SimCore
Smart Customizable Training Games

Simulation-based training can significantly benefit training programs by providing learners the opportunities to practice and learn from applying skills and knowledge to realistic training scenarios. Traditionally, simulation-based training has meant live simulations. The logistics and cost of such simulation constrain how often they can be presented. Typically such simulations capture one or two scenarios. With computer-based simulations, it is possible to deliver cost-effective training in cost-effective manner with the added benefit that trainees can play them anywhere, anytime. In order to support anywhere anytime self-paced learning, simulations must be accompanied performance assessment and feedback.

SimCore is a tool that can be used to create and deploy Flash-based simulations with intelligent performance assessment and coaching facilities. Using SimCore, course developers can create highly-interactive and visually-engaging simulations. SimCore can be used to rapidly develop not one but several training scenarios that will allow students to learn and test their learning by applying their newly acquired skills under varying conditions. Providing such opportunities to apply skills under a variety of conditions is important to promoting deeper learning. SimCore includes a scenario authoring tool that can be used to customize existing scenarios or to create new ones.

SimCore employs a client-server architecture with two components: the authoring tool, and the runtime engine. The authoring tool enables the specification of training scenarios in abstract terms, high-level terms. The runtime engine interfaces with the Flash interface to drive the simulation, initiate events, respond to and assess student actions, and provide an after-action report.

SimCore is useful for teaching procedures, protocols, and decision-making skills. SimCore supports a wide range of complexity of simulations.

SimCore offers the additional benefit of enabling the customization of scenarios to different protocol and procedures. Once a scenario has been developed, variations to represent different protocols can be created very rapidly using the SimCore authoring tool. This is important in the field of healthcare training where protocols and practices can differ from county to county. Computer-based simulations that are one-size fit all are not appropriate to this field. The ability to customize the content to one’s organization is vital.

SimCore employs a client-server architecture with two components: the authoring tool, and the runtime engine. The authoring tool enables the specification of training scenarios in abstract terms, high-level terms. The runtime engine interfaces with the simulator to drive the simulation, initiate events, respond to and assess student actions, and provide an after-action report.

SimCore is useful for teaching procedures, protocols, and decision-making skills. SimCore supports a wide range of complexity of simulations.

Performance Assessment and Coaching

SimCore allows for complex free-play simulations. It is up to the scenario author to decide how much exploration to allow the student. Various scenario features can be used to guide student exploration. The actions available to a player at a given time can be conditionally restricted. For example, if you want to limit the player from administering any drugs before putting on their gloves, you can define the pre-condition of an action to check whether the player has performed the action of wearing gloves successfully. This will have the effect of disabling the drug administration action until the student has performed the action for wearing gloves. Note that when defined with a precondition, the action does not even appear as an option unless its precondition is satisfied.

Sometimes it is useful to let the student perform an action even if it is incorrect and provide contextual feedback to help them understand why this is so. It may be useful, for instance, to give the student the option of administering drug even if they have not worn gloves. The author can define a conditional response to the "Administer drug" action which gives a positive response (e.g. "Drug has been successfully administered") if the student is wearing gloves (virtual gloves), and a negative response (e.g. "You are very brave for administering a drug before protecting yourself against infection") if he has not. This reinforces for the student the reason for wearing gloves in a compelling manner.

Finally, it can be useful to active guide the student towards performing an action or a procedure, even when the simulation allows them the freedom to explore. For example, most emergency situations require healthcare workers to follow a protocol. With SimCore, scenario authors can specify a guiding procedure. This is the procedure an expert would follow and defines the actions required to play the scenario successfully. Given such a procedure, SimCore will guide the student using hints, assess student actions against the procedure and give an after-action report card that shows how closely the student followed this procedure. This provides the instructional aspects to the simulation, namely coaching with hints and feedback.