Probably can't use this, but as a reference of how technology itself can provide affordances for new kinds of learning previously not possible.
This paper is old, but reminds me to always consider the affordances of the technology, and how to take advantage of them.
So... once I find a topic, how can I apply this? What are the affordances of the technology I choose?
With the technology I choose, what would my learners need to be told about the differences between it and the reality it represents?
As Dr. Suthers said, this information seems old. Simulations seemed 'cool' before the Internet and modern gaming took off. The paper is written as if to say, "these are some of the great things that computers can do", something that isn't as impressive / relevant today as technology has become so widespread and improved.
Still, looking at 'classics' such as this remind us of some of the fundamentals: how games / simulations can turn otherwise non-visible things into visible things
Simulations for science teaching: can simulate experiments and other things that would be too expensive or dangerous to perform. In a sense, conquers time and space: simulations could speed up / slow down time to show us things we couldn't otherwise watch. They can also expand or shrink the world to make tiny things visible, as well as huge things (could model atoms or solar systems).
On a different note, this paper suggests that students / novices can learn the theoretical framework of experts via a simulation. This point is argued (see other papers) saying that trying to transfer the expert's mental model to the student isn't always the best way to teach them, as they're not prepared for it- rather we need to take incremental steps that the novice can achieve, and slowly build towards the expert's mental model. This is a problem being experienced by me in ICS 111- typically the instructors are speaking 'over' the students' heads.
Author always makes the disclaimer: models are not reality. We must be aware of this when creating games and simulations- and always remind the learners of the differences between the simulation and reality.
see paper (circled)