"A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Whether done by
hand or on a computer, simulation involves the generation of an artificial history of a system and the observation of that artificial history to draw inferences concerning the operating characteristics of the real system. " (Discrete-Event System Simulation, 4th Edition)

In other words, simulating is like opening a new horizon for human experimentation. This feature is of great use in teaching students and can be used in primary education, by college students and even by training professionals. The simulations can cover as many different areas of knowledge and here are some examples possible thanks to the use:

• flight and direction (Microsoft Flight Simulator and general direction simulators)
• science labs (Labster and Virtual Lab)
• urban planning (SimCity franchise)
• observation of large spatial scale phenomena, such as astronomical events, and small spatial scale, such as cell division
• observation of large temporal scale phenomena, such as evolution, and small temporal scale, such as chemical reactions

In the following video, we can see how the concept of random mutations and natural selection acts on the evolutionary process of organisms based on a simple simulation. It is a series of short videos, with accessible language and simple visual resources that allow the viewer to incorporate the concept of evolution less abstractly and more concretely.

Furthermore, laboratory simulators, such as Labster (see: https://www.labster.com/ for more information) allow students to have previous experiences with real laboratories without real risks. Besides, the lack of a need to travel to a laboratory and the possibility of accessing it on any computer corroborates the notion of Ubiquitous Learning (Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. 2016), in which the student can access his laboratory and perform his experiments anytime, anywhere.

However, the simulation does not necessarily have to come from a computer program. As an example, we have the creation of synthetic organisms for biology and medicine studies, which simulate the shape, color, size and texture of real tissues, but without the need to use real bodies for this. In November 2019, students at JW Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida, were the first in the world to use synthetic frogs for their dissection class  In this methodology, there is no death of several animals and students are not exposed to chemicals such as formaldehyde, ensuring a more pleasant and ethical experience.

Finally, it is important to note how the use of computer or synthetic simulations supports learning via practice. Moreover, collecting reports from students based on their observations and tasks that require multimodal explanations (using images, recorded videos of the simulations, explanatory diagrams, etc.) can be an opportunity to apply Bill Cope's concept of synesthesia - the process of cognitive shifts backward and forwards between modes which are written, oral language, image, sound, gesture and tactile.

References:

Kincaid J.P., Hamilton R., Tarr R.W., Sangani H. (2003) Simulation in Education and Training. In: Obaidat M.S., Papadimitriou G.I. (eds) Applied System Simulation. Springer, Boston, MA

Reference: Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis. 2016. "Conceptualizing New Learning." In Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis, e-Learning Ecologies. Routledge NY: forthcoming.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/30/us/florida-high-school-synthetic-frogs-trnd/index.html

https://www.labster.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipI8hOGjVUs