Simulations as a part of Higher Level eLearning Courseware

Posted by Sravanthi Baswapatruni, Associate - Quality Assurance

Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 02:08 PM

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Simulations make learning experiential as the learner is actively engaged in the process. They provide“real-life” situations to learners in which they can connect with a platform and experiment with different options. Simulations can be used for technical training such as software training or for helping an employee to learn about the correct procedure to accomplish a task.

We at CommLab handle four different levels of courseware development services. The instructional strategies used to engage the learners are different at each level. Level 1 courseware is simple with minimal learner interaction. Level II courseware refers to courses which focus on simple skill development which may be achieved with very basic animation or simulation with very limited complexity. However, level III courseware is very interactive with extensive practice sessions or complex self-assessments which could involve more than 20 steps. Advanced simulations fall under this category of courseware. Broadly speaking, you need to make sure of the following while reviewing a simulation that is part of an eLearning course:

A simulation should map to respective learning objectives.
Every step should be explained, perhaps through callouts and the learner should have enough scope to go through the steps to perform the action.
Ensure that the screen is not cluttered with text.
An introduction page should be given for the Watch, Try and Do scenarios, along with the respective instructions.

Simulations can enhance the learning experience of the learners. However, quality analysts need to make sure that they are effective in providing the required learning experience. You could check out some of our previous blogs that provide checklists and guidelines for the quality assessment team in different scenarios such as the watch scenario, try scenario and do scenario.

Tags: Authoring Tools, Elearning Courseware Development, learning objectives, Simulations, watch-try-do