Capitalism 2 in Classroom
BCIT - Case Study
Background
Malcolm Ferrier from British Columbia Institute of Technology started a pilot project in 2009 using Capitalism 2 “as a teaching tool in the Management of Information Systems (MIS) courses in two of the second year business diploma programs, the International Trade and Transportation program and the Information Technology Management program.”
The pilot project involved training the students through built-in tutorials to use the program and then creating a multiplayer competition at the end of the course in which the students compete with each other in a simulated business environment that requires the student to build a successful business and compete for market share with their classmates. Their final mark for the exercise was directly related to their business success in the game. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the software will be used again in 2010.
The pilot project involved training the students through built-in tutorials to use the program and then creating a multiplayer competition at the end of the course in which the students compete with each other in a simulated business environment that requires the student to build a successful business and compete for market share with their classmates. Their final mark for the exercise was directly related to their business success in the game. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the software will be used again in 2010.
Challenge
One of the key difficulties for post-secondary instructors is to hold the attention of the students. Given the ubiquity of entertainment options such as video games, big screen TV, and 3D IMAX movie theatres, an instructor standing at the front of a classroom writing on a chalkboard seems like a sepia-toned image from the past.
Given that the type of technology options listed above are well-suited for keeping the focus of students that have many other things clamouring for their attention, it follows that education should be taking advantage of the appeal of high-technology entertainment. This was the motivation for this pilot project at BCIT.
Given that the type of technology options listed above are well-suited for keeping the focus of students that have many other things clamouring for their attention, it follows that education should be taking advantage of the appeal of high-technology entertainment. This was the motivation for this pilot project at BCIT.
Why Capitalism2?
A research is conducted after determining that a simulation video game would be the ideal teaching tool for demonstrating how an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system actually functions. Given the scores from Gamespot and Metacritic as well as positive feedback from renowned educational institutions, we are confident that Capitalism II would be an effective teaching tool.
Application
Capitalism2 has a comprehensive business model. Due to its complexity, students were instructed to work through a set of eight progressive tutorials in the Entrepreneurship campaign to learn the game interface. Then, they started on the more difficult Corporate campaigns.
Other applications include:
Other applications include:
- Grading Students’ Performance
- Testing Textbook Theories
- Learning Real-life Business Practice
Grading
For the multiplayer competition, the students were split up into groups of 5 or 6 and a separate multiplayer game was created for each group. They were allowed to use the stock market, compete in all industries and products, and create any part of the supply chain. The student’s performance was monitored by the instructor during play.
Their mark was calculated as follows:
Their mark was calculated as follows:
- Each student starts with 7/10 which can go up and down based on their performance.
- The winner (highest income, profitability and market share) receives 10/10.
- If the student can avoid bankruptcy, they receive 8/10.
Feedback
After the completion of the competition, the students were asked for their candid comments about the experience and the feedback was very positive. Most agreed that it was a good learning experience and thought the software should be used again for the next set of students. This was a very positive experience for both the instructor and the students. The students were engaged and were able to function well in a challenging and fast-moving simulation environment after an involved training process and the instructor was able to provide a rich learning environment. A similar framework will be used for future MIS courses following the success of this pilot.