Technological Advances in the A11 and Science of Teaching Interactive Computer Simulators for Business and Management Courses

This paper examines the use of interactive computer simulators as teaching tools for business and management courses in higher education. It observes that many recent innovations in classroom teaching are mostly one-way communications which do not strongly encourage active student participation in the discovery and invention of knowledge. Although classroom technology has progressed from high school "film strip hour" to present-day overhead projectors, videos and distance learning tools, too little has been done to create a truly interactive learning environment. Attractive color slides and interesting videos seldom give students an opportunity to develop and test theories and processes in dynamic simulations that provide a "virtual reality" for learning how complex systems function.In today's competitive educational environment, colleges are under attack from "electronic education" firms offering training programs via cable television, internet and video tapes. These media are becoming more and more affordable, while higher education's tuition is increasing. And while colleges are responding to these challenges with distance learning tools and a variety of new devices that enhance lecture presentations, none of these offers much beyond static, one-way presentations that cannot respond to student inputs or assess their understanding. If the opinion of an expert has merit, then higher education ought to listen to the warnings of people like Peter Drucker, who predicts that with higher education's uncontrollable expenditures and without any visible improvement in content or quality, the system is rapidly becoming untenable.