Deb was a project member of the ALTC-funded project on esimulations with Deakin and RMIT, and has developed a number of simulations with staff from the School of Policing and School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She has also contributed to the new book, Professional education using e-simulations: Benefits of blended learning design which is due for release later this month. She is currently working as an Educational Designer with the Faculty of Arts, and as an Academic Lead in the STAR Program with the Faculty of Business.
Why develop a simulation?
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| In this simulation, students 'practice' the skills involved in suicide risk assessment, something that would be impossible with real clients at this stage of their professional development. |
Simulations have the potential to help students through experiential learning to make connections between theory and practice. They can see what’s happening, make decisions and see the consequences of those decisions, thus learning through discovery.
Practice in a safe environment, multiple times, can help build skills and confidence in processes while supporting student cognition about their practice. By providing the simulation in an online environment students can practice when and where they need to, building skills in a trial and error approach. By modeling reality, students can gain a state of readiness to enter their profession.
While there are no ready-made prescriptions or formulas for universal success in simulation development, breaking down a simulation project into its components can make the process easier.
How do I get started and what do I need to think about before I decide to build a simulation?
Here are some questions that you'll need to tackle before deciding to go ahead with a simulation:
- What is a simulation? Is it what I really need? Why should I build a simulation? How does it fit into my subject and course?
- What sorts of simulations are possible? Can I use a paper-based scenario I’m already using?
- What sort of experiences do I want my students to have? Think about both inside and outside of the simulation.
- What goals does the simulation have?
- How would I deliver it?
- What sort of time lines do I need?
- Who needs to be involved? Do I need a team? What resources do I need?
- How would I brief the students on the experience?
- How would I engage them?
- What support or scaffolding would I need to provide? When is it needed?
- How ‘real’ would it have to be? What sort of interface do I need? Do I use real characters or avatars?
- What sort of script do I have to write? Do I need more than one?
- What is out of scope for this project?
Some things to think about are scenario, interaction and experience design.
Scenario design
When deciding on your scenario, use something that has real world relevance, requires students to solve problems, be complex, allow students to create products as a result. If you can work on a simulation as a group that will meet the needs of several different subjects or courses you can save on resources and meet the needs of many while keeping costs down. Consider and develop possible scripts that encompass several (3-5 minimum) possible outcomes.Interaction design
Determine what software you might use and understand its limitations. Captivate, SBLi, Second Life, LiveSim and Articulate are all possible software for simulations.
Here’s some links to check out.
a. Softchalk
b. Captivate
c. Articulate Engage
d. SBL interactive
e. LiveSim (contact Jacob Cybulski)
f. Smart Builder
It's important to explore how the simulation will work with the other online and offline tools, resources and activities you want students to complete. Think about what interactions you want in the simulation and how they might happen, and work with technologists to find the best solution for you. Find out what options you have in developing characters for an online environment; will you have real characters in video or still shots, or use avatars? Decide on how you might deliver your simulation. Think about different physical environments, learning management systems, and the available online environment. Consider whether you intend for students to work together or alone, and the overall makeup of your cohorts.
Experience design
When it comes to designing the experience, you'll need to think about what participation you want students to have in the simulation, what feedback they might need and when it’s needed, how the eSim connects with other contexts in the subject to provide a blended learning experience and what formative and summative assessment is to be aligned to the simulation. Also, think about how you are going to connect all the components in your subject together to blend the simulation into the learning environment. Consider the experiences you want students to undertake during the eSim. What do you want them to do and in what environment?
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| Things to consider in the blended environment (Cybulski et al, 2010) |
Most important of all, plan your simulation. Break all the above components down and organize them into tasks with timelines to help keep you on track. Consider your blended environment, characters, students, interactions and experiences, scaffolding, user interfaces, and software. Finally, evaluate your simulation to keep in mind how students are experiencing it so you can fine-tune to meet their needs.
For more information on designing a simulation, check the literature review, eSimulations for enhancing teaching and learning in Australian higher education and the ALTC guide, Designing, Developing, Using and Evaluating eSimulations for Professional Learning in Australian Higher Education. You’ll find other useful resources on experiential learning and simulations, including many case studies and examples, in FLI’s Delicious site.
Are you doing something interesting in blended and flexible learning? Check out the 'guest posts' page and get in touch...we'd love to hear from you!
