Rosemarie Christopher-Mason (Editor: Scott Partridge)

Education simulation software capitalizes on the computer as a learning tool and allows students to learn by doing in an interactive environment. The acceptance of past technologies in the classroom has largely been a failure. Steven Mintz of H-Net at the University of Houston attributes this to two practices: using the technology as a substitute for a teacher and educational technologies transforming the students into passive recipients of knowledge. Not surprisingly, he says, both teachers and student regard the educational technologies as ‘high-tech baby-sitters.’

Simulation (sim-yoo-lay-shun): A program or device that mimics the operation of something else, such as real life (Gookin and Gookin 1998:258).

Simulation: the art and science of creating a representation of a process for the purpose of experimentation and evaluation.

Educational Simulation Software includes technologies for many uses such as: accurate modeling of the physical phenomena of experiments or problems, photorealistic graphics, easy to use user interfaces and for at least one company, accessibility by disabled students.

Users: students at the middle, high school college and home study levels.

Principles of technology: ‘Identifying and understanding the underlying physics of the processes to be simulated, breaking them down to the lowest practical level mathematically, developing appropriate mathematical relationships/equations, and converting them into computer subroutines. These software subroutines are then assembled into a simulation program, with appropriate coordination between modules and design of user-friendly inputs and outputs. The predictions of this program are then compared to known results to 1) determine the validity of the model, 2) calibrate the simulation and 3) produce a tool useful for predicting new results’ (SimulationsPlus 1997:34).

History: Mainframe computers ran the first simulations over 25 years ago for aerospace and government applications like large scale simulations of weather patterns or industrial applications such as the design and testing of power plants. Educational simulations are more recent developments and are diffusing widely with the proliferation of personal computers. About six software publishers are pioneering development of educational simulation software with most work to date being done in the sciences where many physical processes were modeled before the advent of the PC.

Market Status: Investment in development is considered risky because the costs are high and the target markets (i.e. schools) aren’t guaranteed.

Producers: Some of the important producers include Simulations Plus, ™ Inc.; Hypercube, Inc; Glencoe, (McGraw-Hill); Corel, (a Canadian Corp); Knowledge Resolution; Logal. (See: Selected Listing)

Retail Prices: There is a full range of simulations software from $79 to $1,200 per unit.

Costs: The major expenditure, in terms of costs, involves the purchase of a personal computer for CD-ROM and Internet access.

Revenues: Revenues are derived from High Schools, Colleges and Universities wishing to eliminate expensive labs and potentially costly accidents to motivated students capitalizing on the free-form learning environment.

Educational simulators ‘enable people to learn by doing’ by placing them within simulated situations that replicate real world environments (Engines for Education 1998).

The major uses currently are to teach the sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology, math, and pharmaceutical drug development. Simulations can be made for practically all general education courses.

Customer: There are definite preferences for new ‘active learning’ tools from educators.

Technology availability: New personal computers are being made available to schools and libraries, either free or at low cost.

Technological change: Rapidly evolving hardware and software platforms and operating systems are considered major impacts on future profitability.

Competition: This comes mainly from textbook publishers with vast resources and other software publishers.

Funding: The government continues to subsidize public school programs. The trend is for increased funding for technology purchases (telecommunications, computers, Internet access), and for curriculums emphasizing math, the sciences and active learning.

Regulation: Recent Federal legislation has added impetus to the development of simulations for disabled students by requiring that schools provide them with equal access to technology.

Seasonal Nature: Budgeting based on an academic calendar directly impacts the bottom line of the software producers.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties Implementation Acts (H.R. 2281 and S. 1121) are current initiatives which the Software Publishers Association (SPA) supports because they strengthen international copyright law and assure effective copyright protection on the Internet. ‘The WIPO Copyright Treaty would require the U.S. and other countries to provide tools to fight unauthorized circumvention of effective technical measures for protecting copyrighted works’ (Interactive Multimedia Special Interest Group 1998). These initiatives are important because worldwide piracy costs software publishers over $11.2 billion per year. Other concerns center around initiatives for protection of intellectual property on-line. H.R. 2180, the Online Copyright Liability Limitation Act is troublesome to software publishers because it would place the burden on them to prove piracy and infringement, and it lessens incentives for telecommunications providers to cooperate with software publishers in identifying pirates.

If multimedia education is viewed ‘as a way to bring primary sources into the classroom, underscore major course themes, promote discussion, and actively engage students in historical inquiry and analysis;’ it will go a long way towards improving the learning experience (Mintz 1998). The ‘learning by doing’ concept should help solve ‘high-tech baby-sitter’ issues. Another issue is the telecom discount ‘E-rate’ web program. The Universal Service Fund (USF), a new Schools and Libraries Corporation, will oversee the $2.25 billion annually available to Schools and Libraries for telecommunication services to get schools and libraries on line. Software publishers, while supporting the connectivity program, worry that schools will reduce purchases of software as they focus on getting ‘on-line.’ Schools and libraries may hold off purchases until they see what ‘E-rate’ discounts will be, while pushing software publishers to develop Internet platforms faster than they are prepared to do. Furthermore, telecommunications carriers could slow the process by bringing lawsuits challenging USF authority to give discounts to schools and libraries. A final challenge may come from policymakers watching carefully to see how schools and libraries use the Internet and what content passes for educational instruction.

With firms pioneering the development of simulation software, the government subsidizing the move from PC to Internet platform, and an industry pushing for intellectual property protection, everyone is involved in economic, policy, administrative and content issues, seemingly making the future promising.

Corel Corporation. http://www.hnr.com/Press/CorChemLab.htm

Glencoe (McGraw-Hill). http://www.glencoe.com/home.html

Hypercube, Inc. http://www.hyper.com/  

Knowledge Revolution. http://www.krev.com/  

Logal Software Inc. http://www.logal.com/w/owa/home

PEP Registry of Educational Software Publishers. http:// www.microweb.com/pepsite/

Simulations-Plus, Inc. http://www.simulations-plus.com

‘Engines For Education’ online. Available: http://www.ils.nwu.edu/~e_for_e/nodes/Node-136-pg.html (23 February 1998).

Gookin, D. and Gookin, S. (1998) Illustrated computer dictionary for dummies, 3^rd edition. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.

‘Interactive Multimedia Special Interest Group (SIG)’ online. Available: http://www.spa.org/ (23 February 1998).

Mintz, S. ‘H-Net and Multimedia Teaching’, online. Available: http://www.hn-et.msu.edu/about/oah/mintz.htm (23 February 1998).

Simulations Plus, ™ Inc. Prospectus (1997). Waldron & Co.

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