Introduction
In 2006, TPLD completed a successful proof of concept (PoC) with one of the world’s largest International banking groups using its Infiniteams product as part of facilitated workshops. Two events were held, aimed at demonstrating the benefits of Game Based Learning (GBL) to two disparate groups from different parts of the organisation. The bank’s primary interest was how GBL could be utilised to enhance training programs, increase trainee engagement and improve the effectiveness of assessment.

Initial Reactions – Before the Event
When the team was asked to speculate about the event; predictably there was a mixed bag of opinions. All were guarded and mildly sceptical. The first event comprised of Training and Development professionals who were curious and open minded. The second event comprised of team members from front-line branch staff. Opinions were more diverse. Generally more sceptical as a whole group, younger members appeared more open to this experiment with new learning technology. Older members of this second group were more confident in expressing their doubts about the value of this form of learning engagement. All questioned the application of this type of training to the ‘real world workplace’.

Comments from the Team – Post Event
Whilst the initial comments from some team members were not overly enthusiastic, by the end of the events all team members were positive about the potential and benefits of GBL to the organisation. It is fair to say there had been a significant change in both opinion and perception during the course of the event.

Follow-up Activities
From the resounding success of the PoC, TPLD was asked to submit a more comprehensive proposal, including Infiniteams, so it could be looked at in other training situations, and some of TPLD’s other more bespoke and customised offerings for evaluation against specific needs within the bank.

Introduction
Dundee City Council have recognised the gap in the core skill 'working with others' and the need to start using resources which are appealing and motivating for young people today. This resulted in a pilot being formed to realise the potential of Eduteams, TPLD's collaborative software package for developing core and enterprise skills. This is not just an issue in Scotland, but exists on a global scale and must be solved. Like a foreign language, introduce the skills at a young age and they will become second nature in a persons every day life, and through practice and reinforcement a person will use these skills to their full advantage.

The Pilot
Two clusters within Dundee City Council (2 high schools and 7 primary schools) were involved in the pilot. Eduteams was set up on Dundee City Council's central server and schools involved were granted access by the council's ICT officer (a quick and easy installation process eliminating time consuming visits to each school). Staff tutors were trained by TPLD staff in how to use the software and the areas to be focused on. After this training, staff tutors held training sessions with teachers from the clusters in how to set up the teams, how to play the games in the modules, and what to concentrate on (training packs and lesson areas will be supplied through Eduteams.com). 10 modules, or mini games, were used in this pilot, and were divided into different levels of difficulty; easy, medium and hard. The primary schools (P6&P7 - age 10, 11 and 12) were supplied with the easy and medium modules (5 in total) and the secondary schools (S1&S2 - age 12, 13 and 14) were supplied with 10 modules, incorporating the three levels of difficulty.

Teachers recognised that pupil's communication level increased while using Eduteams and quieter pupils came out of their shells. A success story below of one pupil confirms Eduteams ability to allow quieter pupils to express their true skills, skills they may not have had the opportunity to express before due to lack of confidence: "A female pupil, age 14, was a good pupil in class but lacked confidence to speak up in class, even when asked a question directly. After playing Eduteams teachers noticed this girl had become the leader in the group and had found confidence through using the communication system embedded in Eduteams and working in a familiar environment with her class mates. Eduteams increases communication with those who are not so confident but who can contribute if given the opportunity to excel."

Not only did communication take place throughout the game in order to complete tasks, but also after each game when they reflect on the game played and make decisions and plan a strategy for improving their score the next time they play. They drew on the strengths of team members and realised how they can work together to quickly complete their Eduteams tasks.

What I liked best was:
• Playing games and working as a team
• A good alternative to other methods
• The demo video (I thought it was funny) and kind of scary
• Being in groups with my friends and it was a challenge
• That we all had to work together to complete the games

What I would do differently next time:
• Try to communicate better with my team mates
• Make sure we all listen to each other and use the best strategy
• Listen to the people I am playing with
• Encourage my team mates more

General feedback:
• We must work together better in a team
• I must listen and communicate more with my team mates
• I will work better in a team and help plan the strategy
• I really enjoyed working with my class mates
• It would be interesting to work with people we don't know
• This is a new and exciting way of learning with friends
• Can we have more lessons in this way?

Feedback from teachers is below:
• Pupils were very keen and enjoyed using the various tasks
• Eduteams is a really good resource which created a positive response from pupils
• Shy pupils came out of their shells and participated in the team work
• Boisterous pupils learnt how to take a back seat and cooperate in a team
• Communication in classes increased and allowed pupils to realize the potential of effective communication

Eduteams was also used to start the development of a community for young people as requests had been made to play Eduteams at lunch time, in the library and after school! Similar to mainstream games, communities are built to talk over strategies, but in this case the focus of the discussion moved from 'how will I succeed' to 'how will WE succeed'.

Summary
Relating Eduteams to core curriculum, teachers have found Eduteams to be an extremely useful resource to teach pupils in classes the importance of using networks, and how communication plays a vital role in the networks. This allows pupils to have a hands on experience in developing personal communication skills and observing how communication is a necessity in group work, and within a network.