Creating Effective Software Simulations

The Key Components of Software Simulations

Computer-based tutorials traditionally consist of four key components: presentation, guidance, practice, and assessment (Alessi and Trollip, 1991). These four components can be adopted for developing interactive demonstrations and software simulations:

• Presenting information: Start your tutorial with a demonstration of the procedure. Using this "receptive" type of instruction, present how to complete the entire procedure without any user interaction. If the user has some experience, provide an option to skip the presentation or "test out" so the user can move on to the next lesson. Captivate's Demonstration recording mode is ideal for quickly creating an animated demonstration of a procedure.

  Play the demo: Presenting Information

• Guiding the user: This phase is designed to guide the user step by step through a procedure by showing where to click or what to enter, and then prompt the user for input. Try to avoid keeping this type of guidance on the screen until the learner interacts. This could merely result in students that become very proficient in clicking on highlighted areas instead of students that actually master a new procedure. In Captivate, select the Training Simulation recording mode and customize it by selecting the Captions check box.

  Play the demo: Guiding the User

• Practice for the user: This phase is designed to help the user master the content of the course. Based on your objectives, this phase can include a lot of interactive exercises and minimal guidance. You can also use rollover hints and audio to guide the user in the right direction. Simply capture in Training Simulation mode.

  Play the demo: Practicing by the User

• Assessing the user's skill: This phase is designed to help evaluate the effectiveness of the training—for example, by having the user complete a procedure without guidance. During this phase, limit guidance and user interactions such as clicks, keyboard shortcuts, and data input. To create a skills test, capture in Assessment Simulation mode.

  Play the demo: Assessing the User's Skill

Everybody learns in a different way. Some users prefer to jump right into the practice or assessment phase, while others prefer to start with the conceptual overview. Through Captivate's MenuBuilder, you can give the user the option of navigating to the areas he or she is interested in, which creates a much more satisfying learning experience. This experience results in better use of the simulation, better productivity for the user, and ultimately better return on your investment.

You can also use quiz questions or pretests to guide learners to the appropriate exercise.

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