On the eve of the India’s Republic Day I would like to highlight the economic growth the country has achieved in the manufacturing sector. When we hear about India’s growth it’s normally about the services, computer software and IT outsourcing industry. However the country’s manufacturing sector is also making a significant impact on the overall growth. The article “Manufacturing Drives India's Economic Growth” by Uday Lal Pai demonstrates the manufacturing sector growth backed by some impressive statistics.
“A stable and booming economy augurs well for an Indian manufacturing sector that is estimated to command a market capitalization of $520 billion by 2014-15”
The Indian industries like Tata, Reliance, VSNL, Birla Group and Mahindra are on M&A rampage. The internationalization of these firms is having a major impact on the sector. The automotive sector is also picking up. The launch of Tata Nano for $2500 was global news and brought the company in media limelight. Other companies like Bajaj and Mahindra are also planning to launch new cars. The collaboration between Indian and China should also give some uplift.
Happy Republic day!
MTConnect Implementation Workshops
To assist in the implementation of MTConnect, AMT is holding a series of workshops structured to describe the standard, answer questions, aid in developing necessary code for implementation, and address how MTConnect will be showcased at IMTS 2008. These workshops will address the construction of adaptors, including the collection and sending of data. Workshops addressing the Software Developers Kit (SDK) will be held in the near future. If you are interested in being a participant in MTConnect, plan on attending the workshop session at TechSolve, Cincinnati on February 19, 2008.
Where?
TechSolve Inc,
6705 Steger Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45237
1-800-345-4482
When?
19 February, 2008
Requirements in attending a workshop include bringing your own laptop, some programming experience, and a preliminary review of the standard found at http://www.mtconnect.org/. This is necessary since there will be hands on exercises on how to develop an MTConnect adaptor.
New versions of the draft materials for implementing MTConnect are now available at www.MTConnect.org. Included in the materials is example code that can be reviewed to aid in developing agents, adapters, and client software that can be designed to comply with the newly created standard (draft v0.9.5).
Other Locations:
- Chicago, Illinois – TBA, February 20, 2008
- Hartford, Connecticut – TBA, February 20, 2008
- Berkeley, California – UC Berkeley, February 26, 2008
- Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia Tech, February 26, 2008
- Detroit, Michigan – TBA, March 18, 2008
- Rochester, New York – TBA, March 20, 2008
Simulation Game # 3: Can you impact your employer’s financial fortunes? Do you at least know the business strategy and marketplace?
The article “Don't Pick the Door With the Donkey! Manufacturers get in the Simulation Game” at Automation World describes the effectiveness of simulation games at workplace in large manufacturing corporations. The simulation games have proved very helpful for companies and large corporation for employee development and to have a holistic understanding of the employers business and market strategy. Read this special article at Automation World for more details.
Simulation Games # 2: Simulation Game Continuum
The figure explains the relationship between a game, simulation and simulation game. The positive Y axis represents extend of non-reality from a real world situation and the negative Y axis represents the reality. Games have the element of fantasy and chance while the simulations have elements like mathematical symbols, verbal symbols, pictorial representations and physical forms. The simulation games are the integration of games which retain model reality and simulations which describe the model reality with appropriate mathematical and verbal attributes.Reference: Ochoa, A., “Simulation and Gaming: Simile or Synonym?,” Pedagogy Journal of Education, Sep. 1969, pp. 104-107.
Simulation Games #1: Definition
It’s been a month that I have not posted but honestly speaking last month was crazy with lot of travel and other personal engagements. On the first day of 2008 I start with a new series on the topic ‘Simulation Games’. This first post will focus on defining the term ‘Simulation Game’.
In spite of the attention and research going on in the field of simulation games its definition remains unclear and ambiguous. Their applications in the field of education and training of professionals demand a precise and unambiguous definition. Simulation in its simplest definition is just “representation of reality”. The purpose of a game is to capture the attention of the player by conflict, motivation to win and a scoring element. The player has a sense of win or loss and gets a performance index in terms of score after the game. The desire to improve the performance and get a better score drives the player to get involved in the game more and more. However, steps to make the game more interesting usually leads to the distortion in the representation of reality.
