Working in the Classroom - A Vision of Miner Training in the 

21st Century 

L Mallett 1 and T J Orr2 

1. Lead Research Scientist, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, PO Box 

18070, Pittsburgh PA 15236, USA. Email: LMallett@cdc.gov 

2. Lead Computer Engineer, Spokane Research Laboratory, 315 E 

Montgomery, Spokane WA 99207, USA. Email: TOrr@cdc.gov 

ABSTRACT 

The changing demographics of the mining industry make successful 

passing of knowledge and skills to the next generation critical. Training 

methods and technologies are being developed to meet this need. Twenty 

years ago classroom training was largely a one-way transfer of 

knowledge through instructor lectures. In contrast, instructors today can 

use virtual reality technologies to guide trainees as they fully participate 

in learning experiences. Trainees can interact with the virtual work 

environment, co-workers, and equipment without being exposed to 

workplace hazards. The speed of advancement in mine safety, health, and 

production training shows no sign of slowing in the next 20 years. 

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

have studied and participated in the evolution of miner training. A look at 

training materials they have created in the past and those they are 

currently developing reveals changes in methods and technologies over 

time and also key characteristics which have remained constant. 

Possibilities for the future can be discussed in the framework of an 

implementation of virtual reality in new miner training sessions. The 

example computer-based training package teaches new miners to read 

mine maps and provides opportunity to practice navigation skills in a 

virtual mine. With this 'serious game', trainees experience the look and 

feel of moving through an underground coal mine while in the safety of 

their classroom. During field-testing in 2007, trainees and instructors 

responded very favourably to this new way of learning. The software was 

usable by mine trainers with even limited computer expertise and could 

be installed on the affordable computers they were using for their more 

traditional slide presentations. The Underground Coal Mine Map Reading 

Training's foundation on past successful development strategies and 

its acceptance by today's instructors and trainees provide valuable 

lessons for developing training materials, strategies, and technologies for 

mining's future. 

INTRODUCTION 

Workforce demographics are changing in many parts of the world. 

Extended healthy life-spans, lower birth-rates, and the impact of 

the baby-boomer cohort have led to ageing populations. In the 

United States, the age of the mining workforce is even higher than 

that of the general population (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2007). 

So what does that mean for mine training? Today's mining 

industry is running on the knowledge and skills of experienced 

workers. They know their jobs. They may have worked in multiple 

positions through their careers. They are· leaders with solid 

backgrounds and expertise. But in the next 20 years, many of 

those experienced miners will leave the industry. Even if they 

delay retirement, as many baby-boomers report they plan to do, 

they will eventually move on. Will those left be prepared to meet 

21st century challenges? Moving forward with training research 

and development is vital to preparing for the industry's impending 

changing of the guard. 

The 21st century workforce will not look the same as last 

century's workers. Using technology is a normal part of daily 

life for them. Even those not highly educated have knowledge 

about and often skill with computers or video game consoles: 

Survey studies suggest that game experiences are 

changing a generation's attitudes toward work 

and learning (Squire, 2006). 

They also like to multi-task and can take in large quantities of 

information at one time. These qualities should be exploited by 

mine trainers. On the other hand, some have said this new 

generation of workers is impatient with information not given in 

sound bite quantities. If true, this could create a potential lack of 

depth in understanding that must be considered when planning 

training. 

Unlike the workforce, the 21st century training room often 

looks very much like it did 50 or more years ago. Instructors 

standing at the front of the room lecture to students sitting at 

desks or tables. The expert instructor introduces job-related 

concepts and techniques and tells about his or her experiences. In 

a nod to newer technology, the information may be relayed from 

experts via video. In both cases, trainees are the recipients of 

knowledge. They will test the concepts and try their skills when 

they enter the workplace and face a related task. That 

circumstance may be just after training or it can be months or 

even years later. This is not the optimal way to prepare miners. 

New training philosophies, tools, and techniques must be brought 

to the mine classroom. 

Computer-based virtual reality technologies offer one avenue 

for updating training. The following discussion will cover how 

narrative-based training has evolved and is likely to continue 

changing in the future. The Underground Coal Mine. Map 

Reading Training (UCMMRT) developed by the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is 

provided as a current example. Training for emergency response 

using this technology is also introduced. An additional comment 

is made on the future of serious games and how related changes 

might impact training in the mining industry. 

THE EVOLUTION OF TRAINING 

Teaching in the mid and late 1900s was widely considered an 

information transfer task: 

The learning process was typically thought to 

consist of a knowledgeable educator who 

constructed and transmitted knowledge on a 

particular topic to learners using the accepted 

instructional technologies of the day - books, 

articles, and lectures (Ruben, 1999). 

The goal was to pass information from teacher to learner. Ifthe 

learner could recall the information imparted by the instructor 

and communicate it back through a standardised written test, he 

or she was seen as successful. While these teaching and 

assessment philosophies and related methods are not uncommon 

today, other options are a better fit with the workforce of the 

future: 

Much of the current literature on contemporary 

pedagogy advises that to best prepare 21st 

century learners for the increasingly complex 

and interconnected global society in which they 

live and work, institutions should implement, 

across all disciplines, pedagogical practices that 

involve interactive, inquiry- or problein-based, 

technology-enriched teaching and learning 

(Moore, Fowler and Watson, 2007). 
Formal education and training of the past focused on knowing. 

Newer methods add a skills or doing component. Trainees can no 

longer be successful by reciting back what an instructor has said. 

Instead, trainees must understand the context in which 1:he 

information can be used. In the mining workplace, they are also 

often called upon to work or communicate with other people. 

Training that takes into account the physical and social 

environment in which a job must be performed is more complex 

than that which leads to the recall of facts. This is a simplification 

of the evolution of training, but generally the movement has been 

from fact-based lecture and reading toward more context-based 

methods. One way to provide context is to develop training in a 

narrative framework. Narrative-based techniques such as guided 

group discussions, table-top simulations, and interactive computerbased exercises force trainees to metaphorically leave their seats 

and participate in learning. 

The use of narrative is nothing new to education and training. 

Even prehistoric storytellers used this method. Stories heard or 

read immerse the learner in the setting as planned by 

the storyteller: 

A stirring narrative in any medium can be 

experienced as a virtual reality because our 

brains are programmed to tune into stories with 

an intensity that can obliterate the world around 

us (Murray, 1997). 

Mine trainers have long told stories to impart warnings or 

guidance. But they did not always develop their narratives to 

meet specific training objectives or standardise them so the 

same message could be given during multiple training sessions. 

Formal scenario building makes storytelling more effective as a 

training medium. 

Technological advances are making narrative training easier to 

create and deliver. The widespread use of video games has led 

trainees to not only accept, but expect high-tech professional 

quality computer-based training: 

Many oftoday' s youth spend more time playing in 

digital worlds than they do watching television, 

reading, or watching films (Squire 2006). 

This is an exciting reality for mine training as it means 

computers can be used to generate contexts for narrative training. 

Learning in context happens as trainees take roles in the story 

and virtually have an experience. Rather than reading, watching a 

film, or hearing about a place, trainees can explore and interact: 

The success of complex games demonstrates that 

they can teach higher-order thinking skills such 

as strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, 

problem solving, plan formulations and execution, 

and adaptation to rapid change (Federation of 

American Scientists, 2006). 

Training on these types of skills will engage trainees and better 

prepare them for 21 st century mining workplaces. 

CREATING NARRATIVE-BASED TRAINING 

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH) have been developing and assessing narrativebased training since the 1980s. Early studies were published 

under the agency name the Bureau of Mines. Much of this early 

work was done in conjunction with faculty, staff, and students at 

the University of Kentucky (Cole et aI, 20Ot). Training for 

non-routine skills was based on actual accident and injury reports 

(for examples, see the list of 'Training Exercises' at the NIOSH 

web page: http://www.cdc.gov/nioshlmining/products). Rather 

relaying stories of given events, training objectives were 

ed for a specific subject and then a story was constructed by 

g experiences and contexts from multiple events that could 

best meet those objectives. Drawings and maps were the only 

visuals provided, but the realism of the stories immersed the 

trainees who imagined themselves as part of the constructed tale. 

The stories were presented in segments with questions given to 

trainees at critical decision points. Trainees were given 

immediate feedback to their responses that explained why their 

choices were correct or incorrect and moved the storyline along. 

