Design Strategies and Principles in VISOLE

VISOLE (Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment) is a learning style that uses a virtual game environment to facilitate learning. The web-based game environment is a simulation of the real world where students participate as "citizens" and take part in shaping the development of the virtual world. It provides a platform for participants to apply the theoretical knowledge to solve problems in a near-real environment, as well as to develop high-level skills for communication and problem solving in addition to subject knowledge. In this paper, we will discuss the difficulties and challenges that we met and the design strategies and principles we adopted in the construction of a VISOLE testbed.