Measuring the Commercial Outcomes of Serious Games in Companies – A Review <s> Results <s> Three components of the literature on measuring the employer's rate of return to investments in employee training are reviewed: (1) studies that use large samples of firm-level or establishment-level data collected through mail or phone surveys, (2) studies that use data from one or two companies to conduct an "econometric" case study, and (3) company-sponsored case studies. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches are evaluated and the estimated returns on investments (ROIs) are compared. The analysis indicates that the employer's return on investments in training may be much higher than previously believed. In order to obtain accurate information on the employer's ROI from training, researchers should be encouraged to gain access to company databases and to supplement them with data-gathering efforts to collect information on variables needed to isolate the effect of training. <s> BIB001 </s> Measuring the Commercial Outcomes of Serious Games in Companies – A Review <s> Results <s> The Tactical Language and Culture Training System is interactive environment for learning foreign language and culture, designed to help people quickly acquire spoken communication skills. It is a serious game, combining interactive game experiences as well as interactive lessons. As part of our research, we wish to understand what individual learner characteristics predict successful learning with this approach, and investigate whether the approach can be improved so that a wider range of learners can learn effectively with it. This paper reports on an experiment, to assess which learners learn most effectively with TLCTS, and attempt to identify the individual factors that predict successful training with TLCTS. A group of US Marines participated in a session of focused training with Tactical IraqiTM, an Iraqi Arabic course designed for military use. Performance scores and interaction logs were analyzed to determine which learners were most successful, and why. <s> BIB002
To what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training event and subsequent reinforcement A fifth level, ROI (return On Investment) has been added by  . See BIB001 for a review of this approach. TrainingZone (a web resource on training) make the point that although training professionals are adept at designing and delivering training, they are not so good at ensuring participants actually apply what was learned in their job (TrainingZone). In order for this to occur participants have to apply the behaviours they learnt in the training to their daily job -only then will it result in commercial outcomes. These outcomes could be both financial in terms of costs saved or increased sales, but they can also be improved processes, improved customer service, etc. This diversity of potential outcomes presents a challenge to trainers and others who wish to determine the commercial effectiveness of SGs. The use of the Kirkpatrick model in Game Based Learning (GBL) in general, and in Serious Games (SG) in particular has been limited, and mostly conducted during the last 10 years. Most of the uses of the Kirkpatrick's model in GBL and SG research are related to the use of SG in professional contexts. BIB002 used the serious game Iraqi TM in the context of Marine Corps training, and analyse the impact of the SG Iraqi TM , using the level 3 and 4 of the Kirkpatrick model: "tactical Iraqi TM training led to improved on-the-job performance (a Kirkpatrick level 3 result) and this in turn contributed to improved organizational outcomes (a Kirkpatrick level 4 result)" p. 521. In a review of SGs' learning outcomes, O'Neil et al. (2005) found "only two studies involved Level 3 (on-the-job changes due to training), and one study involved Level 4 (benefits to the employer, for example: cost effectiveness)." Martínez-Durá and colleagues (2011) studied effectiveness in safety training SGs. Different games were discussed by the authors, divided into three different domains: health and safety in construction, public safety and pedestrian safety. In these contexts, two types of games were identified: interactive games, where the player must undertake different tasks in order to win the game, and "observation-based" games, concerning safety regulations. Following the Kirkpatrick model, the authors focused on level 3 as the most important for safety training. They argue that the transfer level aims to evaluate to what extent the knowledge and skills acquired through the game are used by the learner. Level 4 (results), are important: a reduction in the number of work related accidents.