NexLearn Simpact May '10

May 2010 Edition

We’re pleased to announce that 2009 was a banner year for NexLearn and SimWriter…and the recognition keeps coming. After winning the Chief Learning Officer Magazine Gold Award for Excellence in Simulation and Games, and being named Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning Business Partner of the Year, the NexLearn trophy case must be expanded again to make room for another honor: the 2009 Brandon Hall Gold Award for Best Advance in Technology for Game and Simulation Authoring.

As Brandon Hall representatives announced the winners during a live online ceremony on April 29, NexLearn team members gathered to hear the good news. “We were confident that SimWriter would receive the Gold Award because it’s such a great tool,” explained Kristen Woodburn, NexLearn director of immersive learning technology and development. “We’ve worked extremely hard to develop an authoring tool that caters to social simulation creators. And judging by the number of customers around the world using SimWriter now, people definitely like what they see.”

Since it was introduced in 2005, SimWriter continues to make social simulation development faster, easier, and more cost efficient. Judges for the Brandon Hall Awards reviewed the latest version of the industry’s most robust immersive learning simulation authoring tool, which includes several new features:

A Multiple Document Interface for opening and sharing components between several simulations.
An enhanced mapping interface to make creating and viewing complex branching scenarios easier.
A sim inspector that alerts users to possible errors in the simulation for quick and simple troubleshooting.

The celebration for winning the Gold Award was fun, but don’t expect NexLearn developers to linger in the award afterglow. Before the afternoon ended, members of the SimWriter development team retreated to their desks to put the final touches on SimWriter version 4 (which, by the way, will be released in June). Contact your friendly NexLearn representatives today to order your own SimWriter copy or to schedule a SimWriter demonstration.

May Survey

Which computer platform is the predominant choice within your organization?

Last Month’s Survey Results

On average, how many new training courses does your organization offer each year (e-Learning or otherwise)?

1-3

7-10

4-6

More than 10

Ask the Expert

Question:
I’d like to develop leadership skills within our company. As more of our top talent retires, I feel that we must prepare a new generation to lead our company. Any ideas how we can do this effectively?

Answer:
This is a great question. In fact, it’s one that more and more company leaders are asking every day. One method you might consider is to create a question and answer simulation with one of your leaders. Design the experience so that the user can select questions to ask the company leader. The key is to make the user feel he or she is taking part in a one-on-one discussion. Many company leaders with years of experience have a wealth of interesting anecdotes or advice to share. In most instances, especially in larger companies with thousands of staff members, employees never get the opportunity to participate in an informal discussion with their boss. By creating an interactive question-and-answer simulation, you can give every employee a learning experience they’ll never forget.

Have a question about e-Learning or Simulation-based Learning? Send it to our Expert.

Sim Map Interface

The improved SimWriter map interface allows users to create and view highly complex branching scenarios.

NexLearn Awarded
2009 Harvard Business Publishing’s Corporate
Learning Partner
of the Year

Contact NexLearn for more information about the most powerful simulation authoring tool available.