Simulation - A Practical Guide to Teaching Computing and ICT in the Secondary School - page 108

Task 6.2

Virtual games
Virtual games are a form of Simulation that most pupils are very familiar with, but
are not employed widely in school. Edwards (2012) contends that educators who
do not make use of gaming are missing an opportunity to add to pupil motivation,
and to develop a broad range of skills and competencies. Discuss with a colleague
if, when and how you would use gaming with your pupils to teach Simulation.

MODELLING
The Computing at Schools group (CAS, 2012b) suggest that Modelling is the process
of developing a representation of a real-world issue, system, or situation, which
captures the key aspects for a specific purpose, but omits everything deemed
unnecessary. For example, the London Underground map is a simple model of a
complex reality. It contains the precise information necessary to plan a route from
one station to another, but ignores actual geographic positions.

Task 6.3

Storyboarding
How can you use the concept of storyboarding (such as those used in films or
animations) to illustrate the notion that Modelling can capture the 'big picture',
whilst omitting the fine detail of an event or idea, without compromising validity?

Modelling in schools using computers is not a new idea. In the latter part of the last
century, when the first practical desktop computers began to appear, teachers were
experimenting with what they regarded as a new way of promoting learning. The
notion that you could model real-world events (or even imaginary ones) was both
exciting and challenging. It offered a way of bridging the gap between abstract
thinking and experiential learning. It belied the notion that Constructivism and
Computing were mutually exclusive. Prior to this, Modelling had been the preserve
of mathematicians. Making this activity less dependent on expert knowledge,
particularly with the advent of the graphical interface, meant it was more widely
available as a tool for teaching quite complex ideas. However, pupils must be made
aware that mathematical Modelling:

1 Underpins what is happening inside the computer even if they cannot see it

at work directly.

2 Is still used extensively in industry, commerce and even by bureaucrats and

politicians, to explore such things as the workings of the Stock Exchange and
the management of education systems.

It is also important that pupils understand that computer Modelling can be used
to represent an event or activity where the outcome is known and repeatable, such
as a chemical reaction, or where the outcome is affected by a number of variables
and is likely to be unknown. Whilst the 'what if' approach is enticing, models
which are static suit those in the early part of their learning journey because they