Certain useful educational activities cannot be done in the classroom because they are too expensive, dangerous, time-consuming, unethical, or impractical for some other reason. Frequently, the computer can help simulate these activities in an inexpensive, safe, efficient, ethical, and practical environment.
Figure 2.12a shows the introductory screen of The Good News Bears stock market simulation.
Figure 2.12a. The overall description of The Good News Bears stock market simulation.
When properly integrated into the classroom, this simulation can help students meet several of the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, as Figure 2.12b shows. This is an interdisciplinary simulation, and in addition to the math objectives, students can also work toward English and social studies outcomes (as the teacher can ascertain by following different branches in the introductory materials).
Figure 2.12b. Outline of how The Good News Bears stock market simulation helps meet mathematics objectives.
Figure 2.13 shows another interesting educational simulation. Social studies teachers believe that their students would understand the American pioneer period more completely and generalize insights about that movement better if they could "experience" what it was like to be a pioneer. Since most students won't be pioneers themselves, teachers rely on vicarious experiences, such as good films and books. Another good strategy is an interactive simulation that permits the learner to plan a trip on the Oregon Trail, choose materials for the trip, and make decisions along the route. Based on their plans, choices, and decisions, they may reach Oregon successfully, arrive too late to establish a homestead, or even "starve to death" in the mountains. Students who fail can try again and benefit from experience.
Figure 2.13. MECC's promo page for Oregon Trail.
The Oregon Trail simulation exemplifies a common problem with good educational software. If teachers find a well written program, there may be a tendency to use it without careful planning. For example, we have found substitute teachers letting students run Oregon Trail simply because it is something that will keep children busy at the computer. It is obviously more productive to insert the software into the curriculum in a way that really matters - to integrate the simulation with other educational experiences. In addition to following the excellent guidelines that accompany the software package, teachers can find addidition suggestions on the Internet. For example, useful guidelines for integrating Oregon Trail with the curriculum can be found at Jeffrey Bauer's website. Additional lesson plans can be found by entering "Oregon Trail" as the search terms at the AskERIC site. PBS has a web site devoted to integrating televised information with other educational activities related to the Oregon Trail (including this simulation). Valuable resources to supplement the computer simulation can be found at the Connecting Students web site. Simular resources are available for a very large number of topics.
Figure 2.14 shows an introductory screen from HIV 2000, which simulates the potential spread of HIV through a population. Each participant exchanges virtual body fluids with other participants, some of whom are HIV+. A computer-simulated ELISA will illustrate the spread of HIV through a population.
As we indicated earlier, The ICAI program Mendel is not only a genetics tutorial but also a simulation. It enables science students to conduct genetics experiments that could not easily be carried out in a high school or college classroom. Students interacting with such a simulation can use their learning time extremely effectively. They can state a hypothesis, test it, reject it, modify it, and test a new hypothesis within a matter of minutes. Their learning time is devoted to thinking about the problem instead of carrying out peripheral tasks that teach nothing about genetics.
A good simulation should focus on the target phenomenon without letting extraneous phenomena detract from the experience by introducing either confusion or unrealism. When studying about the Oregon Trail, students should focus their attention on identifying and overcoming the problems faced by pioneers in their westward movement - not on the romantic subplot of a movie or a gamelike activity of shooting deer during a computer simulation. Some simulations fail by becoming so cute that they distract students from the unit's instructional objectives.
This problem of seductive details is a serious source of difficulty, often perpetrated by well-meaning teachers who want to make their classes more interesting but instead divert the attention of their students away from where it needs to be directed. Researchers have consistently found that the insertion of seductive details into the text or lecture can actually detract from learning about the main ideas of the presentation (Garner et al, 1991; Wade et al., 1993). Therefore, it is important that when teachers increase the interest level of a presentation, this interest should be focused on the important ideas rather than peripheral elements of the presentation. Choose simulations not because they look like fun, but because they will enable students to undergo important experiences that would otherwise be impossible in the classroom.
A simulation should be based on an accurate model (with reasonable assumptions) of the phenomenon under study. Since the hard sciences are based on specific mathematical principles, it is often possible to choose the appropriate formulas and build simulations around them. In other subject areas (such as social studies), mathematical formulas are not easily available. Even when this is the case, it is still important to achieve realism in the simulation. Sometimes, however, it may be useful to depart from strict adherence to realism in order to focus attention on principles under study. As long as the teacher is aware of the assumptions, simulations based on imperfect models of reality can still contribute effectively to instruction. The strategy is similar to that involved in the use of diagrams in science: A photograph may be available, but a simplified diagram (which is inaccurate because it leaves out many details) may enable learners to focus their attention on the details under consideration.
The Market Place program (Figure 2.12) is a good simulation, even though it does not simulate the full range of complexities of running a lemonade stand. Actual success at running a lemonade stand depends on a complex set of factors - the quality of the lemonade, the demand for it on any given day, the social and communications skills of the sales force, the availability of other lemonade stands, and the availability of alternatives to lemonade.
Market Place focuses on two concepts: Price affects demand, and profit is a function of demand, price, and amount of the product that is available for sale. Whether Market Place is a good program depends on the teacher's purpose. A teacher who is looking for an enjoyable way to encourage children to practice and integrate math skills would evaluate it from one perspective. A teacher looking for an introduction to supply and demand economics for young children would evaluate it another way. Mrs. Smith might discover that Market Place offers too few opportunities to practice the skills she wishes to develop. She might choose a drill or game (such as Math Blaster or Number Munchers) that will give each child nearly fifty times as much computational practice as would the lemonade simulation. Mr. Jones might discover that the Give and Take film series from the Agency for Instructional Technology does a much better job of introducing the concept of supply and demand. Each teacher might decide to set Market Place aside until a more suitable time or not to use it at all. There is nothing sacred about computer simulations - even good simulations. If they serve your purpose, use them. The important thing is to determine your objectives and then choose materials and media that will help you attain them.
The computer can help simulate in the classroom useful educational activities that cannot ordinarily be done in the classroom because they are too expensive, dangerous, time-consuming, unethical, or impractical for some other reason.
The following questions will help you evaluate and select computerized simulations:
As with other programs, it is not possible to choose the best simulation by counting "yes" answers to the preceding questions. The best simulation is the one that best serves the needs of the teacher and students. Note also that many simulations are accompanied by tutorial or drill components, and these should be evaluated according to the relevant questions elsewhere in this chapter.
Here are some more examples of simulations. Click on a title to see a description of the program, or skip them and go on to the next section of this chapter:
Real world must be easier: Fictional company teaches teens management ropes {Newspaper article describing a business simulation}
http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/02/17/fin_real_world_must_be.html
{Add several simulations here. Model them on the supplementary list from the tutorial segment.}
Simulations
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