Simulated Environments and the
Understanding of Context
Reflections on Educational
Use of Computer Mediated
Simulated Environments
Jon Magne Vestøl
Department of Teacher Education
University of Oslo
Purpose of the presentation

Examine the understanding of computer
based simulated environments as
educational means
Reflections represent by-products of a newly
completed thesis in the field of moral
education. I will refer to some computer
mediated student tasks from the research
project
The main question


What happens to our (sociocultural)
understanding of context and situated action
when students are dealing (individually or
collectively) with simulated tasks and
interacting with simulated persons online?
The question has relevance both to
educational practice and educational
research
What I intend to do
1.
2.
3.
I will compare a text based and a computer based
simulation to examine the nature of computer
simulation as an educational mean
I will shortly examine the contextual aspects that are
activated when students work with computer
mediated simulated cases
I will shortly examine possible expansions of
context when students work within computer
simulated environments
1a. Text based simulation

A student task from a Norwegian text-book of
moral education:
”Ida is eighteen years old. She has recently
started her third year of secondary education
and is pregnant. Knut, the father of the child,
wants her to have an abortion, to make her
able to fulfill her education. What would you
advice Ida to do, and what kind of arguments
would you use?”
1b. Computer based simulation



Eastern European
woman with a severely
ill child
Seriously considers
working for the mafia to
finance necessary but
expensive medical
treatment for the child
Students are asked to
give her their advice
Case 3:
Woman asking for
advice.
1c. Comparison: text - computer
Similarities



Rational nature of the
tasks
Students’ role as
advisors
Establishment of
imaginary context
(”virtual”, simulated).
Computer add-ons


Direct communication
(student to person).
Role of technical and
mediational interface
(chat – news agency)
cfr Bolter & Grusin:
Remediation
The remediated nature of the simulated and virtual
2. Simulated environments and the
sociocultural concept of context
Roger Säljö on the
concept of context
 Physical
 Historical
 Mental
 Communicative
(Säljö: Lärande i praktiken pp
135-136)


Individual simulated
tasks as exaggerations
of mental and
communicative context
(physical diminished)
Group based simulated
tasks as (integrated or
just added?) activations
of mental/comm. and
physical contexts?
3a. Expansions of context

Roger Säljö:
The problem of tool “transfer” between
decontextualizing and contextualizing fields
of practice (school versus work/daily life)
(Säljö: Lärande i praktiken, p 154)
3b. Expanded simulated context?


Bypassing woman
addressing victim in a
contemptuous way
Students writing directly
to the woman, using
emotionally colored
verbal tools
Case 2: Woman
bypassing victim
3c. Students’ use of verbal tools
Emotional tools
 YOU ASSHOLE!
 Damned idiot!
 You’re disgusting!
 Selfish woman!
 Shame on you!
 Pull yourself together!
 You make me sick!
 What an awful being
you are!!!!!!!
Norm tools
 The Golden Rule
 The act of reciprocity
 Human worth
 The duty to help
 Charity
Combined use of
emotional tools
and norm tools
3d. Expanded contextual field?



Students are expanding the limits of
accepted tool activation within school
Students seem to activate verbal tools that
are consumed, mastered and appropriated in
fields of practice outside school
Does this indicate that computer mediated
case based tasks can serve as means for
expanding mental and communicative
contextual limitations of ”schooling”?
Conclusions



Computer mediated case tasks partially
remediate traditional text based simulations
Computer mediated case tasks exaggerate
the mental and communicative contextual
dimensions
Computer mediated case tasks may possibly
be able to expand contextual dimensions
crossing borders between academic and non
academic fields of practice
Possible implications for teacher
education (TE)


Concerning the “transfer” of tools.
Should the ”transfer” of tools be addressed more
frequently and specifically in TE to stimulate the
search for educational means that may expand
contexts and strengthen the relationship between
”schooling” and ”real life”?
Concerning use of computer based cases in TE.
Should such cases try to exaggerate non-rational
aspects of communication e. g. between student
teacher and simulated student to trigger contextual
expansions and activate zones of “transfer”?