Interactive web-based discrete-event simulation:: A major contribution to blended learning

This paper presents an approach to blended learning in the area of production and technology management. The approach complements traditional knowledge transfer with simulation-based experience learning. Linked to a web-based learning management system, users have the possibility of supplementing theory with individually paced simulation experiments, thus gaining a profound understanding of the dynamics of complex systems. Following the outline of a blended-learning scenario at the University of Wuppertal, the paper describes a prototype implementation of a client/server simulation application that has been successfully integrated in this year's teaching. An example of the adoption within a web-based training module sketches the numerous possibilities of individual user interaction.