2015-09-07
622
Computer models
Computer modelling means using a computer to ‘model’ situations to see how they are likely to work out if you do different things. Using a computer to change things and see what happens. If children use a simulation where they have to make decisions that affect the outcome, then go back and try something else, that is computer modelling. If they use spreadsheets to work out the cost of something. A computer model is a simulation or model of a situation in the real world or an imaginary world which has parameters which the user can alter. So a model could consist of a simulation such as with the children's educational software Spex or a spreadsheet modeling software.
What is computer modelling? Does it have anything to do with those Airfix model aeroplane kits we used to make as children? In the classroom we use ‘models’ to explain and teach about real situations such as the water cycle. A board game may be a model of an imaginary situation. For example: a computer model which children can understand will simulate a situation which is familiar to them, and which they have ideas about. Spex offers a computer model of the rooms in a house, which all children relate to, they are all comfortable with homes and rooms. The idea is to plan a room by putting into it your own selection of furniture and fitments, in the layout you choose. This is done on a 2D plan. You then switch to the 3D screen to see how your room looks. You can switch back to 2D and experiment by shifting the furniture around or deleting it, and then see what difference that makes The children become involved in making a number of decisions - how big will the room need to be? What furniture should it contain and where. Where to put the bed, is it best under the window, or by the radiator? What colour scheme will look good? Will purple walls and a pink floor go together?
There is a spreadsheet included in the software so you can see how much the furniture and fittings would cost, and you can set a budget of how much money is available to spent on furnishing the room. Keeping within a defined budget also involves making choices and hard decisions – is a TV necessary in a bedroom? Removing it would save some money, but would it be better to get rid of the wardrobe?
Children start to make decisions like; Which room to model, which items of furniture and how many to put in the room, where in the room to place items for the best effect, how much to spend and the total amount in the budget, colour scheme of walls and floor and so on.
Ex 2 answer the questions:
1 What does “Computer modelling” mean?
2 What examples of computer modeling are shown in the text?
Ex 3 Correct false sentences according to the text:
1 A computer model which children can understand will simulate a situation which is new to them
2 You can switch back to 2D and experiment by deleting the furniture around
3 you can set a budget to know how much money is available to spent on furnishing the room
4 The children become inattentive in making a number of decisions
5 The idea is to plan a room by putting into it your own selection of furniture and fitments
Ex 4 Give your own examples of modelling something
Ex 5 Retell the text
Grammar: Phrasal Verbs.
