In 2000, The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) introduced a new national professional development initiative called “Flexible Learning Leaders”. This initiative aimed to accelerate the work of leading practitioners in flexible learning across Australia by investing up to $40,000 in a six month personal professional development program. As one of the 23 inaugural leaders, I organized the first visit to Australia by Dr Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan a world renowned leader in games and simulations methodologies.

In the three week Games and Simulations workshop tour, Thiagi and I co-facilitated 19 workshops on a range of topics which either focused on games and simulations design or used games and simulations as the key methodology. This was a rich, memorable and immersive experience and Thiagi games and simulations were rapidly adopted throughout the VET sector.

We also co-authored a paper on designing and facilitating email games. Two of these games were roleplays:

Depolarizer – this game explores both sides of a controversial issue
Galactic Wormhole – this game explores how stakeholder groups can influence positive or negative outcomes.

Publication:
Jasinski, M & Thiagarajan, S., (2000). Email Games, in R. Sims, M. O’Reilly & S. Sawkins (Eds), Learning to Choose: Choosing to Learn. Proceedings of the 17th Annual ASCILITE Conference, Lismore. NSW: Southern Cross University Press.

Key learning:

1. Recognising the potential of reusable learning designs which shift the focus from content to the process of learning.
2. The appeal of interactive and collaborative learning
3. Grounding in games design and facilitation gave another perspective on the potential for collaborative learning.