Virtual Gaming Simulation
Realistic simulation with film clips.
Educational tools
Digital tools to support VGS.
Unlimited Access
Open-source for everyone.
Virtual Gaming Simulation (VGS)
In recent years, simulation education has developed into an essential part of practice-oriented curricula in healthcare education. Simulation allows students to interactively practice their clinical, communication and decision-making skills in life-like healthcare situations. They can put all knowledge and skills into practice, solve difficulties and are even allowed to make mistakes without causing harm to their patients. The psychologically safe simulation environment increases the self-confidence of the students and thus promotes learning. However, due to COVID-19, in-person teaching activities were regularly suspended, including hands-on simulation sessions.
To preserve the principles and benefits of simulation pedagogy, the Envision project explored new types of online simulation and chose the relatively new teaching and learning activity of Virtual Gaming Simulation (VGS). Virtual Gaming Simulations are described as “High-fidelity, 2D immersive simulation using videos of simulated patients (played by actors) in which the user can make clinical decisions for healthcare learning”.
In the enactment, the learner encounters the client’s health storyline and then goes through multiple decision points with two to four options or choices about how best to assess or provide the care. This branching scenario design engages students and allows them to see the consequences of their decisions (Verkuyl et al., 2022). The learning experience also integrates the other essential components of simulation: prebriefing and debriefing. Virtual gaming simulations can be used individually by students or in groups. VGS is web-based and very accessible to teachers and students. VGS can be played anywhere, anytime with repetitive play that facilitates skill development.
The ENVISION project aims to enhance the digital education readiness of teachers and students in the use and creation of Virtual Gaming Simulations. The consortium produces two Virtual Gaming Simulations, one in home health care and one in emergency pediatrics. The first VGS is developed for distant learning using the best practices for simulation. The second-generation Virtual Gaming Simulation adds two more learning strategies, i.e. blended and in-class teaching, applied to a pediatric online simulation.
Educational tools to support VGS
A European digital technology framework will be developed that integrates all major simulation components in VGS: prebriefing, enactment and debriefing. In partnership with digital technology provider Joubel, new education tools will enhance the online simulation experience. A system of learner analytics will also be developed so that when learners play the virtual gaming simulations, data are automatically collected on their actions and decisions. At the end of each virtual gaming simulation, a set of learner analytics is generated in the form of an individualized summary report of the enactment. Learners can use this report to identify areas of strength and improvement and the information can support them in their debriefing. Additionally, the self-debriefing tool will generate a report that can be used in group debriefing. Educators or facilitators will be able to use both learner analytic reports to determine what content areas to focus on in the debrief or in class.
Unlimited access - open source for everyone
The Envision Virtual Gaming Simulations are embedded on this website as an open access educational resource. In games you discover the VGS in home health care and the VGS in pediatric emergency. These VGS can be played on the website. Faculty can also choose to integrate them into your own learning management system. Guides support students, teachers, and faculty in their digital education readiness to use these VGS and to create new games.
Depending on the organizational possibilities, both VGS can be used in classroom, blended and/or online distance learning.
With the collaboration of the following partners
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.