EDU236X Beyond Bits and Atoms
Assignment 04 : Fun with Netlogo
Here are screen captures of our experience when we explored to of the Netlogo models - Netlogo Ants and Netlogo Fireworks
LEARNING POINTS FROM EXPLORING NETLOGO MODELS
We were impressed by the immense possibilities for learning that can be built into a NetLogo application. Just by exploring models from different genres (ranging from the obvious science models, to social science models, to even art and an optical illusion!), we realize that the applications of NetLogo to teaching and learning are limited only by the imagination of the learning designer.
One of the most immediate benefits we saw in NetLogo was its ability to provide students with engaging visual feedback on their hypotheses. NetLogo modeling is similar to recursive programming in that there is a small leap of faith that many students feel they are making whenever they run the simulation. It’s difficult to comprehend all the different moving parts occurring at once, and it can be difficult to understand the system’s overall behavior as a result. With so much randomness incorporated into each model, many students might have a difficult time telling if their model is “working” the way it’s supposed to. In the face of these challenges, NetLogo provides a significant learning opportunity. If students have the discipline to isolate their predictions before running the model, they can also isolate what kind of data they should be expecting to see once the model is run. By analyzing the data, students gain new tools for assessing whether their predictions have come true.
In exploring the science models, we were struck by how NetLogo can be used to teach students about controlling variables – an important concept in science. Most of the models had more than 1 variable that affected various outcomes, and to fully appreciate the impact of 1 variable on the whole model, the user has to recognize the need to keep all variables constant, except the one under investigation. Only then would one be able to observe the effects of that variable.
As we reflected further upon our exploratory experience, we also recognized that there needed to be a significant amount of scaffolding for students’ experiences with the models to be fruitful and meaningful ones. For most of the models, merely fiddling with the interface did not result in productive learning. For this reason, the “Information” tab and its suggested extensions were very helpful. The additional information is key in helping students understand the conceptual basis behind the models and appreciate their varying intricacies. Without having to worry about building the model from scratch, students can learn a lot just by tinkering with the model in the suggested ways. Using the extensions inspired us to branch out on our own and find new ways to manipulate the model. The scaffolding directed our exploration significantly.
We also explored the Rabbits Grass Weeds model (screen capture above). After exploring this model, we decided to make two extensions to our NetLogo model. The first extension was creating a switch that could make the weeds poisonous. In the original model, weeds give the rabbits a certain amount of “weed energy,” which gets expended every time the rabbits take a step. Once the rabbit runs out of energy, it dies. To make the weeds poisonous, we subtracted weed energy from the rabbit’s total energy, rather than adding it to their total energy.
Our second extension was to add rules about how the different grass and weed patches could grow. Keeping with the original model, weed can still grow wherever it wants. For grass, however, we’ve stipulated that it cannot grow anywhere within a certain radius of weed. With this extension, it becomes possible for weed to overrun grass, which we believe is closer to what happens in real ecological conditions. To implement this, we created a slider variable called grass-weed-proximity, which we used to indicate how much distance from any weed there needs to be in order for grass to grow. A screencapture of the extended Rabbit Grass Weeds model is below.