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Ineractive simulations in Learning
Computers these days are widely used for e-Learning purpose worldwide. As far as I have read on internet, e-Learning is considered a very broad term including various methods for electronically supported learning. May it be a virtual classroom, web-based learning or simple powerpoint presentations. Let's talk about the level of interactivity in these methods. For majority of these techniques, focus is built on imparting knowledge to the user in a pre-defined way, user generally initiates the learning process/simulation which might go on with audio support for a time period. Such a process can be really boring if the user has to sit through this presentation for a considerable time. In my opinion, focus should be made on the way knowledge is imparted to the user. The simulation must be in the form of an interactive game/story where the user is able to play intuitively through the process. Intuitively here means that the graphics and the process flow of the simulation should be in such a way that even if this animation is given to say a below average student in the class (or a worker in an industry), he is able to identify by himself that what would be the next step in the procedure. e.g. consider a situation where a new employee is required to undergo various trainings like technical trainings, HR value based trainings etc. Conventional training methods today require the employee to finish hours of web-based simulations. I remember taking such online courses in my previous company (a quite big MNC from EU) where I spent most of the time waiting for the minimum time limit to pass as these trainings were mostly useless. Why can't we spend a bit more time in designing such courses where the user enjoys on working out such courses. This means we need to spend much more time on modeling the course/simulation i.e. to design which process will be followed by which one, with maximum possible involvement from user. This again can be achieved only if the the person who is modeling a process has real time experience of that process in field because the way things happen can be quite different from one industry to another and even from one factory to another for the same industry. I remember talking to quite big Indian textile firms who have purchased the best available ERP systems worldwide, have spent a lot of time in training their employees but now eventually have shifted back to manual entry of their daily tasks. This happened because despite using the best available software in the market, the way that particular firm works is quite different from the way the processes are recorded and monitored in that software. What they want from a software is to map their own processes in a fully customized way so that the responsibilities of a particular person are actually shown in a single screen and the input/output process of software is smooth.
Same is the case with e-Learning tools used in education sector. If we look at the quality of such simulations, very little emphasis is made on the actual process flow and rather too much information is provided to the user. It is utmost necessary to provide students with highly interactive animated platforms. e.g. a simulated platform for a Physics course where the user is introduced with concepts like gravity, electromagnetism etc. Now it would be very natural for the student to understand these concepts if he is allowed to play in an environment where if he can select some objects and start applying these virtual forces of varying magnitude. It will be like playing a game. This way he'll be able to feel this environment and it will leave an impression on his mind forever.
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