Compare Simulations with Real-Time Simulators

In most simulations, students download static information, process it, upload their decisions, wait for everyone to do the same, and download the results. This is one of the fundamental problems with the multivariate-spreadsheet approach as it attempts to duplicate reality - it doesn't work as well as other alternatives.

First, business is not an annual process. Business executives do not meet for a few hours or few days each year, make decisions, and then wait until next year's meeting to learn the results and make adjustments.

Second, business is only about 30% analysis and planning. All of today's simulations teach students that "Whatever you can plan, is automatically executed. The things that matter are data analysis and planning." Yet the reality is that business is 70% execution.

Third, businesses are not isolated from one another. Most simulations don't provide any way for competing individuals or teams to communicate across organizational boundaries and even to cooperate to achieve mutual objectives. When success involves being able to communicate and execute a deal with other players, we add the human element to the models.

Fourth, in the download-upload-download model, students make all their decisions in one big package. In a real-time simulator, you have to KEEP making all kinds of small decisions that accumulate to a big result. This is more realistic and more challenging.

With Dunatos simulators, the focus is on action. Real-time simulators (meaning the world never stops turning) are much more interactive as decisions take effect immediately (not over the next time period like in most simulations). As they are making decisions, they are forced to pay close attention to their competition and adjust their strategies to compensate. Spreadsheet simulations don't provide this added pressure and strategy. Instead, students have to wait until a time period is over to see what happened and then adjust their strategy for the next time period.

Managing time is a crucial skill that is developed with real-time simulators. With real-time, you must use time well to compete with others who are seeking to use time.

The best way to see the difference between our simulators and a spreadsheet simulation is to play Pillars Solo. You can download it for free.

Why use a Real-Time Simulator in my class?

Experiential learning is by far the best way to learn. Read a current research paper on simulators here.

Faculty in various fields prefer simulators because…

• In many fields of study there is simply no substitute for hands-on experience.
• Ever since the simple role-plays of the 1970s, we have known the power of experiential learning to build skills and interest.
• Team techniques in an experiential learning context further enhance skills that are especially critical to management.
• Students need to learn to cope with competitive pressures and to make good decisions under conditions of uncertainty.
• Students need to know the difference between answering questions on a test and getting things done in a competitive environment.
• Short of actually observing students on the job, there is no better way to help identify and improve performance in important skill areas.
• Team competitions in a well-engineered simulator tend to bring out the best in students and create accountabilities not to the professor but to their peers.
• Student retention and application of lessons learned in a simulator far exceed that attained through traditional classroom methods.
• "That is what I have been trying to teach you" is a phrase that is often impossible without effective kinetic learning methods included in a course.
• Learning should be fun. The Pillars real-time simulator is definitely fun!

The management simulator series called Pillars

The Pillars Series is an interactive competition for small teams that emphasizes planning, organizing, controlling and leading. This real-time management simulator will dramatically increase your students' enthusiasm for your class while significantly developing critical skill sets. Students love to learn in this challenging global environment! Pillars can be run from any computer that has an Internet connection. For more details go to our Pillars page.

Engineered for use in several courses

The Pillars Series was engineered by a team that included (a) top-level managers looking for ways to improve entry-level management skills (b) educators looking for ways to enhance class-room instruction, (c) students trying to make learning more interesting, and (d) computer programmers eager to apply gaming technology to the educational process.

The marketplace has stressed that entry-level managers need to have strong skills in teamwork, communication, working to objectives and schedules, problem-solving, understanding the need for return on every investment of time and resources, gathering and sorting useful information from the data landfills, decision making, competitive benchmarking and consensus building. These skill sets are components of three specific university courses for which the Pillars Series is engineered -

• Introduction to Business
• Organization Management
• Organizational Behavior

Teachers in non-business disciplines such as Sociology, Social Psychology, Communications, will find that the Pillars simulator is an innovative way to allow students to observe and analyze individual and group behaviors in a simulated work-world. Advanced Education courses use Pillars to study the value of kinetic learning and gaming technology in modern middle and high school education.

High school teachers will find Pillars an exceptional tool for teaching

• Business
• World Geography
  

Designed to fit into your schedule and setting

Most of the courses for which Pillars is designed include from five to ten hours of application-type learning. Traditional simulations require from eight to ten hours to execute correctly. Pillars fits easily into just about any course plan. It is intended to be used toward the END of any course schedule to allow the teacher to go from theory and practice to simulated application. Pillars can be effectively executed in four fifty-minute or three seventy-five minute class sessions.

Class size is generally not much of an issue. Classes with as few as 12 or as many as 100 students can make good use of the real-time simulator. The recommended team size is four students. Four to eight teams make up the ideal competitive environment. Therefore, classes with 12 to 32 students will compete in a single "world". When a class has more than 32 students, it is a simple matter to set up as many "worlds" as needed. For example, a class with 100 students would mean three worlds with eight competitive teams in each world. Every world and every competition is absolutely unique.

Pillars can be used in a wired or wireless environment. Student teams can participate anywhere they can access the Internet with a desktop or laptop computer (screen size makes the use of PDAs impractical). However, the ideal environment from a teaching point of view is a typical computer lab setting. When all teams are gathered in one place during the scheduled competitive hours, the teacher has the opportunity to roam the room and carefully observe individuals and teams for areas where skills need further development. Furthermore, student teams have the opportunity to negotiate face-to-face with competitors, supporting that important part of the managerial experience.

Pillars Solo means no time is wasted learning to use the simulator

Even when simulations are teaching relatively simple skills, the actual use of the tools can be so complex as to take days either to study the mechanics of the game or to practice. Pillars provides students and faculty with Solo, a practice simulator that gives students the opportunity to develop their basic skills before any class time is allocated to the actual competitive game. In Solo, one or more artificial intelligence trainers play against the user at one of three optional levels of difficulty. This bonus tool is provided free of charge to students and is available even to those who never register to use the simulator as part of an academic course. Solo eliminates waste of class time and both illuminates and stimulates. Students report they play Solo with friends on their own time and come to class making claims of how they did against the AI trainers.

Setting up and running a Dunatos Simulator is a snap

We hope you will appreciate how little time and energy it takes to set up your own session of a Dunatos simulator.

It is a simple 4-step process to run Pillars in your classroom:

1. Sign up for a free account.
2. Create a new game
   • Name your game so you can identify it easily.
   • Tell us the number of students playing the game (can be changed later).
3. Tell your students the unique Game Code that we will give you so they will know which game to sign up for.
4. (Optional) After creating a game, set the game schedule - the game will run automatically once you set the schedule. If you don't want to set a schedule, you can simply start and stop your virtual world manually through the web site whenever you want the simulator to run.

It's just as easy for your students!

Take a short test flight in the Pillars Solo simulator

Here is a tool that teaches complex behaviors and skills without being complicated itself. In fact, Pillars is so intuitive, most people can just get behind the wheel and fly, without any special preparation. Of course such people often learn to improve as they go along, but what better way to develop skills? To prove to yourself how easy Pillars can be, just download Pillars Solo and give it a try. It's easy, just follow the simple instructions. Be warned. This game is addictive!