ERIC Number: EJ1099038
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1938-9809
EISSN: N/A
Virtual Learning Worlds as a Bridge between Arts and Humanities and Science and Technology
Dunning, Jeremy; Bhattacharya, Sunand; Daniels, David; Dunning, Katherine
Forum on Public Policy Online, v2007 n3 Sum 2007
Science and technology, when applied to educational excellence, have become part of the arts and humanities of tomorrow. The interactive multimedia technology tools available to educators today provide an opportunity to build into the distance or traditional course through learning objects, highly interactive experiential exercises that allow the instructor and the student to obtain an accurate image of the student's level of understanding of the content throughout the course. The instructor can not only determine that a student does not understand some aspect of the content of the course, but may also determine exactly what part of the content the student fails to comprehend. Of more importance is the fact that students may also get an immediate and accurate map of their own mastery of the content. To create absorbing and successful traditional, blended, and online classes, a broader cooperative design structure that is as much art as technology is required. In this paper the concepts involved in the creation of course materials, through a cooperative partnership between Indiana University, ITT Educational Services, Inc. (the parent company for the 93 ITT Technical Institutes across the United States), Pearson Learning Solutions, and Arjuna Multimedia, are explored. They have resulted in a technological teaching environment in which sophisticated interactive computer technology may be incorporated into any classroom or distance course to provide the most effective learning experience. These techniques apply equally well in courses in arts and humanities and science and technology. Such tools as virtual worlds, laboratory simulations, game theory-based exercises, artificial intelligence systems, and intelligent tutors have been applied to several hundred courses in 17 countries with excellent results. The focus of this paper is on the pedagogical approaches considered and utilized in these cooperative course production partnerships.
Descriptors: Technology Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Partnerships in Education, Computer Science Education, Computer Simulation, Simulated Environment, Laboratories, Game Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Teaching Methods, Cognitive Style, Resource Units, Measurement, Vignettes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A