O FFLINE OR ONLINE ? A SIMULATION EXERCISE IN A FIRST YEAR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS UNIT 1. Kinder, J., 2. Fardon, M. and 3. Yasmeen, S. 1. Academic Director, Faculty of Arts Multimedia Centre Faculty of Arts Multimedia Centre University of Western Australia Email: jkinder@arts.uwa.edu.au http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/mmc/ 2. Multimedia Coordinator, Faculty of Arts Multimedia Centre 3. Department of Political Science Abstract A simulation exercise in a first-year political science unit used a mix of synchronous and asynchronous communication, and combined online discussion with face-to-face meetings. The project developed out of an earlier simulation with no online component. This preliminary report compares the two versions and adopts a symbolic interaction approach to understand how the participants understood the experience. Key words Simulation exercise, symbolic interaction, political science, bulletin board, asynchronous, computer-mediated communication 1. Introduction This paper describes an experiment in which an interactive group-learning process was delivered in two different modes: first with traditional methods and again using computer-mediated-communication (CMC). The course was taught in the Department of Political Science at The University of Western Australia, and the CMC version was developed by the lecturer in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts Multimedia Centre at UWA. This was a large project and is rich in insights in various aspects of technologically- assisted teaching and learning. The focus of this paper is to describe the project and report on the perceptions of the participants. 2. Why a simulation exercise? Role-play and simulation exercises have long been a feature of many different disciplines, where experiential learning is favoured over a traditional lecture-tutorial approach and where learning is inductive rather than deductive (cf. Vincent & Shepherd, 1998; Freeman & Capper, 1999). The Political Science lecturer (Yasmeen) decided to include a role-play simulation exercise in a revamped first-year course in International Politics. The exercise was