Object Learning Environment

We have recently developed Java applications which can be deployed on the Internet to provide collaborative learning between students and tutors at remote locations. Students can engage in group activities online and collaborate with tutors in a Distance Learning mode. There are three applications: First a digital circuit simulator which allows students to collaborate in building simple or complex electronic circuits. Each student sees a common shared window on which he may add components to the circuit. There is a built-in chat room to allow collaborative dialogue. Each student also has a private window on which she can build an independent circuit, finally this window may be shared with the group. The second application facilitates collaborative computer programming. Each student programs an individual robot in Java or C, each robot is placed in a shared world which is visible to all students in real time. The third application consists of collaborative building and simulation of nonlinear differential equations. We intend these applications to facilitate learning between groups at one or many institutions and indeed provide international collaboration. We also intend to research the establishment and behaviour of collaborative learning groups. This development will involve the addition of Intelligent Agent technology to our applications. We shall make our software freely available to interested researchers.