StarLogo TNG is modelling and simulation software that can be downloaded from MIT. It is free for educational use. Using StarLogo, students can study complex systems by creating elaborate 3D worlds for themselves.
It is especially useful for studying decentralised systems - that is systems and patterns that arise from individual interactions between many different objects, rather than systems that are centrally controlled.
An example of a decentralized system is erosion, where the larger patterns of erosion that we see have occurred because of many, many smaller interactions between water drops and grains of soil. As one piece of soil gets moved, that creates a pathway for the next drop of water to flow down, and so on until patterns of chasms develop.
Another example is an ant colony, where there is no master ant controlling the colony, but a complex structure is built by individual ants interacting with each other and following certain rules within the system. Often outcomes result from decentralised systems that would not be expected from studying the rules which guide individual behaviours of the participants in the system.
Starlogo TNG provides a tool to enable students to create these types of systems and study behaviours which would normally require an advanced understanding of mathematics to do in a theoretical way. This gives them a new way to look at the world in which we live and gain
Starlogo TNG can also be used as a game making tool, which gives it an added attraction for students. Because it has a drag and drop graphical interface, Starlogo TNG overcomes many of the programming barriers that other software environments have.
Follow the links on the left to get started using Starlogo TNG. This site is designed to be used by students in years 7-10, although it may also be appropriate for older or younger students who want to learn how to use Starlogo TNG.
The MIT website contains tutorials for using StarLogo, and a small bank of lesson resources for Game Programming, Secondary School Maths activities and an epidemic simulation.
