Educational Technologies and the Training Curriculum

Technologies such as online tools, simulations and remote labs are often used in learning and training environments, both academic and vocational, to deliver content in an accessible manner. They promise efficiencies of scale, flexibility of delivery and face validity for a generation brought up on electronic devices. However, learning outcomes are not the same in all circumstances and contextual and cultural factors can lead to the failure of technology that has been successful elsewhere. This chapter draws on the team’s studies of the use of simulators and simulations within the vocational environment of the Australian rail industry to consider how the broader context of the training/educational curriculum affects what works for whom under what circumstances.