The training was successful because it relied on compelling 

narratives set in contexts that were believable and familiar to 

trainees. Cognitively the training was realistic, but without 

today's availability of computer graphical and interactive 

capabilities trainees were left to imagine the settings. 

Current training research and development at NIOSH is built 

on these early simulations but uses technology to add realistic 

visual and auditory cues. Video game-inspired models of 

equipment, environments, and people are being created. Trainees 

can now 'live' the story in a virtual mine. A multi-disciplinary 

team at NIOSH has created and tested the Underground Coal 

Mine Map Reading Training (UCMMRT) with new recruits. The 

team used various software packages to model people and things 

and a video game engine to build a virtual mine environment 

where new miners can safely practice map reading and mine 

navigation skills. See Figure 1 for an example screen shot. 

Through the development and testing process, the team learned 

lessons which can inform future training development efforts. 

FIG 1 - Screen shot of virtual mine environment. 

UNDERGROUND COAL MINE MAP READING 

SKILLS TRAINING 

To the uninitiated an underground mine can be a dark, complex 

maze. When travelling through mine passages (ie entries and 

cross-cuts), they encounter dead ends (stoppings), unending 

obstacles (ie beltlines), and seemingly random unusual pieces of 

equipment. Given the complexity of mine navigation, and that 

many new employees have spent little time in an underground 

coal mine, the potential exists for lost miners to get themselves in 

dangerous situations. In the United States, new miners are 

required to take at least 40 hours of training before starting work. 

They are taught terminology, basic concepts and how to work 

safely. Traditionally much of this training takes place in a 

classroom. The timing and extent of the in-mine portion of the 

training varies widely and trainees are likely to be overwhelmed 

with new information as they try to tie the classroom training to 

the actual mine environment. 

NIOSH researchers have created training materials to help 

familiarise trainees with the environment and navigation 

techniques before they enter the real mine. The training software 

consists of two computer-based segments. The first, Map 

Reading Basics, covers terms and concepts that trainees need to 

know in order to understand the mine and where miners can and 

cannot traveL The new miners then 'enter' a virtual mine, while 
still safely in their classroom, to test their new knowledge and 

skills. The Mine Navigation Challenge was built using a first 

person shooter computer game engine. This type of 'serious 

game' allows trainees to 'walk' through the mine with a 

computer mouse and/or keyboard commands. They participate in 

the story as they are given tasks requiring them to find specific 

locations on a paper mine map and navigate to those locations in 

the virtual mine. Virtual miners encountered along the way give 

information and further directions. To successfully complete the 

tasks, trainees count cross-cuts, go through man doors, and find 

belt crossovers. There are two main locations the trainees must 

find with the second being more difficult to locate. After 

completing the training, more practice can be gained in a 

scavenger hunt module where trainees attempt to find objects 

located around the virtual mine. 

The UCMMRT was tested in new miner classes at three 

training locations as it was being developed. Participants in these 

formative evaluations ranged in age from 18 to 54 years with a 

median age of 30. A few more experienced miners returning to 

the industry after an absence were included, but 93.4 per cent 

had less than one year of mining experience. Thirty-four per cent 

of them play computer games as least once a week, but 35 per 

cent report never playing them. 

Trainees overwhelmingly liked the training with 99 per cent of 

the 135 new miners responding yes when asked if they enjoyed the 

session. They were also asked if they would like future training to 

include computer-based sessions and 92 per cent said they would. 

These high marks were given in spite of the fact that the training 

was conducted in less than ideal conditions. During the training 

sessions groups of trainees (five to 25 trainees) participated as the 

virtual mine was projected on a screen in the front of the room. 

The qualitY of the projected images often suffered as a result of 

ambient room light from sources such as windows or room lights 

that could not be dimmed. Projection systems currently available 

provide higher lumen output and contrast ratios that can alleviate 

this problem. In small classes it might be possible to have each 

trainee or small group at an individual computer station. The 

trainees will get a more immersive experience if they are 

controlling the simulation. However, during the testing, trainees 

discussed and decided where they should go and then the 

instructor or one of the trainees operated the keyboard and mouse. 

The sessions were chaotic at times, but the seasoned instructors 

who ran the tests successfully guided the groups and were happy 

with the outcomes. 

Trainees were asked what they liked best about the UCMMRT 

session. A response related to the realism of the training was given 

by 52 per cent of the trainees. They wrote responses like: 

It was realistic and interesting. It felt like you 

were the one in the simulator. 

Gave a hands-on type feel to what was explained. 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Also 

answered a lot of questions that words cannot 

explain. Doing something instead of talking 

about it is much more helpful and worth the time. 

The next most common response, at 23 per cent, was related to 

engagement with comments such as: 

I liked that it was really hands-on and had to 

make you think as you were walking along. 

Five per cent of respondents said the part they liked best was 

being lost: 

It gave me an idea what to expect and look for 

when lost. 

In other words, they liked being part of a narrative that was 

created by their decisions. When asked what they did not like 

about the training, 41 per cent wrote in that they didn't have any 

negative comments. An example of a response is: 

Thought it was great!! 

Nine per cent responded that it should have been more 

challenging with comments like: 

It didn't last long enough. I would have liked to 

have more time with the virtual mine exercises. 

In the after-action review, trainees were shown the route they 

had selected (generated by a feature in the training software and 

shown in Figure 2) and discussed where decisions had helped or 

hurt them in reaching their goal. In this context, map reading 

concepts became more than words - they had real application. 

FIG 2 - Overhead view of route taken for after-action review. 

VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING EXPERIENCES 

Virtual reality technologies allow trainees to engage in learning in 

ways impossible with more passive methods. Taking roles in 

stories where decisions impact the outcome of events requires 

a deeper understanding of concepts than does repeating definitions: 

Learning through experience is a poweiful 

approach when combined with today's advanced 

learning technologies (Menaker et aI, 2006). 

But just building a virtual mine, or any simulated environment, 

and allowing trainees to 'walk' through it will not result in 

optimal training. Trainees are likely to explore and become 

more familiar with a mine environment with an unguided 

walk-through, but more complex training goals require more 

structured use of virtual reality tools: 

Experience alone may not be an effective or 

efficient strategy for developing the knowledge 

and skills, including adaptive thinking, problem 

solving, and decision making ... (Menaker et ai, 

2006). 

Instead, training must include the application of knowledge 

and skills in context. Narrative training set in computer generated 

environments provides an excellent platform for learning and 

practicing higher order thinking skills. 

Instructional developers can create experiences that 

deliberately move through certain learning and practicing steps. 

One way to structure experiential learning is listed below 

(Menaker et aI, 2006). The examples provided for each are from 

theUCMMRT: 

• 	 Engage the learner mentally - the trainee is introduced to the 

environment while riding a vehicle to the working area. 

• 	 Emulate real-world requirements. Real-world refers to the 

physical environment and the cognitive tasks - the trainee is 

told to take tools to the boss who is doing work at a 

specified location. The trainee must use a paper map to 

navigate to that location. 
• 	 Allow the learner to experience effects of decisions. Effects 

can be naturally occurring ... or delivered by an 

instructional agent ... - the trainee can become lost and must 

find naturally occurring cues (such as survey station markers) 

to get back to a known location. If trainees go too far away 

from the appropriate route a virtual miner will tell them not 

to go further in that direction. 

• 	 Require the learner to reflect on outcomes oftheir actions a 

map is provided for the after action review with the trainee's 

route displayed. Trainees can see where they made correct or 

incorrect choices. 

• 	 Revisit experiences, increasing complexity of experiences to 

expand learners' knowledge and skills by increasing number 

of events, pacing and emotional intensity - there are two 

main tasks in the Mine Navigation Training, with fewer 

environmental cues for navigation provided in the area of the 

second task. 

Purposely guiding trainees through a virtual environment and 

requiring that they make certain decisions in order to progress 

creates an experience that meets specified learning objectives 

and is repeatable during future training sessions. Video game 

technologies facilitate creation of this type of training: 

While there are numerous claims that games can 

be applied to learning, relatively few attempts 

can be found where principles ofpedagogy were 

explicitly followed a priori in design (Federation 

of American Scientists, 2006). 

A key to proper use of virtual reality technologies in future 

training is defining explicit learning objectives and how they will 

be achieved. 

PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE FIDELITY IN 

VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING 

Determining how real is real enough is a question that should be 

explored early in the development of a training package. 

Advances in hardware and software allow extremely realistic 

rendering of objects and environments, but creation of such 

environments and equipment to display the created models come 

at a cost, and the physical world is only one part of the equation. 

Cognitive reality, which is related to how believable the story is 

to the trainee, must also be considered: 

We fear that the pendulum has swung to the 

physical fidelity because technology enables us 

to create more realistic environments, often at 

the expense of the cognitive fidelity and 

reflection aspects of design ... As trends emerge 

and clients insist on the most up-to-date 

strategies and whiz-bang effects, instructional 

designers must ensure that design provides the 

essential instructional elements to support their 

superficial appeal (Menaker et ai, 2006). 

The multi-disciplinary team that developed the map reading 

training grappled with fidelity issues throughout the development 

process. Giving an appropriate look and feel to the mine 

environment was important as the product was to be used to 

teach naive trainees about that environment. It did not, however, 

have to be correct in aspects unrelated to mine navigation. For 

example, self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR) caches could be 

used as a navigational cue, so boxes marked SCSR Cache were 

placed in appropriate places in the virtual mine. The use of 

SCSRs were not required for these training objectives, so 

resources were not spent modelling cache boxes that could be 

opened and SCSRs that could be seen in them. Cognitive fidelity 

was achieved by giving the trainee a relatively simple task that 

required going to locations where miners would reasonably be 

working. One location was near a fall where miners were doing 

clean up and support and another was where a stopping was 

being built. Resources were not used to create a storyline 

involving the face area of the mine as it would have required 

much more artwork with limited gain toward meeting the 

training objectives. 

The physical fidelity of virtual reality training will continue to 

improve in the future. The map reading training software can be 

run on a modestly powered laptop. Tests have found that: 

... higher-fidelity graphics served to focus 

(trainees') attention initially (Raths, 2006). 

These same t~ts found that the graphics: 

... were less important than other attributes for 

sustaining (trainees') attention for longer periods 

oftime (Raths, 2006). 

This is when questions of cognitive fidelity arise. Cognitive 

fidelity requires the same processes that were followed to create 

the narrative training of the past. Good storytellers who can tie 

actual or likely events to key training objectives are the starting 

point. The new twist is that new computer technologies let 

trainees interact with and modify the story. How this will change 

the way narrative training is created is yet to be defined. In the 

end, both types of fidelity are important and the development 

team must determine how much is enough. 

INSTRUCTORS AND VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING 

Another issue which impacts training design and resource 

requirements is the decision whether instructors will be used to 

lead training sessions. When training is designed so that a trainee 

interacts with the computer without an instructor, the logistics of 

training delivery can be simplified. Training can take place at 

times and locations convenient for trainees and their work 

schedules. Multiple trainees, in various locations, can receive 

exactly the same training materials, move through the session at 

their own pace and cover materials in a depth that matches their 

training needs. Instructor scheduling and salary are not required. 

More resources are, however, required to develop this type of 

training. All information to be conveyed during training must 

come from the program. It must be complex and detailed enough 

to explain how to access the content and use the program without 

instructor help. A system is needed to assi~t with technical 

problems and answer trainee questions. The extensiveness of 

software and content assistance will vary based on the 

composition of the trainee audience. But in general, more 

programming resources will be needed to create materials that 

are not designed to be delivered by a trainer. 

The appropriateness of introducing content without instructors 

available will vary based on the sophistication of the audience 

and the complexity of the material being covered. Instructor-led 

scenario sessions can take a variety of formats. Trainees may 

interact with individual computers, or a group may use one 

computer and interact with the simulation together. Instructor-led 

simulations can be less detailed than those designed to be run 

without an instructor, but this requires a skilled instructor to 

facilitate the session and an instructor's guide to prepare and 

assist this leader. The limited research available on this topic 

suggests that instructor-led may be more effective training: 

We are confident that training with games is 

more effective when qualified instructors are 

present to guide leader behavior by offering 

coaching and feedback, evaluating performance, 

and conducting after action reviews that require 

(trainees) to think critically about their actions 

and decisions (Beal, 2005). 

Training materials designed for instructor-led sessions may be 

less resource-intensive during development, but require scheduling 

and paying for the time and sometimes travel costs for instructors 

and trainees. 
When developing the UCMMRT, the NIOSH team determined 

that it may be used in instructor-led sessions or by individual 

trainees. To meet the needs of individual trainees, detailed 

instructions for moving through the material was included and 

sources for additional information provided. Because of common 

training structures and computer equipment availability, the team 

knew that the program was likely to be used by instructors who 

would guide their classes through the material using laptop 

computers and projection units. An instructor's guide was written 

to assist trainers as they lead these types of sessions. The 

majority of developmental testing of the training package was 

done under this condition. Instructors reported that the materials 

worked well for them in their classrooms. 

MODELLING AN UNDERGROUND COAL MINE 

For this scenario, a five-entry submains was created with a track 

and beltline. Trainee interaction with the mine environment and 

non-player characters is limited as the objectives do not require it. 

Non-player characters give instructions, doors can be opened and 

closed, and a vehicle can be ridden through one area of the mine. 

Otherwise, the trainee is simply walking through the environment. 

The creation of non-player miner characters and some 

animations was contracted out to SimOps Studios, Inc, (http:// 

www.simopsstudios.com). which worked closely with the project 

team. One of the characters can be seen in Figure 3. Even though 

interaction was limited for this training application, the NIOSH 

team plans to consider more intensive interaction between player 

and the virtual world in a future training scenario. In that 

scenario, players will interact not only with objects but also 

non-character players: 

Altlwugh creating technical simulations is fairly 

straightforward, such as Iww to fly an airplane, 

it's more difficult to simulate realistic social 

situations. After reaching technical proficiency in 

any job, an employee reaches a plateau where 

change in job peiformance is a function ofhis or 

her ability to interact with others in social 

situations (Kindley, 2002). 

FIG 3 - Non-player character. 

The NIOSH team's next scenario will require such interactions 

and use virtual miners who behave as realistically as possible 

given available resources: 

To be effective, intelligent agents need to portray 

emotions, demonstrate actions that slww tlwught 

processes, and behave realistically (Federation 

of American Scientists, 2006). 

EMERGENCY EVACUATION TRAINING SCENARIO 

The next NIOSH serious game will focus on knowledge and skills 

needed to evacuate a mine during an emergency. The narrative will 

be based on past NIOSH research in the area of human behaviour 

during mine emergencies. The same mine area used for the 

UCMMRT will be used for this new program. Components that 

will allow the 'emergency' to take place in the mine will be built 

on past NIOSH work on developing such a virtual environment. 

The key enhancements in this new package are as follows: 

• A multi-player option allows multiple trainees to enter the 

virtual mine at the same time via networked computers. 

Communication between trainees will be available. 

• Communication with non-player characters will be enhanced. 

• Face equipment has been modelled and added to the 

virtual mine. 

• The beltline can be stopped by trainees. 

• A ventilation model will provide realistic mine ventilation 

data for creation of realistic readings and air movement. 

• Simulated smoke will move through the mine based on 

ventilation model data. 

• SCSRs can be picked up, put down, and donned by players. 

• Gas readings can be taken. 

• Lifelines and tether lines can be used. 

• A refuge chamber is available (see Figure 4). 

FIG 4 - Player avatars standing in smoke at refuge chamber. 

This training scenario is not complete as this document is 

being written but is anticipated to be in testing by September 

2008. A draft will be ready for viewing at the Future Mining 

Conference in November 2008. 

EVALUATING VIRTUAL MINES FOR TRAINING 

At this point in time, research is limited on the effectiveness of 

serious games for training. The United States military is 

convinced of its value, as shown by their large investment in this 

technology. Much of the military work, however, is not published 

or accessible to other researchers. Private firms that create 

serious games also do not publicly release evaluations of their 

products. 'Academic research on simulation should continue', 

Sachdeva (director of the education division of the American 

College of Surgeons in Chicago) says: 

... but the lack ofdata should not slow us down. 

When airlines started using simulation as 

standard operating procedure, they didn't have 

controlled studies that proved its effectiveness. 

Some things you just have to refer to expert 

judgment even if you can't have conclusive proof 

(Raths, 2006). 
· Future evaluations of computer-based scenarios for training 

miners should be conducted. But simple knowledge tests will not 

be sufficient to assess the complex thinking skills that are the 

focus of this type of training. For each training package, specific 

learning and performance goals must be defined and appropriate 

evaluation methods created; This is no small task and will require 

creative evaluation strategies to be developed. As was said during 

a recent presentation by an instructor who trains military 

medics, we are using 'first-person shooters' to create 'first-person 

thinkers' (Cassidy, 2008). How will thinking be operationalised so 

improvement can be gauged? One possible solution is to develop 

evaluation tools that are embedded in the training software. 

FUTURE TRENDS IN SERIOUS GAMING 

As new game engine software is developed, companies often 

make older versions of their programs available at little or no 

cost. Examining the current trends in the entertainment gaming 

industry yields a glimpse of what technologies will soon be 

available to developers of the next generation of serious games 

for training future miners. Three areas warrant examination: 

virtual environment (VE) complexity, non-player character (NPC) 

artificial intelligence, and computer hardware trends. 

The game engines currently available, such as Epic's Unreal 

Engine3 and id Software's id tech4, allow players to interact with 

the environment in a much more dynamic way than in previous 

game engines. In older games some items could be moved about 

the VE at the player's will. In the current systems the VE itself 

can be modified by the player in real-time, for example; walls 

can be tom down (if the player has the proper equipment -

usually a weapon of some sort). The interaction with these 

enhanced YEs also benefit from another trend in gaming 

hardware; dedicated physics processing cards. Many of the 

current game titles employ some type of realistic physics 

simulation. Objects fall and bounce according to 'real-world' 

equations of motion. These calculations are taxing on the system, 

so having a dedicated processor allows special effects with many 

more objects bouncing around the environment. Translated into a 

miner training simulation this would allow scenario authors the 

ability to create more realistic explosions or roof falls, belts 

moving material such as coal, or ventilation pushing smoke 

throughout the virtual environment. 

As virtual characters become more realistic visually, game 

developers are also developing more advanced artificial 

intelligence software to allow more complex and realistic 

behaviour for the NPCs. An example of this is in Star Wars game 

Force Unleashed (http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunlea 

shed/), due for release in the fall of 2008. This software 

combines environmental complexity with dynamic elements and 

adds sophisticated behaviour algorithms to the non-player 

characters that allow them to respond to changes in the 

environment and game play in a much more realistic fashion. 

The NPCs have a self-preservation sense that causes them to 

avoid hazards in the virtual world, even as that environment is 

changing. The added realism of complex NPC behaviour draws 

the human participant into the simulation, enhancing the 

experiential aspects of the game play or training. 

Computer hardware continues to make technological leaps. 

Displays and graphics cards now offer nearly photorealistic 

resolution and fidelity of virtual environments in real-time. The 

expense of increasingly large displays continues to drop as more 

of this technology makes its way to the mass-market. Stereoscopic 

versions of these displays are also being developed, providing 

additional immersion for future trainees. It remains to be seen 

whether dedicated physics processors (or for that matter dedicated 

graphics cards) will still be the norm given the trend toward 

multiprocessor computers. Whatever the implementation, the 

likely result is increasingly realistic virtual mines that can be used 

for training. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The use of serious games for training is just starting in the 

mining industry. Initial indications are that it will be embraced 

by most trainers and trainees in the future, but it will not be 

accepted by everyone: 

Not all contemporary students are eager to have 

faculty disrupt known approaches to teaching, 

even the 'stuff and dump' learning that even 

they criticise, to become critically engaged, 

self-reflexive, sophisticated problem-solvers and 

producers of knowledge (Moore, Fowler and 

Watson, 2007). 

And like these trainees, some instructors prefer to stick to their 

tried and tested methods. But for those willing to step out and try 

something new, virtual mines open up a world of training 

possibilities. How computer technology will be used to bring 

mines into the classroom of the 21 st century remains to be seen. 

The technology will advance, computer equipment will become 

more available, and miners and trainers will be more comfortable 

using them: 

Research has demonstrated that simulation 

environments are powerful learning tools that 

encourage exploration by allowing learners to 

manipulate parameters and visualise results. 

Simulation-based learning environments can also 

provide 'anchored' or situated learning 

environments that can help learners understand 

the types of problems and opportunities that real 

experts confront and how they use their 

knowledge to solve those problems (Federation of 

American Scientists, 2006). 

The potential for miners 'working' in the safety of the 

classroom as they learn mine knowledge and skills is limited 

only by the creative thinking of industry leaders and the 

resources put toward research and development. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy copyright 

does not extend to this article with the United States of America. 

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