This document discusses the use of computer simulations in education. It provides examples of how simulations can be used to model predator-prey relationships and increase student motivation. Simulations allow students to explore concepts and see the effects of changes. They also guide learning and reflection. While simulations have advantages like interactivity, some disadvantages are a lack of emotional awareness and inability to adapt to different students. Overall, computer simulations are seen as a useful tool to help teach difficult concepts when used alongside teacher guidance.

1. Information And Communication Technology In Science
(SSI 3013)
Title : Stella Report
Prepared for:
Encik Azmi Bin Ibrahim
Prepared by:
1. Dayang Sufinah Binti Datu Teng D20101037517
Semester 1 Session 2012/2013
Group B
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2. CONTENTS
Cover 1
Contents 2
1. Introduction
2. Application 4
3. Advantages and Disadvantages 9
4. Conclusion 11
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3. Introduction
Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real world process or system over
time. A simulation of a system is the operation of a model, which is a representation of that
system. For example the act of simulating something is first requires that a model must be
developed because a simulation of a system is the operation of a model, which is a
representation of that system. The model is amenable to manipulation which would be
impossible, too expensive or too impractical to perfom on the system which is potrays. The
model of the simulation represent the key characteristics or the behaviors of the selected
physical or abstract system. The model represents the system itself, whereas the simulation
represents the operation of the system over the time. The operation of the model can be
studied, and from this, properties concerning the behvior of the actual system can be inferred
or be concluded.
Besides, simulation used in many contexts or ways. For example, simulation of the
technology for the perfomance optimization, safety engineering, training and education.
Simulation is also used with the scientific modelling or natural systems or human systems to
gain insight into their functioning. For example, simulation can be used to show the eventual
real effects of the alternative condition of the action. Simulation is also used when the real
systems cannot be engaged because it may not be accessible, or sometimes, it may be
dangerous or unacceptable to engage, or it may simply not exist.
A computer simulation , a computer model or a computational model is a computer
program where it run on a single computer, or a network of computers. This will attempt to
stimulate an abstract model of a particular system. Besides, computer simulations have
become a useful part of mathematical modelling of many natural systems in physics,
chemistry, biology, engineering and economics. This simulation of a system is represented as
the running of the system’s model. This help us to explore and gain new insight into the new
technology. This computer simulation also helps us to estimate the performance of system
that are too complex for the analytical solution.
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4. Application
There are some of the interesting applications of the simulation. One of the
applications is designing and analyzing manufacturing system. System can be design by using
the process of the simulatiom. Then, evaluating the H/W and S/W requirements for a
computer system ia also one the application of simulation process. This simulation is also
used in military because it can evaluating a new military weopons system or tactics. Not only
that, simulation also determining the ordering policies for an inventory system and designing
communications systems and message protocols for them. Simulation can be used on our
daily life. This is because, simulation can be applied in designing and operating transportation
facilities sucha s freeways, airports, subways and ports. The other application of the
simulation is evaluating design for service organizations such as hospitals, post offices or fast
food restaurant and analyzing financial or economic systems.
Computer simulation will help to give motivation to the student in the class. This is
because simulation can be defined as interactive multimedia with dynamic-element that are
under user control. Unlike the other currently available educational media, simulation are
highly interactive with many user-controlled features. For example, one of the computer
simulation is Stella System. This simulation will help student to increase their motivation in
the learning. For example, when the student learn about pre-predators. A predator is an
organism that eats another organism. The prey is the organism which the predator eats. Some
examples of predator and prey are snake and rat, lion and zebra, bear and fish, and fox and
rabbit. The words "predator" and "prey" are almost always used to mean only animals that eat
animals, but the same concept also applies to plants: Bear and berry, rabbit and lettuce,
grasshopper and leaf.
Predator and prey evolve together. The prey is part of the predator's environment, and
the predator dies if it does not get food, so it evolves whatever is necessary in order to eat the
prey. so speed, stealth, a good sense of smell, sight, or hearing to find the prey, immunity to
the prey's poison, poison to kill the prey, the right kind of mouth parts or digestive system are
very important. Likewise, the predator is part of the prey's environment, and the prey dies if it
is eaten by the predator, so it evolves whatever is necessary to avoid being eaten that include
speed, camouflage to hide from the predator, a good sense of smell, sight, or hearing to detect
the predator, thornsand poison to spray when approached or bitten.
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5. Example of Relationship between Pre-Predator
So, with computer simulation, student can know the increase or decrease in the
population of the pre-predators. For example, rat and snake in oil palm plantations. This
simulation will motivate students to have higher interesting in this topics. This is because,
students can adjust and run the simulation themselves. With this simulation, student will have
higher intrinsic motivation compared when teachers only teach them about the increasing in
the population with the pictures. Student will have no ideas if they only be shown to the
pictures and this will lead them to become boring with the lesson. Then, using Stella system,
student can explore the simulation, their intrinsic motivation will increase. This is because,
using computer simulation, the parameter of the experiment can be change. So, when this
simulation help to show the real data about the experiments. Student can identify the changes
of the pattern of the result.
