We’re pleased to announce that UTTC has released the generic case simulation engine as open source at Source Forge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/casesimulation/.
Background
In 2004, the University of Texas System TeleCampus developed a Flash-based simulation in Emergency Room Psychiatry which was used to successfully teach interns and medical personnel across Texas about recent ER intervention and diagnostic techniques. The project received the Computer World Heroes Laureate in 2005. On the basis of this project, the TeleCampus was approached by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas to develop a series of courses for training Dermatology Physician Assistants. In-depth discussions with the program director uncovered the need for dozens of courses for P.A’s across a variety of medical specialties. Design discussions revealed the need for a multimedia-rich presentation layer, not only to engage learners but also because the subject matter was visual-centric. The demand and magnitude of the project implied the dedication of multimedia programmers for several years, a scope beyond the available resources of the university. As a result, the project was conceived as an XML-driven Flash template which technically-competent faculty could modify to create new content.
Characteristics
The resulting case study application consists of two separate Flash application layers: (1) an XML-driven meta-template that defines the user interface and pedagogy used at the discipline level, and (2) an XML-driven course content template. The second template is accessed by faculty to build specific courses within a discipline, while the first template is used by Flash (Actionscript 2.0) programmers to create the discipline-specific application interface and tools used by faculty. In the discipline-specific template, a medical course may be contextualized with a patient complaint followed by lab tests resulting in a diagnosis that produces a treatment plan; a course in social problems would require a different structure: a crisis analyzed through data sets leading to an hypothesis that produces a policy proposal. In discipline-specific tools, a course for lab assistants may require an image magnifier; a course for counselors may require a video player; a course for business law students may require a secure communication link to the Lexis library; and a course for physical anthropologists may require a carbon-dating simulation.
Credits
The original Flash Action Script was done by Ross Henderson with UI design by George Irwin and database programming by Mike Nowlin. The extension of the application to an OO design and rewrite of the Flash Action Script was done by Brad Shaevel. If you are interested in using this application, we can also make available to you a series if screen-capture movies that provide a detailed walk through the code; email manderson@utsystem.edu.
