Wharton's Learning Lab

Experiential Simulations for Discovery-Driven Collaboration and Learning

Wharton's Alfred P. West, Jr. Learning Lab, launched in 2000 with funding from Wharton alumnus Alfred P. West, Jr., WG'66, is a catalyst for learning innovation, serving as a working laboratory to explore the impact of new technologies on business education.

Working with Wharton faculty, the Learning Lab has developed more than two dozen web-based simulations and multimedia learning tools to explore how technology can enhance the educational experience.

Wharton's immersive Learning Simulations provide:

  • Learning by experience – Experience-based simulations with open-ended outcomes rather than fixed right answers stimulate discovery-driven learning and real-world problem solving.
  • Rich interaction – The simulations form the basis for meaningful student interaction and insightful faculty-led classroom discussions.
  • Global dissemination – Selected Learning Lab tools are available to instructors in business schools and undergraduate business programs worldwide through higher-education publisher Pearson Addison-Wesley. Wharton's Online Trading and Investment Simulation, OTIS, has been licensed for use by more than 200 educational institutions worldwide.

Technical Platform

Software:

  • Adobe Flex
  • Adobe Flash
  • Adobe ColdFusion
  • Microsoft SQL Server

Hardware:

  • Virtualized load-balanced cluster on IBM BladeCenter servers
  • IBM TotalStorage DS4100 storage area network

Learning Lab Recognition

Awards
Articles and Press
  • 2005: EDUCAUSE Quarterly: "Web-Enabled Simulations: Exploring the Learning Process"
    • "The Learning Lab is intended to be a lab in the traditional sense – conducting an ongoing series of experiments on computer-enhanced learning. By exploring multiple avenues over time, the project hopes to uncover what works and what doesn't—what endures versus what is merely passing fancy."

For More Information

Visit Wharton's Learning Lab: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/learning/



Making Concepts Clearer

"Wharton has made quite an investment in classroom technology through the West Learning Lab. I'm currently using two multimedia programs initiated here at Wharton. FutureView gives students an opportunity to develop forecasts and marketing plans for radical new products, like auto-drive cars, for instance. Rules of Engagement is a competitive strategy scenario that allows students to explore the characteristics of various strategies – those that work well, and those that don't. As a faculty member, it's a great luxury to have these resources. They make concepts so much clearer and more immediate. Other schools haven't been able to replicate them, and Wharton is now trying to figure out how to share the wealth."

Peter S. Fader, Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia Professor; Professor of Marketing

Wharton's VIBE

Wharton's Virtual Interactive Bond Engine (VIBE) allows students to build portfolios from a universe of bonds, taking long or short positions. As virtual time passes, the effects of the interest rate changes are automatically calculated by VIBE. Students can view the performance of their portfolios relative to other students.

"Everything You've Learned Comes into Practice"

"We used a Learning Lab simulation called Babble ("Build a Better Bottom-Line") in my Accounting class. You're basically in the seat of the controller. Everything you've learned in class comes into practice."

Richard Hillen, W'08