Chief Learning Officer Magazine is running an article by Lindsay Edmonds Wickman which features Outside the Wire, a VEILS® developed last year to help train the US Army’s Forward Support Company:

Imagine being in a hostile foreign country commanding a unit of fresh-faced soldiers. You want to be prepared, you want to make good decisions and you want to be a leader.

But how can you truly prepare someone for this role? One possible answer is simulations, such as Outside the Wire, a WILL Interactive Virtual Experience Immersive Learning Simulation (VEILS®), a cross between a feature film and a computer game that immerses individuals into potentially real situations and circumstances.

“Just the opening scene of Outside the Wire, where you have people who are being shot and killed [is] enough to awaken lieutenants, who [will] now understand the impact of their decisions — that they’re responsible for lives under their leadership,” said Gayle Olszyk, deputy to the commander for training at the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and Schools.
“What choices you make are going to impact a lot of other people. That’s a reality that is very difficult to present to an officer in a written scenario. This is the reality of what you’re going to be facing when you get to Iraq.”

Read the full article here.

Potomac, MD: WILL Interactive, Inc., the Potomac, MD-based leader in virtual experience behavior modification gaming and recipient of the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) ‘2006 Best Serious Game’ award, in partnership with the Public Charter School Student Support Center (SSC), known for their work in substance abuse and violence prevention in urban schools serving high-risk youth, announced the receipt of a grant from CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. The grant will be used to address school violence in five Washington, D.C. schools by introducing an education program that will utilize WILL Interactive’s serious games, Hate Comes Home and Interactive Nights Out 2™ (INO2™). Included within the grant will be a license for each school to continue using Hate Comes Home and Interactive Nights Out 2 after the initial education program is completed.

“We are excited to work with CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield to take a decisive step in addressing the important issue of school violence,” said Sharon Sloane, CEO WILL Interactive, Inc. “WILL Interactive’s serious game learning tools, Hate Comes Home and Interactive Nights Out 2, instruct in a unique, highly engaging medium attractive to the video game generation. The software will be instrumental in the success of this program in teaching students how to think rather than what to think.”
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The Lexington Herald-Leader writes an article about WILL’s Generation Rx:

“Prescription drug abuse, a major problem in Eastern Kentucky, has now become a national public health issue, Mathews said.

‘Through this new interactive program, we now hope to lead the nation in demonstrating a new way to involve teenagers in avoiding future drug abuse,’ he said. ‘We’re dealing with a video-game generation.’”

Read the article

Yahoo! Tech writes an article about video games that teach kids life-changing lessons including WILL’s Generation Rx in its list of serious games:

“It’s not just about shoot ‘em ups, though. It’s called decision training, and Will Interactive takes the gameplay a step further by using real actors and movie scenarios in its games such as Generation RX. Generation RX deals with the growing problem of teenagers who abuse prescription drugs. Kids watch a story unfold and reach critical decision points. Based on those decisions, the story moves along, with kids exploring the various consequences.”

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Serious Game Source writes an article on the seriousness and effectiveness of WILL’s Generation Rx:

“Generation Rx was designed to improve critical thinking, judgment and decision-making, and uses WILL Interactive’s patented VEILS (Virtual Experience Immersive Learning Simulations) technology, which the company notes has been proven effective in changing behavior and enhancing positive decision-making.”

Read the full article

Confronting a national epidemic, interactive program uses familiar video-game technology to reach a tech-savvy teen audience

Potomac, MD: WILL Interactive, Inc., the Potomac, MD-based leader in virtual experience behavior modification gaming, has created Generation Rx™, an interactive gaming simulation, in collaboration with Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. (KRCC), a private non-profit organization dedicated to mental health. A high-tech “choose-your-own-adventure” program with serious consequences, Generation Rx™ was developed to tackle the devastating national epidemic of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse among 12-17 year-old youth.
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Sharon is interviewed by Morehead State’s Chuck Mraz on NPR.