STOTTLER HENKE’S SIMBIONIC SIMULATION AUTHORING TOOLKIT RECEIVES AN EXCELLENCE IN LEARNING AWARD FROM

BRANDON-HALL

Judges praise SimBionic for its ease-of-use and ability to create training simulations that
provide students with complex, realistic, and engaging learning experiences.

SAN MATEO, California, December 7, 2004 – Stottler Henke has been honored with a Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award for their SimBionic(TM) authoring toolkit which enables non-programmers to build intelligent characters for education and training simulations. These awards, bestowed annually by brandon-hall.com, an e-learning research and consulting firm, showcase exceptional work in the e-learning industry by providing feedback and benchmarking in an overall effort to advance the e-learning industry. “The winning entries this year show that innovation in our field is continuing at full speed,” said Brandon Hall, Ph.D., CEO of brandon-hall.com and chairman of the awards program. “The winners are excellent both in terms of creativity and range of application. These winners are the new cutting edge.”

A record number of 254 entries underwent rigorous multi-phase review by 482 independent judges with expertise in instructional design, online learning, and organizational change. Numerical ratings based on specific criteria were averaged to determine each entry’s ranking. This year, a total of 72 winners were selected from among three categories – Outstanding Learning Programs and Initiatives, Innovative Technology, and Custom Content. Stottler Henke received a Bronze award in the Innovative Technology category.

Stottler Henke’s SimBionic software lets instructional designers and subject matter experts define intelligent behaviors for free-play training simulations quickly and easily, without programming, using a visual user interface. These behaviors specify how simulated characters and other entities respond to user actions, other simulated events, and simulation state conditions. The SimBionic visual authoring tool lets users specify smarter behaviors that would be too costly or difficult to develop using traditional programming methods. SimBionic also enables instructional designers to specify logic that assesses student performance during dynamic, free-play simulations by evaluating each student’s actions in the context of the simulation’s current situation and recent events.

SimBionic received some excellent comments from the judges. According to Tom Werner, Director of the 2004 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards, “One judge noted that the marriage of gamer AI and business applications training is a fabulous idea, and that the SimBionic toolkit would make the problem of disengaged learners and improperly targeted learning a thing of the past. Another judge observed that the Toolkit lets you specify combinations of experience, mood, timing, surprise, and unexpected conflicts in simulated situations, and that its ease of use in doing this is very innovative.”

SimBionic is marketed by Stottler Henke. Development of SimBionic was supported in large part by R&D funding provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Founded in 1988, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. applies artificial intelligence and other advanced software technologies to solve problems that defy solution using traditional approaches. The company delivers intelligent software solutions for education and training, planning and scheduling, knowledge management and discovery, decision support, and computer security and reliability. Stottler Henke’s clients include manufacturers, retailers, educational media companies and government agencies. Stottler Henke was named one of the “top 100” companies making a significant impact on the military training industry in 2003 and 2004 by Military Training Technology magazine. Web: https://www.stottlerhenke.com.