“Yale, you’re embarrassing me” PUNCH!

“Shut-up Ted” PUNCH

 I found this part of the game/video rather funny. What a violent lady, but then again, its better than abandoning your children and strapping yourself with bomb… or having an affair with a police negotiator!

I remember using this online game last year in e-learning experiences, except it seemed a little different, unless i am imagining aspects of a game that don’t exist or even the existence of the whole game itself, but i am sure we viewed a very similar one. You assumed the character of a counsellor who had to help solve a dilemma between a number of characters, and when you gave advice that was deemed as an undesired response, you were virtually slapped…OUCH!  [Negative Reinforcement] and then given an opportunity to re-answer the question until the ‘correct’ [according to the website standards] was chosen. Last year, i quite enjoyed using the different online courses, such as dissecting a frog online or the BBC Online learning centre, where i briefly learnt Chinese….. Bonjour! Kidding….Laoshi Hao! [Hello Teacher] Zaijin [Bye!]As i have not been on these websites in a long time i have forgotten about their existence as well as the benefits they provide, and this may also due to the continual learning process that i undertake each semester, and this semester i have focused largely on e-learning technologies, especially mobile learning, and the different learning theories. Its great to have rekindled the old relationship these websites and i had and pick off where we left it last year. It may also be extremely helpful in regard to the final module and assessments, which i guess is why its an activity. Duh!

I found that in terms of instructional design and the effect it had on the learner was a very effective website. It was easy to navigate and contained great visuals. The faces of the characters seemed very real and changed to match the dialogue being spoken and the tone of voice in which it was spoken. You could see and feel the anger on her face as she spoke to Yale and Ted! And the sound effects also added to the feel of the story, especially the punches and the music that played when the police negotiator slowly moved along the car door and said in a sultry voice “Hello Yale!” 

Another aspect of the program that i enjoyed was being able to choose the course of action undertaken by the characters, and when you chose an incorrect answer, you were given an explanation as to why it was incorrect, and occasionally the characters would ask to speak to you to provide their side of the story, in order to help you make a decision. There was also a hint button in case you wanted to know the correct answer [An arrow pointing at an answer and saying "Pick Me"] You are also able to play the game from either characters viewpoint- either the wife or the husband. The range of options available to choose also allowed you to view the large range of options that can be chosen in situations and how each move undertaken by a character, whether large or small, could impact greatly on the situation portrayed.  E.g. Helen [the wife choosing to get out of the car makes Ted anxious and blows everyone up...Bad Move]

I think that for organisations such as DoCS, applications such as these would be an effective tool for teaching employees how to deal with certain clients and situations, including communication and negotiation skills. The program developers could interact with current and former DoCS employees to brainstorm common situations and clients that employees deal with and the methods adopted to do so. These can then be incorporated into the program, sensoring the names and locations though for ethical and legal purposes.

After trying a couple of different scenarios using the options provided, i found that many of the lines were repeated in each scenario but how in each scenario, the lines gave a different meaning and affected the course of the story in many ways. It makes you wonder about the way people interpret actions and words in different situations and how this affects the outcome of each situation. What may seem negative in one situation may actually be a positive when analysed from another angle or another person’s perspective. For example, in one scenario, Helen decided to have a cigarette after having an argument with Yale and this caused Ted [the hitchhiker] to blow everyone up. Helen seemed very annoying in this situation. But then in another scenario, after viewing the situation from Helen’s perspective, her decision to have a cigarette seemed plausible and the other characters looked like the villains.

Overall, i found this website/programs to be a fun and interactive experience and can definately see the benefits it provides to learners as well as how it can be applied in various e-learning contexts!