Part of me wanted to write this whole opening paragraph about how the first sign of a society returning back to normal from some disaster is how the arts and general intelligentsia return, but that's a lie. Since day one, numerous groups and organizations have actively provided concerts, virtual museum tours, and other events online for the betterment of the community, as well as self-preservation.
That all being said, I had my heart grow three sizes when someone posted about Georgetown University Wargaming Society (GUWS) sponsoring an online lecture via Zoom.
Leveraging Commercial Games in Military Education was a two-hour lecture conducted by Mr James Sterrett, Chief of the Simulation Education Division in the Directorate of Simulation Education of U.S. Army University/Command & General Staff College.
First off, outside of the tedium of getting things set-up, it was a first Zoom meeting and as an audience member, it went perfectly. Outside of the seamless mobile application, this is all technology I've seen and occasionally used for at least the last 15+ years. Guess the push to online participation is like the first Model T to make it to Dogpatch. Hopefully future uses will continue to work as smoothly as this one.
The one issue I've learned to expect/appreciate from the HMGS War College is that experts are not always great speakers and some of our hobby historians are short on material, but great on presentation. I was absolutely delighted that neither situation came up here. Mr Sterrett is accustomed to lecturing to, and working with mid-level Commissioned Officers from the United States Army, its sister branches, as well as international officers, so he could easily keep the attention of a mixed audience of military and civilians while going over the plethora of information provided.
I don't plan on teaching military history, strategy, and tactics in a military setting, commissioned or enlisted, but as I assist with the HMGS Teacher's Program, this was an abundance of tips and tricks, pitfalls to avoid, and engaging anecdotes of using various games, analog and computer, over the years.
Apparently GUWS does this weekly, and the topics are pretty awesome. I heartily recommend checking out future events.
EDIT: The lecture has been posted to Youtube!
That all being said, I had my heart grow three sizes when someone posted about Georgetown University Wargaming Society (GUWS) sponsoring an online lecture via Zoom.
Leveraging Commercial Games in Military Education was a two-hour lecture conducted by Mr James Sterrett, Chief of the Simulation Education Division in the Directorate of Simulation Education of U.S. Army University/Command & General Staff College.
The one issue I've learned to expect/appreciate from the HMGS War College is that experts are not always great speakers and some of our hobby historians are short on material, but great on presentation. I was absolutely delighted that neither situation came up here. Mr Sterrett is accustomed to lecturing to, and working with mid-level Commissioned Officers from the United States Army, its sister branches, as well as international officers, so he could easily keep the attention of a mixed audience of military and civilians while going over the plethora of information provided.
I don't plan on teaching military history, strategy, and tactics in a military setting, commissioned or enlisted, but as I assist with the HMGS Teacher's Program, this was an abundance of tips and tricks, pitfalls to avoid, and engaging anecdotes of using various games, analog and computer, over the years.
Apparently GUWS does this weekly, and the topics are pretty awesome. I heartily recommend checking out future events.
EDIT: The lecture has been posted to Youtube!
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