Integrated Simulation and Modeling Environment

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HubNet

HubNet is a Classroom-based Network of Handheld Devices and Up- front Computer. HubNet is designed specifically with the goal of creating a fully participatory, networked, classroom learning space. The core features of this space include:

  1. A collection of hand-held computing devices with significant resident functionality (e.g., a programmable graphing calculator);
  2. A network layer of flexible communication protocols including the ability to upload and download data sets, upload and download program (e.g., applets), monitor key-presses at the hand-held level, support real-time interaction as in network computer games, and form collaborative groups of various sizes (e.g., peer to peer, small groups, and whole class modes);
  3. Development tools for programming individual devices and the network;
  4. Public display capability (e.g., a projection system);
  5. An up-front computer (the "hub") capable of addressing the network of handhelds and running systems modeling programs (e.g., NetLogo, STELLA) as well as core analytic tools (spread sheets, function graphs, etc.);
  6. An ability to be addressed using open standards and protocols;
  7. A cross-platform implementation (using HTML, Java, etc.);
  8. An ability to connect and interact with other layers of network 'up' from the classroom, including various school- based LANs, district WANs, and the internet.

The eventual goal is to release HubNet as a widely distributed commercial product with a rich array of classroom tested functionality and activity designs. For a fuller description, click here.


NetLogo

Netlogo is a programmable modeling environment for simulating natural and social phenomena. It is particularly well suited for modeling complex systems developing over time. Modelers can give instructions to hundreds or thousands of independent agents all operating in parallel. This makes it possible to explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from the interaction of many individuals.

NetLogo is particularly well suited for modeling complex systems developing over time. Students can open a simulation and "play" with it, exploring the behavior of the simulation under various conditions. It is also an authoring tool which enables students, teachers, and curriculum developers to create their own models. NetLogo is simple enough that students and teachers can easily run simulations or even build their own, and it is advanced enough to serve as a powerful tool for researchers in many fields. NetLogo can be run as an independent application, and individual models can be run in a web browser.

There is extensive documentation and a tutorial. NetLogo also comes with a Models Library -- a large collection of pre-written simulations that can be used and modified. Content includes a wide array of natural and social-sciences models: biology and medicine, physics and chemistry, mathematics and computer science, psychology and economics. Several model-based inquiry curricula using NetLogo are currently in development. For a fuller description, click here.

NetLogo is the next generation of the series of multi-agent modeling languages that started with StarLogo. It builds off the functionality of StarLogoT and adds significant new features and a redesigned language and user interface. NetLogo is written in Java so it can run on any operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux, and others). It is run as a standalone application. Individual models can be run as Java applets inside a web browser.

NetLogo can also power a classroom participatory-simulation tool called HubNet. Through the use of networked computers or handheld devices such as Texas Instruments (TI-83+) calculators, each student can control an agent in a simulation.