Employee List

SillyMonkey LLC

Learn fast, Remember more, Have fun doing it!

The people behind the monkey

Deborah Thomas, CEO and President

Deborah Thomas started her professional life as a newspaper reporter for a top ten paper which she affectionately relates to as “boot camp for life”. She is an educational technologist with extensive experience in all things training. She specializes in accelerated learning and designing educational games and has used a wide variety of tools. She is currently consulting at The Coca-Cola Company as a global training consultant for a major 2007 Coca-Cola Company finance implementation.

Deborah Thomas is an expert in developing powerful game-based serious play learning design. This methodology provides a process of immersion whereby a person’s attention is fully engaged in the activity (to the point of losing track of time), and which results in learning.

This process delivers ideas to players in a manner that is engaging and fun. This prepares the learner for the emotional states and sensory inputs that could impact “real-world” performance. It puts the learner in the role of decision-maker. It provides an environment to simulate complex human interactions.

Game-based learning is not just about “games,” but about delivering effective training. The learner is attached to the outcomes because the learner must invest effort in order to influence the outcome. This methodology provides an environment to simulate complex human interactions.

By using role-play and case studies, instructional designers can provide opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate proficiency at higher order thinking skills such as: application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Activities can be conducted as individuals, with partner, in small groups or as a class. We recommend a learn-see-do approach. First the students learn the concept and then they see it demonstrated in action. Then it is their turn to practice and do the exercise to gain confidence and skills.

In the past she managed the standards and guidelines and implemented multiple eLearning solutions for a variety of customers. She developed Idea Central which is an accelerated learning system and an Idea Bank which housed training games, tips and activity shells. She managed multimedia developers at RBS Lynk Systems, a debit/credit processing company where she implemented a Flash-based training program. She developed games including the board game “I’m Coaching Now” and a variety of other interactive games, board games and card games. She also uses Dreamweaver, Captivate, Qarbon, Centra and other tools.

Deborah has developed training programs or consulted for Wachovia, Cushman and Wakefield, UPS, IBM, KPMG, CibaVision, Starr Training and Consulting and McKinsey and Company. SillyMonkey is an education company that specializes in games and simulations and corporate communications services.

She has served as a Brandon Hall Learning Award Judge. She is president of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association and will host the Magic NASAGA 2007 conference in Atlanta in the fall. In addition to this she serves as a board member of the Technology-Based Learning SIG for Greater Atlanta ASTD and she is part of a National Association of Women Business Owners CEO Round Table and TAG the Technology Association of Georgia.

SillyMonkey is led by Deborah Thomas, who has 25 years of experience in creating memorable training events.

Deborah Thomas was selected to speak at the ASTD TechKnowledge 2007 and ASTD 2007 International Conference and Exposition. She earned the North American Simulation and Gaming Game Design Certificate. She has also studied improvisational acting which she uses in her role-play and animated character based training events.

Deborah has created several board-based games including, “I’m Coaching Now,” for customer service training sessions. She is also an author and public speaker.

Deborah Thomas’ professional training experience includes the design and delivery of system and process based training programs for:

· The Coca-Cola Company – Global Planning System training and online community

· IBM – Global Infrastructure Architecture systems and process training

· Novartis CibaVision – Train the trainer program and implementation process

· Coca-Cola Enterprises – Online and classroom finance training, Train the Trainer

· RBS Lynk – Flash multimedia based training for debit/credit processing system

· The Coca-Cola Company –implemented online training solution and training system

· UPS – Five day enterprise training for employee levels

· Wachovia – training system for web based processing

· Development project manager for McKinsey Consulting resulting in $100,000 revenue

· Curriculum manager for Thrasher Consulting - HTML fundamentals book in 1992

· Paperless System Development project for Microsoft presented to CEO, Bill Gates

· Reporter: top 10 newspaper - St. Petersburg Times

· State of FL Education Communication award

· WEDU public television educational game-based children’s show in 1979

Deborah Thomas professional teaching experience includes:

Seattle Community College – adjunct computer teacher Computer Basics instructor (Seattle Community College) adjunct professor

Hialeah Middle School – English as a second language English/computer teacher

Hialeah Middle School (Miami, FL) Computer English Teacher

Current Board member of Greater Atlanta ASTD Technology-Based Learning SIG

Current President of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association