Towson University has been a leader in teacher preparation for 150 years, with programs that are recognized for their high quality and innovation. Now, the College of Education is using Mursion’s virtual training technology to complement and evolve its teacher preparation programs.

Mursion is a combination of state-of-the-art hardware and software tools that blend human interaction with artificial intelligence to create realistic, dynamic simulations of classroom experiences. Distinct personalities are brought to life on a large screen through a mixture of voice acting and motion capture to present classroom management, family engagement, and other classroom challenges for pre-service teachers. Although computer animated, the avatars’ real-time responses and realistic mannerisms create a suspension of disbelief which causes students to emotionally engage with the experience. This empathetic reaction, combined with the ability to pause the simulation in order to elicit discussion from instructors and peers, creates powerful learning opportunities that are impossible to achieve in traditional classroom settings.