Welcome, and first of all I'd like to introduce what this blog is about. Whilst this is called the "SIMPLE" Blog (and I'll introduce SIMPLE a bit later on), this blog is actually more the whole realm of simulated learning.
What is simulated learning?
Simulated learning takes the next step in providing an engaging activity (or activities), that allow a learner to develop skills in a particular area. This area could be wide-ranging (become a better lawyer) or very tightly focused (write a good letter). The important thing is creating an environment in which the activity is the key focus, not the learning objectives. I'm definately not saying that learning objectives aren't important, but they exist in the background as indicators of the skills & lessons gained through the activity.
Who am I?
I'm the Lead Developer at the Learning Technologies Development Unit, the University of Strathclyde's Law School. We've been using simulators and simulations successfully for the last 9 years on the Diploma in Legal Practice. This is a compulsory course for all law graduates who want to become lawyers in Scotland (it could be compared to a Bar exam).
What is SIMPLE?
For the last 2 years, we've taken our expertise in delivering a courses through this approach and created an application, called SIMPLE, that provides support and tools to create and run these kind of simulations. SIMPLE stands for SIMulated Professional Learning Environment.
On this blog I hope to introduce not just the SIMPLE platform but also all the ideas that feed into using simulators and simulations in teaching & learning.
If you have any questions about SIMPLE, simulation learning or anything even vaguely related (serious gaming, mobile tech, Alternative Reality Games (ARGs), casual gaming etc) feel free to post a comment or question. Simulation learning is not about the computer simulation alone!
