ICONS User Manual: Overview

How the Simulation Works

Introduction
Rationale for the Approach
How ICONS Works
Role of the Facilitator
Connecting to ICONS

ICONS is a foreign-policy oriented simulation that has been found to be an excellent vehicle for involving students in complex decision-making contexts. The simulation is capable of supporting 20-25 country teams, each of which can be located at different universities or high schools, linked via the Internet to a central server at the University of Maryland. It is flexible in its construction, incorporating real world current events into each tailored scenario. The simulation software (ICONSnet) is capable of processing the daily flow of messages among teams, and can classify, store, retrieve, and analyze these messages either during or subsequent to a particular exercise, and supports real-time computer conferencing. Finally, ICONS incorporates a sophisticated monitoring and control capability so that those directing the exercise can maintain contact with its diverse elements.

Although the ICONS simulation network uses advanced computer technology and software, the system the student-participants actually use is quite simple to operate. For a given country-team, there are three basic activities:

Receiving messages: A student (representing the country-team) accesses the system from his or her local computer (whether in a classroom, computer lab, or at home) via the Internet. After logging in, the student can click a button -- "Read New Messages" -- to pull up the text of all incoming messages for that team which have been sent since the last time the team read its mail.
Sending messages: By clicking another button -- "Send Message" -- the teams can send messages throughout the simulation network. A student can either enter the text of a message directly in the on-screen form or can "cut and paste" to the form from his or her word processor. Once entered, the text is sent to its recipient(s) instantaneously, where it waits in the simulation database until the receiving team signs on to read its messages.
Conferencing: One of the unique features of the ICONS system is its real-time conferencing capability. Two or more country-teams at different locations can sign on simultaneously and communicate with each other in real-time. As teams submit conference statements, they receive statements from the other conference participants.

Students can also easily review the text of messages that they have "archived", as well as past conferences.

The simulation is launched by a scenario, which represents the differing perspectives of countries on a variety of international issues, setting the stage for the interactions both within and among country teams. During recent runs of the simulation, the scenarios focused on the following problem areas in contemporary international relations:

The spread of nuclear weapons technology and the implications for the stability of the international system;
Human rights;
World health, including nutrition, population, and AIDS;
The impact of environmental issues on the global agenda;
Chemical, biological, and conventional weapons control;
Foreign debt restructuring;
Foreign aid and development;
European integration;
Narcotics trafficking;
International trade.

Typically, a simulation lasts about three to five weeks with as many as 3,000 messages exchanged among country-teams during that period. In addition to routine diplomatic communications, computer-assisted real-time conferences are conducted among the major actors in various issue areas. Scheduled conferences focus on each of the issues in the simulation. They follow a detailed agenda and are moderated by ICONS staff.

After the simulation, the on-line retrieval capability is ideally suited for supporting student research projects and for evaluating student performance. It is possible, for example, to review message chains to assess the success of a particular negotiating strategy. The evaluation process has proven enormously instructive for students and instructors alike.