Simulation and Animation in e-Learning
A lot of people in the e-learning community are buzzing about the use of simulations, animation, and other participatory media as an avenue to provide experiential learning opportunities for students in both online (and blended) learning programs.
I recently interviewed Quinn J. Sutton VP of Marketing and Education at TestOut, a leading provider of online labs for IT training and certification, about the pros and cons of using simulations and animation in education. Quinn J. Sutton is rapidly becoming a sought after expert in the field of simulation and animation in e-learning, and has extensive experience working with education organizations in both the U.S. and Europe.
Sutton noted that “simulations lend themselves to task or skill related objectives but are less effective in knowledge-based objectives. On the other hand, animations, demonstrations, video instruction or even some text-based media tend to be better for knowledge-based learning objectives.”
In the August 2005 edition of the TestOut Academic Newsletter, Sutton makes the important point that while animation and simulation can greatly enhance the online student learning experience, it’s vital that their use be closely tied to course learning objectives.
In his July 2005 column, Virtually Better Than the Real Thing, he further notes that, “Simulated labs, if done properly, can provide students with as much reality as is necessary to give them the hands on experience they need to learn real skills.”
In the end, effective neo-millennial course and user experience design should provide engaging content that allows the user to draw connections between the context of the learning objectives and “real world” applications, while maintaining their ability to mediate their (current) level of understanding within an interactive simulation-based learning environment.
Quinn Sutton produces a new monthly newsletter for Test Out geared towards the education community, which you can subscribe to by clicking here. In addition, Test Out sponsor’s the TestOut Challenge, a free, worldwide computer skills contest for high school students.
simulation animation education
I recently interviewed Quinn J. Sutton VP of Marketing and Education at TestOut, a leading provider of online labs for IT training and certification, about the pros and cons of using simulations and animation in education. Quinn J. Sutton is rapidly becoming a sought after expert in the field of simulation and animation in e-learning, and has extensive experience working with education organizations in both the U.S. and Europe.
Sutton noted that “simulations lend themselves to task or skill related objectives but are less effective in knowledge-based objectives. On the other hand, animations, demonstrations, video instruction or even some text-based media tend to be better for knowledge-based learning objectives.”
In the August 2005 edition of the TestOut Academic Newsletter, Sutton makes the important point that while animation and simulation can greatly enhance the online student learning experience, it’s vital that their use be closely tied to course learning objectives.
In his July 2005 column, Virtually Better Than the Real Thing, he further notes that, “Simulated labs, if done properly, can provide students with as much reality as is necessary to give them the hands on experience they need to learn real skills.”
In the end, effective neo-millennial course and user experience design should provide engaging content that allows the user to draw connections between the context of the learning objectives and “real world” applications, while maintaining their ability to mediate their (current) level of understanding within an interactive simulation-based learning environment.
Quinn Sutton produces a new monthly newsletter for Test Out geared towards the education community, which you can subscribe to by clicking here. In addition, Test Out sponsor’s the TestOut Challenge, a free, worldwide computer skills contest for high school students.
simulation animation education
posted by Derek Baird at
09:10
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