Tandem VP of Learning Design Contributes to Serious Games Book

December 1st, 2010 - West Chester, PA - A new book on Serious Games has been published that includes a chapter written by Tandem Learning's VP of Learning Design, Kristen Cromer. The book, titled Serious Educational Game Assessment - Practical Methods and Models for Educational Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds (Annetta and Bronack, Eds.) is available for purchase on Amazon.com. The chapter written by Cromer is a case study of a client engagement. In mid-2009, the learning design team at Tandem was approached by a major automotive company who presented their current organizational challenges and knowledge and performance gaps in several areas, including a need for change management training. The case study outlines the solution that was developed to meet the learning need through the use of a serious game, highlighting design strategies and considerations that went into the final solution.

For a preview of the book, please visit: https://www.sensepublishers.com/files/9789460913297PR.pdf

Tandem Learning Announces Launch of Looking Glass® Game Engine

November 4. 2010 - West Chester, PA, - Tandem Learning has announced the launch of it’s Looking Glass® Game Engine. The Looking Glass® Engine is a customizable gaming engine that integrates scoring, leaderboards, team creation, live chat, polls, assessments, discussion boards, and more with a full back-end tracking and reporting tool. The engine has the ability to be customized with additional features and graphics based on the need of each uniquely designed game experience. Tandem Learning licenses the engine and develops customized gaming experiences that utilize the engine.

The competitive game engine is currently being used for an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) called Dr. Strangelearn’s Learning Laboratory, which is being played in conjunction with the eLearning Guild’s DevLearn conference.

“Looking Glass® can be a great addition for organizations who want to create a customized gaming experience for their training needs or even as a way of enhancing existing training with a gaming overlay,” said Jedd Gold, President of Tandem Learning.

About Tandem Learning
Tandem Learning brings expertise in experiential learning design, game design, and technology to organizations looking to improve employee performance. Our solutions provide learners authentic practice, engaging storylines, and competitive and collaborative opportunities to create compelling experiences that have a direct impact on performance improvement. To learn more about Tandem Learning, visit www.tandem-learning.com

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Jedd Gold

(818) 850-2465

President, Tandem Learning

Jedd.gold@tandem-learning.com

www.tandem-learning.com

Tandem Learning Launches Alternate Reality Game for Learning

October 25. 2010 - West Chester, PA, - Tandem Learning is launching an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) entitled Dr. Strangelearn’s Learning Laboratory. The serious game will run over the course of 2 weeks and culminate at the eLearning Guild’s annual DevLearn conference in San Francisco. Players will join teams and compete to collect clues tied to data, resources, and case studies that can support players in overcoming organizational objections to new learning strategies.

The game communication relies heavily on the use of social media including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and a variety of blogs and websites. Leading training industry experts have signed on to play key roles as ‘Mad Scientists’ to engage with players. These characters will lend their expertise to add to the game experience, shaping interactions and content as the game progresses. The true identities of the Mad Scientists will be revealed live at the conference. To join the game, visit www.drstrangelearn.com.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity for the second year in a row to create and run an ARG around DevLearn. Many of the most progressive executives in the training industry attend this event so it’s very rewarding for us to see these people enjoying our game so much,” said Koreen Olbrish, CEO of Tandem Learning.

Brent Schlenker, Program Manager of DevLearn said, “We are really excited that Tandem Learning has developed another ARG for DevLearn. Tandem has fantastic creative, technical, and instructional design capabilities and with Dr. Strangelearn, they are showcasing their very best.”

ARGs are comprised of a series of activities that incorporate online and real world interactions which are elicited through an engaging and evolving storyline. ARGs that are specifically designed for learning can close performance gaps while providing excitement and motivation around the learning activities. These experiences provide learners with an opportunity to practice new skills in a setting that is both realistic and contextual. Tandem Learning is a leading provider of serious games including training based ARGs for conferences and corporations. www.arg4learning.com

About Tandem Learning
Tandem Learning brings expertise in experiential learning design, game design, and technology to organizations looking to improve employee performance. Our solutions provide learners authentic practice, engaging storylines, and competitive and collaborative opportunities to create compelling experiences that have a direct impact on performance improvement. To learn more about Tandem Learning, visit www.tandem-learning.com

About eLearning Guild

The eLearning Guild, a member-driven organization, is the most trusted source of information, networking, and community for e-learning professionals. The Guild produces conferences, online events, e-books, research reports, and Learning Solutions Magazine—all devoted to the idea that the people who know the most about making e-Learning successful, are the people who produce e-Learning every day in corporate, government, and academic settings. Learn more at http://www.elearningguild.com/.

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Jedd Gold

(818) 850-2465

President, Tandem Learning

Jedd.gold@tandem-learning.com

www.tandem-learning.com

XL3HR

Tim Martin Joins Tandem Learning

We are incredibly excited to announce that Tim Martin has joined Tandem Learning. Tim has spent the past 25 years in the eLearning industry and brings to Tandem a wealth of knowledge and valuable relationships.

