Bringing Dreams to Life:

Technological Innovations in Teaching

Classrooms of the Future-XLearner-Centered Learning

May, 2004

David X. Swenson PhDThe College of St. Scholastica

Duluth, MN

Fantasy Role-Playing Games

What makes a good game?

• Immersability

• Multi-sensory

• Novelty, surprise, change

• Challenge, creative tension

• Team cooperation

• Rapid feedback

• Graduated difficulty

• Compelling and organized story line

• Developmental skill acquisition

• Opportunity to learn from experiences

• Equal opportunity (to participate/win)

• Creative control (affect outcomes)

• Divergent choices

• Clarity & complexity of rules

AI-Expert Systems that

• Respond to voice communication

• Access extensive information resources

• Use sophisticated decision engines

• Show appropriate emotional response

Applications:

• Practice job interviewing

• Career interviews

• Speak with historical figures

• Obtain information

• Expert advice (e.g., stats)

• Virtual team member

Talking Heads

VR equipment has become increasingly sophisticated

http://www.vrealities.com/

• Build a town, make it run

• Construct an algorithm (systems model) that accounts for the simulation

• Discuss the implications of intervening to solve a problem in one part of the system on remote parts of the system

• Tweak it and see what happens!

MGT 6777: Systems Theory Seminar

Real EstateAvailability

Employment opportunities

Population Growth

More Traffic

Road Maintenance

Neighborhood Degradation Crime

Rate

PoliceFire

Facilities

Tax Base

Simple Systems Model for Sim City

You have traveled in a time machine but it has broken down and landed you during the Middle Ages. You must explore the village where you have landed to recover all 10 missing pieces and return home.

http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/hotpots/1sts/villagetour/villagetour.htm

Econ 3322 Medieval European Economic History

The Department of Transportation is working on a plan for a new $150 million bypass in the city of Newport to reduce congestion. People are divided on the need, with protestors claiming it will only take 5% of the traffic out of town, while local council representatives say it is the only solution.

Key variables over time

Why do more roads not relieve traffic congestion?– building roads appears a short term solution, boosting construction industry, but roads continue to degrade environment & safety, increase dependency on cars, increasing congestion, and increasing roads, which further decreases safety (a reinforcing loop).

PowerSim–systems modeling

MGT 2120 Principles of Management– You’re Hired– now what?

• You are no longer a student at CSS, you’ve just been hired as an investigative reporter for Gopher News Service

• You will be a member of a journalistic team who will receive tasks to gather investigative information for news service sales

• Your team must research critical questions and write newsworthy articles we can sell to our subscriber news organizations

• You will need to collaborate online as well as in person as a team

• You will need to conduct team building and development, monitor meeting effectiveness, and maintain timely and productive output

MGT 4261 & 6205 Team Management--Virtual team development of a team training manual

• You are new employees of Teamwork Associates, an organization consulting and training group for teams in the workplace

• You will work as a team to prepare training modules for our clients

• By the end of your probationary period (end of course) you will use your own team experiences as well as consulting assignments as a basis for designing and compiling a Manager’s Teamwork Handbook

• Your work will be collaborative online and in person

Online Team Building

Name: David X. Swenson (Dave)Role: Team LeaderContact information

Phone: (218)723-6476E-mail: dswenson@css.eduFax: (218)723-6290

Profile: I like to work and play hard, be active and assertive in teamwork, and encourage direct feedback. I am at my best conceptualizing complex and “big picture” problems, exploring novel solutions to hard problems, seek high involvement and investment by others. My goal is to do my best to help team members be their best and enjoy working together!

Professional Information• Positions• Education/training• Achievements

Personal Information• Hobbies • Recreation• Family• Values

MBTI: ENTJ

Expert System– Statistical Consultant

• Prompts questions for decision tree• Request definitions and examples• Apply a statistic to an interesting sample case• Experience a guided virtual walk through for the data• Highlight interpretations• Explore applications of the results

Statistics flythrough—Stats are more meaningful when viewed from multiple directions and dimensions

Marketing & demographic analysis

Career Walkthrough

• Workplace walkthroughs

• Conversations with employees about job characteristics and desirable worker qualities

• Expert system interview for presenting common career questions

• Job interview with recording of responses

Business Simulations

• Teamwork

• Organizing

• Analysis

• Risk taking

• Decision making

• Problem solving

• Reflective learning

• Real-time business decisions• Dynamic changes in market• Teams influence market values• Multiple sources & qualities of

information• “Executive dashboard” for current

information on key indicators• Feedback on progress

Virtual Operations Management

• Immersible workshop floor with movable and connecting objects

• Arrange and rearrange virtual assemblies to experiment with changes in quality, efficiency, errors, safety, etc.

• Algorithms built into the machine models calculate and present data for comparison

• Human figures can have programmed stress measures based on repetitive actions

Virtual biology

• 3-d layered models for dissection

• Repetitive dissection with no injury to live animals

• Real time physiology

The virtual diagnostician and surgeon– the Dr. is in…anywhere

• Remote examination for diagnosis

• Virtual modeling for training surgeons

• Remote surgery

TaskCompletion

Task Origin

Reflection: What do you notice?• awareness• vocabulary• risk taking• opportunity

Interpretation: What does it reflect/mean?• theory/schema• dialogue• systems thinking

Application: how can we use it?• test hypotheses• action planning

Implementation

ReflectiveLearning

Cycle

Reflective Learning Cycle

Where to from here?-- Virtual Tour of LA (20,000 sq mi.)

http://www.activeworlds.com/tour.asp#

In virtual worlds people can browse stores for shopping, walk through towns and site-seeing novel locations, and walk through maps

• Over 1,000 worlds• Real time shopping & browsing• Interactive forums• Games• Build your own

Arial view of Alpha World (2001)

• A 400 sq. kilometers (2 hours to walk across) virtual world in which people build their homes and communities, display and demonstrate virtual structures and applications, and provide portals to different “worlds” and international networking

Map showing .03% of Alpha World area