Simulations also allow students to explore and create materials that they could not
work directly with in real life. For example, Stella program or system provides an
environment in which students can explore processes and see the effects of changes. These
open environments can also help students to correct the errors and misconceptions in their
thinking by allowing them to test out hypotheses. Simulations can enable students to develop
familiarity with an activity before they engage in it. As an example, with Stella students can
use an interactive computer program to proceed fully through a graph and they can do repeat
the activity whenever they like. So, it will make them easy to understand the lesson.
The other benefit of using stella are the student can stimulate the system over the time
and tis simulation is jump the gap between theory and the real world. Students are enable to
creatively change the system to make their understanding about topics they learn more strong
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6. and avoid them from having miscncept about the topics. This simultion also teach students to
look for relationship and clearly communicate system inputs and outputs besides demonstrate
the outcomes result. For example, the 3 graph for different parameter use to look for the
pattern of the result outcomess. From the three graphs, it shown that using computer
simulation also can make student easily to make prediction about the population of the prey-
predators. This is because, when the students run the experiment so many times, they will
have the ideas about the pattern. So, student will easily can predict the next result of the
graph.
Graph of simulation
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7. 300
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8. Computer simulations are more effective when some form of guidance is provided to
students. Many simulations provide guidance in the form of directions at critical points and
feedback on performance. Simulations can also guide students by highlighting critical
features, ensuring that students attend to what is important and what is not important.
Particularly when working in a relatively new content area, students may be overwhelmed by
the features of process and miss important points. So, well-structured simulations anticipate
this problem in various ways, such as by limiting the choices a student can make or drawing
students’ attention to a specific feature. Simulations use animated pedagogical agents to
provide directions and offer guidance and advice.
To effectively promote learning, simulations must include ways for students to reflect
on and explain what is happening. In fact, learning may not occur without guidance and time
for reflection. Students may become caught up in the game format and not internalize the
learning. Students with disabilities, in particular, may have trouble focusing simultaneously
on the educational content. Several programs use animated pedagogical agents or worksheets
to help students reflect on what they are learning by providing explanations and questions for
them to answer. For example, the rat and snake simulation using Stella system, in which
students explore how nature keeps balance, has a worksheet of guiding questions that students
can answer as they use the simulation.
Simulations can be a valuable part of an educational curriculum. As with all learning,
students need guidance and opportunities to reflect on their work. Simulations need to be
sufficiently challenging to engage students, and the level of challenge should be flexible,
changing as students become more proficient. While simulations incorporate features to guide
and support students, teachers should monitor students’ use of these materials to make sure
student can achieve the objective of the learning process. Not only that, teachers should
monitor the student activities using computer simulation to make sure the student to achieve
goals of their studies.
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9. Advantages and Disadvantages
Every thing will have advantages and disadvantages, same goes with this computer
simulation. Thera are some advantages and disadvantages in using computer simulation
programs in education. There are some spesific advantage connected with the computer
simulation. For example, some general advantageous aspects of simulation as a form and
method of learning will be indicated. First, computer simulation offers the opportunity to
experiment with phenomena or events, which for a number of reasons, cannot normally be
experimented with in the traditional way. Simulations provide students with experience that
may be difficult or impossible to obtain in every day life'. Besides, in class it is not possible to
experiment actively with an economic system. The only thing the teacher can do is to discuss
the nature and content of the system. Experimenting would surely be useful because this can
generate an insight into the functioning of the economic system.
Furthermore, computer simulation programs can be used in education to give the
student more feeling for reality in some abstract fields of learning. This is because,
simulations can be entertaining because of dramatic and game-like components. It can be
shown when a teacher tries to explain a difficult interrelationship, such as a hybridization
experiment with fruit flies in the traditional way it is likely that part of the class will fail to
understand. Execution of the real experiment is impossible because this would take a number
of weeks and can therefore not be integrated as such within a lesson. When, after the
necessary theoretical discussion of the material, a simulation experiment follows there will be
a greater chance that more students will understand a complete relationship.
Next, when using computer simulation program, the student is experimenting, so the
students will playing an active rather than passive role. This active engagement is contrast
when student listening to the teacher, they will listen passively. Using the simulation, it
creates an interactive educational setting which offers the possibility to effect changes in
relation to the learning experience more interesting and efficient way. Next, student will be
happy and enjoy their learning in their class. So, their learning will be more interesting
compared when not using using computer simulation in the learning process.
