Experiences from the Development and Use of Simulation Software for Complex Systems Education

In this paper, we present our lessons from the design and use of two educational software tools for teaching behavioral modeling to graduate students of digital art. The tools, PainterAnts and VLab, allow the experimentation and control of simulated ants that paint, or Braitenberg vehicle-like agents (Braitenberg 1984). To better address the target audience of digital art students, we have transcribed both systems in ways that would excite art students, that is, by finding graphical equivalents of behavior. This arrangement allows us to exploit the users’ visual experience and motivation to manipulate and experiment with complex visual forms. Experience with using the systems reveals that the artists show a high motivation for experimenting with them, which is partly due to the fact that they tend to regard them as simple abstract art tools that may produce interesting complex forms. Our experience has also identified several methodological and theoretical issues on educational system design that have been partly tackled and that merit extended study and research.