21st century knowledge dissemination: adaptive games to address the skills gap
- The 21st century: an era where emojis and hashtags find their way into every sentence, where taking selfies, live tweeting and mining bitcoin are the norm, and where Insta-culture dictates what we say and do. This is the era into which the digital native was born. With so many changes in every aspect of our lives, how is it that one of the most influential aspects, our education, has remained unchanged? Our education system not only fails to appeal to today’s students, but more importantly, it fails to equip them with the skills required in the 21st Century. It is thus of no surprise that industries feel graduates entering the workplace lack skills in critical thinking, problem solving and self-directed learning. AI, machine learning and big data: Tools and mechanisms we so eagerly incorporate to create smart factories yet are hesitant to use elsewhere. Gamification and games have shown great results in education and training; with most research suggesting a stronger focus on personalization and adaptation. When combined with analytics and machine learning, the potential of games is yet to be realized. A real-time adaptive game would not only always present an appropriate degree of challenge for the individual but would allow for a shift in focus from the recitation of facts, to the application of information filtered to solve the particular problem at hand. South Africa, a country faced with a severe skills gap, could benefit greatly from games. If used correctly, they may just offer a desperately needed contribution toward equipping both current and future employees with the skills needed to survive in the 21st century. This paper explores the feasibility of using such games for enhanced knowledge dissemination and the upskilling of the workforce.
Author of HS Reutlingen | Hummel, Vera |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bsz:rt2-opus4-25853 |
URL: | https://conferences.sun.ac.za/index.php/COMA19/index/schedConfs/archive |
ISBN: | 978-0-7972-1779-9 |
Erschienen in: | Knowledge valorisation in the age of digitalization : International Conference on Competitive Manufacturing (COMA 19): Proceedings, 30 January 2019 – 1 February 2019, Stellenbosch, South Africa |
Publisher: | Stellenbosch University |
Place of publication: | Stellenbosch |
Editor: | Dimitri Dimitrov |
Document Type: | Conference proceeding |
Language: | English |
Publication year: | 2019 |
Tag: | 21st century learning; adaptive games; skills gap |
Page Number: | 9 |
First Page: | 366 |
Last Page: | 374 |
DDC classes: | 330 Wirtschaft |
Open access?: | Ja |
Licence (German): | Open Access |