Wireless Interactive Teaching Simulations (WITS) are being developed for large, undergraduate Economics courses at Virginia Tech. While paper-based simulations and experiments have been conducted in these classes in the past, these require separate recitation sections as well as additional teaching assistants, classroom space, and student time.

By utilizing new hand-held technologies in combination with the developing wireless infrastructure at Virginia Tech, we plan to test the incorporation of simulation activities into standard lecture courses. Specifically, three separate goals are addressed by this project. The first goal is technological. We need to develop the technological capability to use wireless devices to conduct simulations in any room anywhere on campus. The second goal is pedagogical. Exercises will need to be developed that will illustrate the concepts taught in every standard microeconomic principles course. The final goal is evaluation. Before this technology can gain broad acceptance, we will need to convincingly demonstrate its cost-effective impact on learning in the classroom, especially the very large classroom.