About the FAS Learning Technologies Program

The FAS Learning Technologies Program works on strategies to harness the potential of emerging information technologies to improve how we teach, learn and conduct research. The Program is designed to build constituencies that will work in support of increased learning science and technology R&D funding, as well as introducing new research management methods and identifying opportunities for collaborations to build research capacity and infrastructure. We employ a variety of approaches to do this: we design and create prototype games and learning tools; we undertake and publish major studies; we write policy analyses; we hold workshops and conferences; we present briefings for members of Congress or administration officials; and we assemble design teams and community leaders to undertake local activities and form research partnerships.

FAS' interest in computer games is to build on the insights gained from our Learning Science and Technology R&D Roadmap project. The Roadmap integrated the advice of approximately 100 researchers to define the state of the art in learning science and technology and to identify key research challenges. The work, supported by the National Science Foundation; the Department of Education; several foundations (Hewlett and Carnegie Corporation) and private industry (Hewlett Packard andMicrosoft), identified key R&D areas for next-generation learning systems; pedagogy and instructional design; building physically correct interactive simulations; dialogue and question management, learner modeling, and tools for assembling and constructing learning systems from these components.

The mission of the Learning Technologies Program is to advance the goals of learning and professional training via the use of modern learning methods innovative new technologies. To further these goals, FAS devotes resources to:

Create superior computer games and simulations that serve as examples which will demonstrate the benefits of such technologies.

Conduct ongoing research into the benefits of computer games and online environments (such as virtual worlds) as tools for learning and professional training.

Identify opportunities that will lead to new partnerships in education.

Help education advance from the archaic methods of the past so that it takes advantage of the techniques and technologies of the 21st century.

FAS has created several learning games/advanced training simulations, with more on the way. It has also developed a stand-alone question and answering tool and two more roadmaps -- on games and online virtual environments. The Federation of American Scientists has also created a project in the virtual world of Second Life. and has undertaken additional research into the subject of virtual worlds for learning.

You can learn more about our research and long-term goals in this area by visiting our Publications, Policy, Research and Games and Simulations pages. For additional information, you can also contact us by emailing learningtech@fas.org.