Furthermore, the other advantages of computer simulation is the apparatus necessary
to be able to carry out an experiment in reality is too expensive and often this apparatus can
only be operated by specialists, if it can be obtained at all. So, using computer simulation, it
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10. will saving the cost. Then, The process to be investigated takes place so quickly in reality that
it can not be examined through the traditional experiment, for example certain chemical
processes. Changes in a chemical reaction should be presented at such a pace in educational
situations that observation is possible. In reality those changes can hardly be noticed and they
are not interesting for calculations, but only for the acquisition of insight.
The other advantages of the computer simulation such as stella simulation system, the
student can change and insert the parameter values that they think will produce a result that
are interesting for them. They can skip other part or aspect that are not interesting to them. So,
using this simulation, student will know how to learn and conduct experiment sistematically.
They also can decides wether they want to approach simulation, how often they want to repeat
the experiment. This is because, using cmputer simulation, student will have many ways to
achieve their understanding.
Besides, if the simulation is well designed, the learning of how to operate the
computer simulation will become easy. Teachers just need to give short introduction to the
student, so that they will enable to run the simulation easily. Then, the advantages of the
computer simulation is the student can perceives that not everything can be used as the input.
For example, student will realizes that variables and parameters have their limit and they will
learn about ahat input is reasonable for a particular variable and what input yields relevent
information.
There are not only advantages connected with the using of computer simulation in
education in scchool, but this simulation also has some disadvantages. Limitations are in some
cases the result of the wrong or inappropiate use of the program. For example, simulation is
concern about the manipulation of a number of variable of a model representing the real
system. However, the manipulation of a single variable often means that the reality of the
system as a whole can be lost. Then, a simulation of computer cannot develop the student’s
emotional and intuitive awareness that the use of simulation is specially directed at
establishing the relationship between the variables in a model. So, because of the problems,
this intuition has to be developed in a different way.
Another disadvantage of this simulation is computer simulation cannot react to
unexpected sub goals which the student may developed during a learning procses. This sub
goal would be brought up during a teacher-student interaction but they remain unsaid during
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11. the individual student use of simulation. Besides, computer simulation is also cannot be
adapted to take into different student levels into accountwithin the group or class. By the way,
a computer simulation program or system can certainly be made to adapt to different
circumstances. During the experience of the interaction interaction with a computer
simulation program, the student is frequently asked to solve problems in which creativity is
often the decisive factor to success. The fact that this creativity is more present in some pupils
than in others is not taken into account by the simulation. Mutual collaboration and discussion
among students while using the software could be a solution for this.
Conclusion
For the conclusion, stella or computer simulation system is suitable in education in
Malaysian School. This is because, this computer simulation have many advantages to the
student. Besides, Considerable research worldwide has established the need to improve
teaching and learning of Geography through development and use of appropriate media.
However ,teachers of Geography were observed to predominantly use educational resources
that incorporate only two dimensions (2D), such as chalkboard illustrations, wall maps, charts
and posters. These may not help learners certain abstract concepts such as spatial orientation,
motion and changes in time, place and location. There is currently no inclusion of real-world
learning contexts in the traditional classroom setting.
For example, computer technology may improve the quality of Geography education
in schools because of its robust nature in displaying graphics and simulations reminiscent in
real-world learning contexts. The purpose of this study was to establish a computer
simulations design suitable for teaching secondary school Geography. The design of the study
was survey and experiment, carried out in secondary schools in Kisumu District of Nyanza
Province, Kenya. The study population was 3500 Form Three students, out of which a sample
of 1165 students was drawn by simple random sampling. The Likert scale was used to
identify cognitively difficult topic in secondary school Geography that could be taught
through computer simulations.
The most difficult topic was identified as ‘The earth and the solar system .A computer
simulations software was then designed to address it. Effect of computer simulations on
students’ performance in the most difficult topic was determined by an experiment. It was
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12. established that use of the simulations software concurrently with the traditional verbal
expositions had positive results in the performance of learners in the hitherto difficult topic
compared to the use of the traditional verbal expositions alone. Students who used simulations
to learn difficult topics performed much better (p= 0.0001) than their counterparts who did
not use simulations (p=0.7151). As such, the study concluded that computer simulations were
very effective in teaching and learning difficult topics in Geography and should be integrated
into Geography curricula. The study recommends that it is essential to consider sound
educational practices and philosophies that underpin the use of interactive computer
simulations.
Not only that, simulation Stella or computer programs are highly engaging, and there
is great interest in how to harness their power to support learning. Researchers have studied
that simulations to determine how they can effectively support learning. This Research in
Brief article provides an overview of this research, emphasizing how computer simulations
can best be used to support learning, citing research done with students with disabilities where
available. The focus is on simulations designed to be used by an individual, multiuser games
and simulations are discussed in the Research in Brief on Multiuser Virtual Environments for
Education. The article includes four main sections that are an overview of the research
implications for using computer games and simulations to support learning, a guide
for choosing games and simulations for the classroom, a list ofresources, and a more detailed
description of the research literature.
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