WAVES (Widening Access to Virtual Educational Scenarios) project invites you to join its forthcoming MOOC on Scenario-based learning and Virtual scenarios and how to help people practice their decision making and prepare for real world challenges.

Virtual scenarios are online educational resources which help learners explore real world decisions, making both good judgements and errors in a safe environment. Using Virtual Scenarios professionals prepare themselves to deal with a range of workplace challenges.

On this course learners will explore technology around Virtual scenarios, learning how to use them in their own teaching or training. The WAVES MOOC addresses to teachers and trainers in any discipline, who wish to create their own virtual scenarios, or learn about this approach. The course will also be of value to those studying or interested in working in education disciplines or instructional design. Participants will learn from the WAVES network educators, as wells as, from experts across academia and business, who provide training that spans disciplines such as medicine and health, legal and engineering.

The MOOC will cover the following topics:

  • Scenario-Based Learning (SBL) and how it works
  • The science of decision-making and cognition
  • The importance of storytelling in learning
  • Technologies available to support Virtual Scenarios
  • Planning and developing a Virtual Scenario
     

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Reflect upon the benefits to learners of Scenario-Based Learning and interactive Virtual Scenarios
  • Describe the importance of storytelling and decision-making in developing engaging learning experiences
  • Compare the features of available Virtual Scenario authoring software tools and their suitability
  • Design and plan your own Virtual Scenarios
  • Discuss examples of Scenario-Based Learning activities and their effectiveness

No specific software is needed to participate in this free of cost, online course, but the Virtual Scenario authoring open-source software (OpenLabyrinth and Casus) demonstrated within the course are examples of technology available to author your own Virtual Scenario. The total duration of the MOOC is three weeks and it will start in the end of April 2018. The WAVES MOOC enrolment page is now on air, on Future Learn online course platform.

The MOOC has been developed by the WAVES network and St George’s University of London, WAVES’ Project Coordinator and the UK’s only university dedicated to medical and health sciences education, training and research.

It is noted that WAVES is an Erasmus+ funded project which aims to making Virtual Scenarios more accessible and build a Network on the use of Virtual Scenarios. The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) is among the WAVES project partners, represented by the Medical Physics Laboratory, Medical School.