What if all students could "ride a beam of light" as Albert Einstein did? Of course, the genious didn't actually saddle and mount electromagnetic energy, but his ability to mentally simulate relationships between matter and energy led to the breakthroughs in understanding that frame modern physics.

Educational Media concepts and software being developed at NDSU are paving the way for next generation learning tools that will help students visualize and understand domains that exist beyond human eyes. Some of the benefit of practical experience will be realized without the time and cost of actual field trips, lab experiments, or internships. Knowledge that was previously only shared with students in the form of text, mathematical expressions, or two dimensional graphics, will be accessible through a more human friendly medium: active role-based simulations within virtual environments. With developing visual educational software, students can already conduct geological research as a collaborative team, navigate the microscopic domain of a human cell, and participate with other students in a community economy.

These technologies are the results of research and development conducted by the World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC). Composed of NDSU faculty members, the WWWIC has several projects under development and is driven by the mission to teach science structure and process. Visit http://wwwic.ndsu.edu/index.htm to learn more about this exciting venture. In a survey of developing technologies related to education and the new Internet, Computer Graphics World magazine (December 2000 http://www.cgw.com) recognized that the Geology Explorer application "epitomizes the best of what the new Internet will offer in terms of virtual, immersive, role-based learning."

I foresee virtual, immersive, role-based learning as a future staple in corporate training as well as academics. As a human resource filter, such simulation could be used to test an applicants knowledge, ability to work with others, and decision making before the investment of employment.

I will review three projects: Geology Explorer, Virtual Cell, and Dollar Bay, in terms of initial impression, usability, educational concepts, functionality, and possibilities. As a student, I am representative of the population that the WWWIC researchers and developers are working to affect. As a Software Engineering grad student I'm not as ignorant about the underlying software as a non-computer science student and may be able to better understand limitations and possibilites. As a corporate trainer I am keenly interested in sharing knowledge in more effective, and more efficient ways. Just follow the links to each review.