William G. Harless

Who is William G. Harless?

William G. Harless is an educational theorist. He holds a Ph.D. degree in psychology and learning theory and is co-founder, President and CEO of Interactive Drama Inc..

He has held a faculty position at the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, where accredited doctorate degrees are awarded from a multidisciplinary, experientially based curriculum.

In the early 1960s, while a professor at the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago, he developed the first natural language computer patient simulation model.

He created the first voice-activated interactive videodisc patient simulation model at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health in the mid-1980s. While a professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, he integrated these patient simulations into the medical school curriculum.

In 1991, he was awarded a patent for his voice-controlled video simulation model. He founded IDI in 1986 and left academia in 1992 to focus on further research and development and expanded applications of the virtual dialogue method. His work has been funded through competitive grants and contracts awarded by NIH and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense.