Final Report - eDST: Decision Support Tools for multi-disciplinary applications in higher education

Abstract

The increasing use of computer technology in industry and society has been mirrored in Australian higher education most obviously in organisational management, but it also plays a significant role in the delivery of courses and management of student participation. The growing trend to Distance Education has played a pivotal role in this. Perhaps less obvious has been the growing use, in teaching and research, of computer simulation modelling applications and similar electronic decision support tools (DSTs), many of which are used in industry. For teaching purposes many of these DSTs are intended to simulate 'real world' issues and situations for students. The eDST project developed from the recognition, among university teachers of agricultural science and related degrees across Australia, that simulation software programs were being incorporated into subjects/units as valuable learning experiences for undergraduate students. Over the last ten years various arrangements or mechanisms have been used for the delivery of such programs, in most cases supported by special funding. In general, once the funding support was finished, these initiatives were unsustainable. The eDST project sought to explore the technical, business and pedagogical issues around sharing applications (particularly commercial ones) across the university sector in Australia.