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VirtualCase

VirtualCase is a Catalyst tool developed by the UW Educational Development Group that enables instructors to create collaborative online environments for problem-based learning. Instructors can configure VirtualCase to ask student groups to make a series of case-related decisions that affect how a case unfolds over time. The tool facilitates collaboration by supporting communication and file-sharing among students.

After Catalyst released VirtualCase to the UW community, PETTT discovered that instructors from a variety of disciplines were using the tool in creative, unpredicted ways. These uses include: International Studies, role-playing simulation; Law, simulating legal process; Public Health, posting and presenting student research on an open-ended problem-based assignment; Education, sharing real stories of K-12 teachers through a graduate student's research; and, Technical Communication, improving analytic discussion around case studies. Based on conversations with these instructors, PETTT has made recommendations about how to improve the design of VirtualCase, and is developing informative teaching guides for using VirtualCase for these different purposes. We are also conducting an in-depth study of the impact of VirtualCase on teaching and learning in an international studies class.


The VirtualCase project serves PETTT goals in a number of ways:

  • Explore the interplay of technology and pedagogy in real settings: VirtualCase has been used in a variety of ways other than those originally intended by the designers. We have explored these unanticipated uses by collaborating with faculty and students in a wide variety of disciplines and have explored educational uses of VirtualCase in settings such as international studies, law, public health, social work, political science, and education.
  • Facilitate thoughtful and innovative educational technology uses: We have created teaching guides and other online resources to facilitate the use of VirtualCase for specific teaching and learning purposes.
  • Make strong connections between research, design, and practice: We have used the results of our research studies to directly inform the redesign of the tool, to evaluate the impact of VirtualCase on teaching and learning in a variety of settings, and to generate further questions for research.

Collaborators

Presentations

  1. VirtualCase: A Tool for Online Collaborative Learning


University of Washington
Program for Educational Transformation Through Technology
for more information please contact: pettt@u.washington.edu
PETTT is a University Initiative Fund (UIF) program