Page 167 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

148 5 Innovative EC Systems: From E-Government to E-Learning, Knowledge Management, E-Health, and C2C Commerce

Using Computer Games for Training Current
and New Employees • Build the know-how of experts.
• Enable learners to engage. Generation X and
There is a trend to use computer simulation games for Millennial workers use Web 2.0 tools extensively
training. for interacting among themselves and with others.
Organizations can reach out to this group and use
Example: Marriott International social networks for training.
Marriott International developed a game “My Marriott • Use platforms such as Pinterest to develop creativ-
Hotel,” available on Facebook for help in recruiting and ity in design and to use images to sharpen some
training. The players learn how hotels and their restaurants learning skills.
operate. Initially, Marriott developed a game for the kitchen. • Provide relevant content prior to off-line meetings
The players needed to choose what ingredients to use for dif- for voting, or requesting supplements. This can
ferent foods (based on price and quality). The players also enrich and facilitate classroom delivery.
learned how to select employees from a pool of candidates • Link learners to relevant resources and let them
and make decisions about equipment purchasing. They also rate and share opinions.
learned about food quality. • Quickly identify the training needs and implemen-
tation issues of individuals and groups.
• Have learners provide social support to each other.
Social Networks and E-Learning • Improve and expedite learning-related communica-
tion (e.g., via Twitter).
Since its inception, social networking has been interrelated
with learning. A new term, social learning, also known as
e-learning 2.0, has been coined to describe the learning, train- Many universities combine e-learning and social network-
ing, and knowledge sharing in social networks and/or facili- ing; also, numerous professors have blogs and wikis for their
tated with social software tools. Social environments facilitate classes and encourage communication and collaboration via
high-tech-based training, making it possible for learners to Facebook.
share their experiences with others. Thus, several companies
already are using social media for training and development
purposes (e.g., see advancinginsights.com). Social learning Visual Interactive Simulation
is based on social learning theory. For details, see en.wikipe-
dia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory. An effective technology for e-training and e-learning is visual
Some students use Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, interactive simulation (VIS), which uses computer graphic
and so forth to connect with other pupils. For example, learn- displays to present the impact of evaluating alternative solu-
ers can study together, discuss topics or brainstorm online. tions to problems. It differs from regular graphics in that the
Unfortunately, the distractions found on some networks can user can manipulate the decision-making process and see the
make it difficult to focus on learning. Some companies use results of the interventions. Some learners respond better to
social media to engage employees in group learning via graphic displays, especially when they are interactive. For
knowledge sharing. example, VIS was used to examine the operations of a physi-
Several social networks (or communities) are dedicated to cian clinic environment within a physician network in an effort
learning and training (e.g., see elearning.co.uk). An example to provide high-quality medical care. The simulation system
of a social network for learning is LearnHub (learnhub.com), identified the most important input factors that significantly
which is dedicated to international education. Some scholars affected performance. These inputs, when properly managed,
believe that the future of e-learning is social learning. led to lower costs and a higher level of medical care.
Social networking technology possesses the following VIS systems provide the following major potential
capabilities that may facilitate learning: benefits:

• Shorten learning time.
• Connect learners in a learning project. It enables
• Aid in teaching how to operate complex equipment.
people to connect in real time for discussion, col- • Enable self-paced learning, any place, anytime.
laboration, and problem-solving.
• Make “social” part of the company’s learning strat- • Aid in memorization.
egy. • Lower overall training costs.
• Record an individual’s learning progress and improve on
it.