Book Related Developments

Posted by Karl Kapp on March 30, 2007

As Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for Learning nears it release day of April 14, 2007. A number of book related developments are occuring.

First, Training Consultant Steve Woodruff’s on his blog Impactiviti has done a nice and thoughtful review of the book (scroll down to see it.)

Here are some quotes (positive):

A very helpful snippet from the book is a chart (on page 16) showing how games have evolved in four different stages, with ever greater levels of interactivity, immersion, complexity, and collaboration. This was an eye-opener for me, as the level of mental dexterity has ramped up over the years, requiring higher-level thinking and learning patterns.

From a corporate training perspective, the case study of visual job aids as a replacement for printed SOPs (pages 136-138) was a fascinating application of technology to a real training problem. This was one of many illustrative stories sprinkled throughout the book that increased its practical value.

For any serious training professional dealing with the issue of incorporating the newer generation of workers into a company, I highly recommend this volume. It is not overburdened with academic abstractions; in fact, the book is loaded with practical suggestions, including ways to introduce these new styles of learning into a resistant corporate culture.

Here are is a negative quote:…I’m trying to be “fair and balanced”

I found only one frustration with the book, which is that its overall length and thoroughness (a real strength!) may restrict its readership. That’s a shame, because there is some very valuable insight here.

Sure it may be a little long but I advise you not to read it all in one sitting and use the many examples as a reference for you as you build an argument in your organization of why Gadgets, Games and Gizmos are important as a strategic advantage. Also a great read for a summer vacation, just read one chapter a day…really the chapters are not that long and filled with many illustrations and even…cartoons (as shown above).

Second, my publisher has released a great product sheet describing the book that you can download and share with your friends and relatives.

Third the book made the cover of Pfeiffer’s spring catalog…however, it was the wrong book cover (the green one that didn’t make it). The blue one over on the right side of this blog is the cover that will ultimately be on the book as I have been told.
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