"Virtual instruction" is set to become a regular part of learning this fall in a Baltimore County school, reports The Baltimore Sun. The school district has teamed up with universities, defense contractors and a video game developer for help with a high-tech program designed to breathe life into textbook lessons and challenge students with the kind of problem-solving that employers might expect.
The initiative, for which nearly $1 million is requested in the next fiscal year, is part of the school system’s effort to equip students with 21st-century skills. Teachers can use simulations of real-life situations and problems to help students apply what they learn. The planned classroom of computer work stations and a wall of large screens for group lessons is believed to be a first in the area…