A simulation game is a game, which has elements like score, performance rating, conflict, and payoff and simulates a real world situation for decision-making or alternative evaluation. These multi sensory experiential learning tools allow the player to experience cooperation and teamwork without the risk of expensive mistakes. Simulation games follow the widely accepted “learning by doing” philosophy. Simulation games have myriad applications in education. Simulation games can be used effectively to teach various subjects and topics.
My primary focus in this series of ‘Simulation Games’ will be to explore it’s applications in education and its implications.
Simulation game based learning is an extension of the problem-based learning paradigm, having all its inherent characteristics plus some additional advantages. Simulation game and problem based learning are both experiential, collaborative, active learning and learner centric approaches. In simulation game, the instructor is a facilitator of learning process and students have the responsibility of learning as in problem-based learning. In problem-based learning, a self-assessment is conducted at the end of the problem or the learning cycle. On the other hand, simulation game has a scoring system that is the indication of one’s performance. Students are motivated to maximize their score by trying alternative strategies and read more literature. This is a significant advantage over problem-based learning. Secondly, simulation games are online computer based where student can learn as per his or her time at any place where there is an internet connection. Some studies have found that engineers are visual learners. Advanced graphics and multimedia may be used to capture the student’s attention. This observation calls for extensive use of simulation games especially in the light of decreasing computer technology cost and increasing speeds. Thirdly, some sort of online help is provided in simulation games. Thus, a student does not have to wait for the instructor to address the difficulty. Last and the most important advantage with simulation games is that they can save a lot of clerical work for students. The student can try out various strategies and alternatives and focus on the parameter of interest leaving the calculation and presentation work for the software. It is a more systematic and organized way of learning.
To read more posts on the Simulation Game click here.
In spite of the attention and research going on in the field of simulation games its definition remains unclear and ambiguous. Their applications in the field of education and training of professionals demand a precise and unambiguous definition. Simulation in its simplest definition is just “representation of reality”. The purpose of a game is to capture the attention of the player by conflict, motivation to win and a scoring element. The player has a sense of win or loss and gets a performance index in terms of score after the game. The desire to improve the performance and get a better score drives the player to get involved in the game more and more. However, steps to make the game more interesting usually leads to the distortion in the representation of reality.
A simulation game is a game, which has elements like score, performance rating, conflict, and payoff and simulates a real world situation for decision-making or alternative evaluation. These multi sensory experiential learning tools allow the player to experience cooperation and teamwork without the risk of expensive mistakes. Simulation games follow the widely accepted “learning by doing” philosophy. Simulation games have myriad applications in education. Simulation games can be used effectively to teach various subjects and topics.
My primary focus in this series of ‘Simulation Games’ will be to explore it’s applications in education and its implications.
Simulation game based learning is an extension of the problem-based learning paradigm, having all its inherent characteristics plus some additional advantages. Simulation game and problem based learning are both experiential, collaborative, active learning and learner centric approaches. In simulation game, the instructor is a facilitator of learning process and students have the responsibility of learning as in problem-based learning. In problem-based learning, a self-assessment is conducted at the end of the problem or the learning cycle. On the other hand, simulation game has a scoring system that is the indication of one’s performance. Students are motivated to maximize their score by trying alternative strategies and read more literature. This is a significant advantage over problem-based learning. Secondly, simulation games are online computer based where student can learn as per his or her time at any place where there is an internet connection. Some studies have found that engineers are visual learners. Advanced graphics and multimedia may be used to capture the student’s attention. This observation calls for extensive use of simulation games especially in the light of decreasing computer technology cost and increasing speeds. Thirdly, some sort of online help is provided in simulation games. Thus, a student does not have to wait for the instructor to address the difficulty. Last and the most important advantage with simulation games is that they can save a lot of clerical work for students. The student can try out various strategies and alternatives and focus on the parameter of interest leaving the calculation and presentation work for the software. It is a more systematic and organized way of learning.
To read more posts on the Simulation Game click here.
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