivation, and assist the Novice to become an Expert by providing a mechanism to develop an understanding from another participants perspective.
• Debriefing tools, including video feedback and peer review, are all key features of this learning strategy.

Most importantly – our learners don’t have to wait for a real situation to come up in order to learn.The list of reasons to try and develop our simulation based strategies appears never ending, although the evidence that education via simulation really affects delivery of better training is just starting.

One key thing that many of the Modern Educators have learned is to make the learning event a fun but challenging process.  Within the PaleBlue community we see amazing innovations presented every year – designed to teach the practical lessons essential to all type of businesses.