3D Components for Virtual Environments

Global eMedicine, with Stanford University, proposes to design and develop an intelligent remote authoring toolset for clinical case simulation vignettes.Phase I efforts will involve development of complete functional and technical specifications for the toolset as well as usability and cost-effectiveness determination. Starting with a minimum set of functional specifications and raw prototype application,input from sample case authors through systematic user studies will be iteratively incorporated into the intelligent tool's design until final specifications are achieved. This staged formative evaluation will result in a complete prototype applicationthat will interface with a SCORMv1.2-compliant digital asset management system and then be studied for usability by a full subject group of sample authors. Cost of case production will be compared to other, non-intelligent case production processes inuse.Phase II will involve full production of the intelligent authoring toolset and formal remote authoring by subject matter experts of multiple clinical case vignettes. A study of student end-users will then evaluate these case vignettes for consistency ofvignette quality and ability to meet stated learning objectives.The intelligent toolset will be Web-based and constructed with open-architecture technology that can be easily installed on existing DoD DL networks. Because Problem Based Learning (PBL) has shown substantial benefits over traditional lecture base teaching, case simulations have become an important means of incorporating PBL into many different types of professional curricula (medical, law, businessadministration, etc). This is true within the DoD as well as academia and the private sectors. However, case production processes are still primitive, very resource-intensive and are not intelligent or standards-based. Therefore, great reluctance existson the part of technology-challenged subject matter experts to use these tools. A fully automated intelligent tool that incorporates standards-based digital assets and learning objects is expected to be a market leader for teaching institutions andorganizations that utilize PBL curricula. Such an intelligent authoring toolset will enable rapid, scalable, cost-efficient production of case vignette libraries that can be easily modified as knowledge updates occur, thus preventing obsolescence of thesecurricular materials. Specifically, because most instructors do not possess Web development skills, teachers who wish to incorporate PBL can use the intelligent toolset without reliance upon expensive and time-consuming IT resources for case creation andrevision. The utility of such a tool extends far beyond medical education into any form of Distance Learning education that incorporates case simulations. Because Distance Learning is expected to be an $11billion market in coming years, the commercialvalue of an intelligent tool for the creation of engaging case vignettes should be great.