Using student task and learning goals to drive the construction of an authoring tool for educational simulations

Learning by doing simulations remain difficult to construct, yet are appropriate training mechanisms in domains where the learning goals involve learning how to make decisions in a complex evolving environment. The learning goals that occur in such an environment are described. Using those learning goals as a basis, an architecture which allows students to achieve those learning goals is described, and then an authoring tool which allows non-programmers to create simulations which address those learning goals is presented. Finally, the results of applying this authoring tool to several domains are discussed, and directions for future work elucidated.