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Technology in Science and SustainabilityScience and Sustainability uses technology in many different ways. In some activities, technology is required to complete the activity, while in other activities, it provides an opportunity to extend the investigation. One use of technology in the course is the use of a software program called STELLA®. STELLA is used to model population dynamics. The program simulates a game preserve where students can maniuplate variables such as birth and death rates, initial population size, and number and types of predators. For example, students can vary the area in which a deer herd lives and observe the resulting change in the preserve’s carrying capacity. Students can also change the number of predators, and observe the resulting change in both the predator and prey populations. The software also provides graphs of the population over time, which can help students build a concrete understanding of the relationship among variables. At the same time, they develop strategies for understanding models and model building. Teachers who use Science and Sustainability are provided with four models of the game preserve which vary in complexity. Specific instructions for use of the models are provided in the student materials. The models were developed by the National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA) and are available in both Mac and PC format. Teachers install these models on computers for student use. In this way, teachers and students spend the maximum amount of time observing and analyzing data, rather than constructing complex computer models. ^ top | |