The metaphor ‘island’ is for the scope of a discipline. In an island there would always be
things to explore, beyond ‘what one knows’, or the plot one occupies. ‘Island’ also reflects the context of that discipline, as the ever-present backdrop of the knowledge content, giving the content a discipline-specific meaning. In such an island, ‘what one knows’ has to grow slowly bit by bit, in little strands and small lumps, never in long leaps or large chunks. This construction process always has to be associated with the multitudes of contextual facets the knowledge is associated with. This process also requires active involvement by the learner who has to constantly keep the contexts in view to ensure that each piece of knowledge is meaningfully associated with the rest of the knowledge.

Along this line of thinking, the idea of the ‘Virtual Island’ was born. Virtual Island, as a concept, is a pedagogical strategy that is based on the belief that context-to-content connections of an integrated knowledge-structure would effectively facilitate the learning process. As a physical entity, it is a computer-based interconnected knowledge system wherein each connection is a context-to-content reference. The contexts in the physical system would be expressed visually where possible. For example, a silo will appear like a real silo with its accessories and supporting structures, not like the isolated abstract shell that usually appears in typical lecture notes. References to the silo and its accessories and supporting structures are made in the content covered in a variety of modules. Multiple references of this nature would ensure integration of the knowledge of anyone exploring the Virtual Island.

An implementation of the Virtual Island is currently being attempted at the Department of Civil Engineering with full support of the Head of the Department. A departmental committee oversees the developmental effort with technical support from a departmental IT support facility and the Engineering CITA.

In this implementation the entire collection of contexts referred to in the very first level of connections represents a civil engineering infrastructure system named ‘Virtual Island’. The connections of the second level would typically refer to a context of a specific item of the infrastructure system, such as a building, a bridge, or a traffic network. As the chain of diverging connections progress away from the Virtual Island, the contexts would become more specific with references to items (e.g. reinforcing bar), happenings (e.g. hydraulic jump), concepts (e.g. Mises stress), or explanations (e.g. for eigen value). Although all connections can be traced back to the Virtual Island there would also be numerous cross-connections across modules and subject domains. For example a context in a geomechanics module may have a reference to a concept covered under a numerical-methods module, or alternatively, a context of a mathematical process may have a reference to a description presented in an engineering design module.

The fundamental strength of the Virtual Island concept as a practicable strategy lies in its flexibility. It allows multiple and even contradictory interpretations of a context. For example, the same column of a building may be interpreted as a steel column and a reinforced concrete column, with both interpretations co-existing in the Virtual Island. Another strength is the synergetic growth of potential value of the knowledge base with each added cross-connection. There is no minimum threshold coverage for a Virtual Island implementation to become useful as an educational tool. Even small-scale developments can be useful on their own.

One can expect students to benefit from the Virtual Island in various ways depending on the nature of activity they would engage themselves with. Participation in developing knowledge components of Virtual Island would provide a strong foundation on the diverse nature of cross-connections and a deep appreciation of contexts in engineering work. Studying of theoretical constructs or design methodologies using Virtual Island will be an enriching experience because the visual processes of Virtual Island would complement the verbal/symbolic processes of the conventional teaching methods. In particular, students who have latent visual skills are expected to benefit immensely from Virtual Island. Engagement in any development activity related to Virtual Island will strengthen IT skills of students thereby widening their career prospects.

The construction of the Virtual Island is slowly but steadily progressing. Hopefully one day it will cover virtually the whole knowledge scope of the undergraduate civil engineering programme.