Animations and Simulations

Animated visualisations that show both structures and processes help teachers convey important concepts (Falvo, 2008). The key word in the previous sentence is 'help', this in turn shows that animation and simulation is a Learning Resource (Oliver 1999). Animations and simulations help convey concepts to students; they cannot be left as the only means of learning. This is because according to Falvo, 'Animations can mislead learning causing misunderstandings and misperceptions'. This mainly occurs with the interpretation process, for an example Flavo has said that, 'learners assume that the colors and the shapes reflect the actual reality of the represented items, when often the shapes and colors are either symbolic or an idealisation of time and space relations'.

An example of an animation and simulation can be seen below:

Reference List
Falvo, D. (2008). Animations and simulations for teaching and learning molecular chemistry. Retrieved August 10, 2009 from http://ijttl.sicet.org/issue0801/4_1_5_Falvo.pdf

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254. Retrieved August 1, 2009 from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm