Posts Tagged ‘PIXELearning’

PIXELearning acquired by Milamber Investments

Posted in Interview, Press Release on April 14th, 2011 by admin – Be the first to comment

(London: 14 April 2011): PIXELearning (PIXEL), a global leader in business simulations and games-based learning in the e-learning marketplace, has been acquired by Milamber Investments in a cash and share deal.

The company provides custom as well as off-the-shelf games and immersive learning services to blue chip customers, business schools and colleges.

Investors in PIXEL include regional VC fund Advantage West Midlands and loan fund Advantage Transition Bridge Fund. Both, along with others, will become shareholders in Milamber Group.

Andy Hasoon, CEO of Milamber Group, joins the PIXEL board. Richard Smith remains CEO of PIXEL and will continue to spearhead the growth of the company.

Richard Smith says, ”We have been working with Milamber since April 2010 when I took over as CEO of PIXEL. During that time we have made significant progress to move from a bespoke serious games and immersive simulations company to having a suite of products that are also off-the shelf such as PIXEL’s finance, business, entrepreneurship, sales and leadership simulations, plus ‘must have’ products such as our ‘diversity’ and ‘data security’ simulations – we plan to make many more over the coming years”.

In addition, says Smith,  “We have put in place development and distribution arrangements with companies  such as Reality Works, Global Novations and Pearson Education. Teaming up with Milamber gives us the ability to take the next step in our growth.”  

Headquartered in the Serious Games Institute at Coventry University’s Technology Park, PIXELearning has pioneered the application of computer games and simulation techniques to create world-class technologies and tools for education, training and marketing communications in the corporate environment.

PIXELearning has an excellent track record in developing innovative solutions to business learning issues. Recent examples include the creation of a new recruit induction programme for KPMG and an online game for HP to help employees understand good practices for data security. Its client list includes 3M, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Shell, Comcast, and CocaCola.

Milamber is already working to bring access to capital, management resources, and scale to PIXEL’s product portfolio. Says Hasoon, “We have the expertise and experience to build a global distribution footprint and access content and development partners who can help grow this business significantly”.

Notes for editors

For further information contact:

Andy Hasoon, Milamber Group Ltd

Email: andy.hasoon@milambergroup.com

Tel: +44 (0) 247 623 6971

P1: Update 21st Jan 2010

Posted in Project Updates on January 21st, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

Project 1: Update 21st Jan 2010 – Significant progress has been made on the EC funding project since the start of the year.

Pearson Education (www.pearson.com) and ourselves have been scoping in detail their contribution to the Project. This is being crystallised into a Project Framework so that we all know which party will contribute what to the overall Project.     

PIXELearning (www.pixelearning.com) have agreed to be a part of the consortium and will contribute Serious Games Simulations to the Project in particular we are looking at creating a suite of learning modules focused around their Role Play Engine. This is a sophisticated piece of technology that was originally created for Comcast in the USA, to help train their 19,000 call centre agents. The technology will be modified so we can simulate conversation scenarios and immerse the learner in an environment where they must navigate through the conversation to learn how best to handle certain outcomes.

Redtray Limited (www.redtray.com) have agreed to be part of the consortium and contribute e-learning and development expertise to the Project via their UK and India based staff & programmers. The details of their contribution are being scoped with the team at Redtray and ourselves. This week we have been understanding Redtray’s  ALTO platform = Learning, Knowledge & Competency Management System, with Resource Planning & Scheduling capabilities.

2SMS (www.2sms.com) have agreed to be a part of the consortium and contribute technology and solutions to the mobile delivery platform of the Project.  

We are currently scheduling the next meetings with PERA (www.pera.com) and Ashridge Business School (www.ashridge.org.uk) as they are kindly letting us use the magnificant Ashridge facilities to facilitate project meetings between the Industrial Partners.

PIXELearning Leadership Game Goes Live!

Posted in Lessons, Project Updates, Stories on January 17th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment

www.PIXELearning.com

Kevin Corti and Richard Smith on behalf of the PIXELearning team have been showing me their latest Serious Game.  

So let’s set the scene…….

“On a small uninhabited island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean a mysterious energy source has been detected. Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to lead a team, locate and retrieve the energy source and bring it back to your company HQ. You’ll be personally challenged, it will require exemplary leadership skills, in particular team building, coaching, decision making and problem solving.

Door to the Game

Great leaders can make difficult decisions quickly under pressure, and achieve results in the most challenging environments, when the stakes, in this case a major business opportunity, are huge! So let me ask you this – do you have what it takes to be a Great Leader?”

The overall experience is really set on this unnamed tropical island. You are ‘sent’ there with a clear objective (“to recover a secret power source”). The journey through the environment takes you from a beach, through a jungle area, a WW2 concrete bunker, a 1950s-themed area and, finally, to a futuristic ‘alien’ area.

Bunker

There are several players and you all face nine distinct challenges which have been carefully crafted to test each of your ability to coach, solve problems and communicate effectively in what is a dynamic, time-pressured and frequently confusing situation.

You have to decide whether to fully collaborate with and trust other people as you find them…or to withhold information and compete. You even need to establish what the challenges are, what information and resources you have at your disposal before you can attempt to solve them. Managing your own frustration and confusion is critical to success.

Just as in a real work environment…sometimes you have to work out what the problem is before you can even attempt to solve it.

This is a true multiplayer serious game.

To begin with you have to explore the island and travel deep into an underground building. You start as an individual, then you get paired together, then two pairs combine if you are to win the game. Overall it’s competitive and collaborative.

Water Puzzle

Now as I said earlier the first task is done solo, and it’s a ‘water puzzle’. I am not going to spoil the fun and give you the details. However, what the game does is make you think, drives you to make decisions because you are on a clock, and work through the defined problem to come up with a solution (or not).

As the game progresses it drives you to work in teams. For example there is one challenge where both teams are in two almost identical chambers. One team has night vision goggles but none of the switches or leavers work that they can see. The other team is in pitch blackness and can see nothing, but their switches and leavers work and actually control the functions of both chambers. This drives the team with the night vision goggles to guide and communicate with the other team to help them achieve the tasks to release both of the teams from being trapped in the chambers.

Night Vision Goggle View

The environment and the challenges really do test your communication skills, some people get frustrated with each other, some are calm, some get nervous – it really does help hone those leadership skills. 

I found it a fascinating experience and I have already been getting several learning experts who are friends to experience this Leadership Game and they also agree with my opinion – PIXEL have got a winner on their hands.

Instructions

Anyway, if you’re an organisation looking to develop Coaching, Decision Making, Problem Solving, and Team Building skills in your managers and leaders. This is a great way to do it. Give PIXELearning a call 02476 236 971 or go to  www.pixelelearning.com – and remember they have been smart so aside form having a hosted solution they can adapt the core platform so lots of different scenarios can be achieved and can customize it for you and your organisation.

Plus if you are a training company you should think about getting a Distribution license – this game was originally created for a very large US company but already the order book is building, and I know that several companies have approached PIXEL to see if they can get licenses to sell the forthcoming generic product version of the game and rumours have it the ‘Sales Game’ is coming along well. I get to play that next Month!