The objective of this project was to develop and test a web-based virtual dairy herd to help students understand the structure and functioning of a dairy herd, and to promote active learning. At the beginning of the course, the instructor defines the profiles of herds to be assigned to students (e.g., herd size, production, diets, fertility). Each student has a unique herd and engages in decision-making for desired management practices in the herd. Modeled events are based on cow physiology and normal dairy herd management practices. Students' activities and decisions include heat detection, insemination, pregnancy diagnosis, dry-off, diet specifications, feeding groups, colostrum and milk-replacer feeding, weaning, treatment of diseases, and milk withdrawal from the tank if antibiotics are used, among others. The daily output provides information on technical indexes, economic performance, counters of incorrect decisions as feedback for students, and score. Time in class can be devoted to discussions of dairy management issues. Additional exercises based on students' own herds (e.g., calculating required space for cows, land for forage production, manure management) can also be implemented. Students' performance in the virtual dairy farm was monitored over 3 years. The average score (n = 326) was 87.8 ± 1.1 over 100 points, suggesting that self-learning with the virtual dairy farm was highly successful. At the end of each semester, students (n = 277) responded to a survey on the experience of working with the virtual dairy herd. Most students (>87%) agreed that the virtual dairy herd was more effective and motivating than traditional lectures and helped them understand dairy production better. In an unannounced test conducted at least 2 wk before the final exam, students (n = 207) were asked 14 questions on dairy cattle and 14 similar questions on other species taught in the same class through traditional lectures. A similar test on the same students (n = 142) was conducted in their fifth semester (2 years later). Results were better in dairy compared with other species questions in the first (9.6 vs. 3.7) and fifth (8.0 vs. 3.8) semesters. The virtual dairy herd is an effective tool for teaching introductory courses in dairy production. The program can be accessed at www.virtualdairyfarm.org, and a manual and videos with instructions for instructors and students are available online.

中文翻译：

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虚拟奶牛群可作为教授奶制品生产和管理的工具。

该项目的目的是开发和测试基于Web的虚拟奶牛群，以帮助学生了解奶牛群的结构和功能，并促进主动学习。在课程开始时，讲师定义要分配给学生的畜群概况（例如，畜群大小，产量，饮食，生育能力）。每个学生都有一个独特的群体，并根据群体中所需的管理实践进行决策。建模事件基于奶牛生理和正常奶牛场管理实践。学生的活动和决策包括热量检测，授精，妊娠诊断，变干，饮食规范，喂养组，初乳和代乳喂养，断奶，疾病治疗以及如果使用抗生素则从罐中撤乳等。每日输出提供有关技术指标，经济表现，错误决定的计数器（作为对学生的反馈）和分数的信息。上课时间可用于讨论乳制品管理问题。还可以根据学生自己的牛群进行其他练习（例如，计算所需的奶牛空间，饲料生产用地，粪便管理）。我们对虚拟奶牛场的学生表现进行了3年的监控。平均得分（n = 326）在100分中是87.8±1.1，这说明在虚拟奶牛场进行的自学非常成功。在每个学期末，学生（n = 277）回答了一项关于使用虚拟奶牛场工作经验的调查。多数学生（> 87％的人同意虚拟奶牛群比传统讲座更有效，更有动力，并帮助他们更好地了解奶牛生产。在期末考试前至少2周进行的一项未宣布的测试中，通过传统讲座，向学生（n = 207）询问了14个关于奶牛的问题，以及14个关于同一班级的其他物种的类似问题。在第五个学期（两年后）中，对同一名学生（n = 142）进行了类似的测试。在第一学期（9.6 vs. 3.7）和第五学期（8.0 vs. 3.8），与其他物种问题相比，乳制品的结果更好。虚拟奶牛群是教授奶业生产入门课程的有效工具。可以从www.virtualdairyfarm.org上访问该程序，并且可以在线获得手册和视频以及针对教师和学生的说明。