COLOS Project Information
In 1988 the COLOS group was founded with major support from Hewlett-Packard. Today 10 groups from seven European countries are working within the same hardware and software environment (XWindows, Motif) to exploit the didactical potential of modern workstations.
Each group has choosen its own topic due to local teaching needs and preferences.
The common general objective is to support concept learning and deeper understanding in the field of science and technology, making optimal use of the didactical potential of modern communication technologies.
Some common didactical principles can be formulated:
- Use of simulations as added value for the presentation of important processes, models or concepts, and related to well known learning difficulties and barriers for understanding.
- Reduction of mathematical overload for the beginner by using graphical animation and, if possible, 3-dimensional representations, as starting point for further abstraction.
- Use of first principles - whenever possible - instead of a phenomenology approach (normally in abstract mathematical form), to describe natural or technical processes or systems.
Two main approaches are developed for the use of computers for teaching/learning purposes:
- tool development for authoring activities
- application development for a broad spectrum of complex topics.
The tools should help teachers or lecturers to develop individual teachware or exercise material with a minimum of programming expertise. The application should support the actual teaching and stimulate further individual development.
These program should give students access to exploration environments for familiarization, training and practice and should lead to deeper and more satisfying learning processes.
The applications and tools developed so far will undergo an extensive evaluation during the next project phase. For this purpose adequate course material will be developed.
The descriptions of all applications and tools, to be found in the next chapters, follow the same structure, where for each single topic answers are given to the following questions:
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