Tim started in the learning space innovating new ways of providing distributed learning for professional education and training. As a Director at The John Marshall Law School, he was responsible for the production of training programs and synchronous satellite course for continuing legal education and judicial training. He produced the first blended scenario based ethics training for US Federal Judges. He then moved on to IBM as a business and p&l manager where he managed a staff of more than 150 technicians, instructional designers and instructors providing training for clients such as McDonalds, Sears, and Boeing. He joined Allen Interactions as an eLearning consultant helping the likes of Intel, American Family Insurance, United Airlines and Ameritech improve their businesses and has most recently spent the past 5+ years as Director of Business Development for the eLearning Guild.

As a result of his broad skill set, Tim will be wearing a number of hats at Tandem Learning. He will help develop and consult on new business relationships, work with existing clients, and act as a part of the executive team helping to shape the future of Tandem.

Tim has been on the forefront of innovation throughout his career. He is excited to continue to do so at Tandem Learning where he will make significant contributions to shaping the way organizations learn through Social Learning Technologies, Serious Games and Virtual Worlds. To see what Tim is most excited about, visit our website. And you can learn more about Tim here.

Tandem Partnering with Linda Hoopes for Change Management Experience

Tandem Learning has entered into a strategic partnership with change management expert and consultant Linda Hoopes to develop a game that helps individuals adapt to change more effectively.

Dr. Hoopes is an industrial/organizational psychologist, and co-author of Managing Change with Personal Resilience. She founded Resilience Alliance in 2007 to help organizations and their employees strengthen their resilience in the face of change. In her book, Hoopes describes the 7 facets of personal resilience, which are used as the foundation for the game experience currently in development.

Upon completion, the game will be marketed to organizations wishing to find a fast, engaging way to improve the resilience of their employees when dealing with change.

For more information about this game, please contact Jedd Gold at jedd.gold@tandem-learning.com

For information on change management consulting engagements with Dr. Hoopes, please contact her at linda@resiliencealliance.com

Tandem Learning Launches 2nd ARG for Learning - Que Syrah, Syrah for Constellation Academy of Wine

Tandem Learning, along with it's development partners at Hybrid Learning, are excited to announce the launch of another Alternate Reality Game (ARG). This game, designed by Tandem Learning and implemented for Constellation Academy of Wine, is being used to help Field Sales Managers understand the nuances of successful sales at customer sites.

Players in the game are tasked with creating a strategy to grow the sale of Constellation products in a fictional hotel. To do this, they must analyze reports, build relationships among hotel buyers, managers, and staff, and make appropriate recommendations of Constellation wines and other products for the various outlets in the hotel.

Game play will occur through online channels for two weeks, followed by live play at the Constellation Wine NSMM during the third week. "We are only 2 days in and there already seems to be an incredible amount of excitement around this ARG. We're seeing a substantial number of sign-ups and players already looking for ways to get ahead," said Kristen Cromer, Tandem Learning's Director of Product and Custom Design who was responsible for overseeing the design of the game.

Tandem Learning and Hybrid Learning previously launched an ARG at the E-Learning Guild’s DevLearn 2009, where conference attendees and online players were able learn about the use of social media tools while playing the Zombie Apocalypse ARG.

For information on how you can use an ARG for your own initiatives, please contact jedd.gold@tandem-learning.com

Tandem Speaking at the 2nd Annual LEEF Conference

Tandem will once again be taking part in the The LEEF conference (Learning and Entertainment Evolution Forum) taking place June 17-18th at Harrisburg University in Harrisburg, PA.

LEEF is an interactive professional development event showcasing the convergence of learning and entertainment technologies and exploring the organizational, design, and technical challenges for adopting games and simulations for learning.

Koreen Olbrish, CEO of Tandem, who also sits on the Program Committee for the conference will be presenting 2 sessions at the conference and running an ARG.

Olbrish and Oehlert to Co-Present on Topic of Social Media

Koreen Olbrish, CEO of Tandem, and Mark Oehlert from the Defense Acquisition University will be co-presenting the opening and closing sessions at an eLearning Guild Online Forum on May 13th and 14th. The topic for the 2 day forum will be Incorporating Social Media and Collaboration into Your e-Learning.

The Forum will show different approaches for using the newest technologies to deliver engaging and meaningful learning to learners of all ages, and for a wide variety of topics.

For more information or to register for this Forum, please visit http://www.elearningguild.com/online-forums/content/1567/may-13--14

Tandem to Present Virtual Worlds at ASTD Tech Knowledge

Kristen Cromer, Director of Product and Custom Design, will present two sessions on Virtual Worlds for Enterprise Learning at ASTD's Tech Knowledge in Las Vegas on 1/29/10. The sessions will expound upon the relevance of Virtual Worlds for learning and collaboration, and their value in an enterprise setting. Discussion is set to include specific ways in which virtual worlds can support learning and collaboration efforts in organizations, citing related research, adult learning theory, and case studies. Participants will have the opportunity for hands-on practice in three different virtual world platforms. You can see the slides to be presented here http://www.slideshare.net/TandemLearning/astd-tk-2010-virtual-worlds-for-enterprise-learning