3. Ecology Online Simulator

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Ecology Simulator Personal Review

By Katy Birse

Even after doing extensive readings and obtaining knowledge before completing the ecology simulator investigation, I found it extremely difficult to follow and complete with ease. I also found that I was becoming quite bored with the online experiment. 

As an experiment/investigation for primary students, particularly lower primary, I think they would have a similar experience to mine. Aside from difficulty I believe that they will find the stimulator boring. Boredom would result in the children taking great enjoyment in just adding and taking away factors to make a major impact on the ecology system rather than grasping the concepts of balance etc. Even having the chance to play around beforehand would not deter all of the students from mucking around after becoming bored.

From an Early Childhood Educator's point of view, I think the children would benefit more from building their own ecology system within the school grounds and being able to care and observe for the environment themselves. Even though it wouldn't be able to give the same range of impacts or the speed as the stimulator, the children would enjoy and appreciate their environment a lot better. It would also give them a more realistic approach. 

References

•  Learner.org. (2014). Annenberg Learner - Teacher Professional Development. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.learner.org [Accessed: 1 April 2014].