Compilation, classification and evaluation of animations and simulations for teaching biology at the compulsory secondary education level

Abstract

A large number of studies have shown that visualising processes in 3-D images aids learning. Animations and simulations have proved to be an extremely effective resource for compulsory secondary education (ESO) students, as it enables them to “see” models and situations that otherwise are often too abstract for them. This article describes the characteristics of these resources and the strategies for implementing them in the classroom. At first sight, finding such resources on the internet would appear to be an easy matter, as there is a lot of such material available. On closer examination, however, it turns out that it is quite hard to find good ones. A list of 58 websites and 398 resources was compiled, and they were classified and evaluated. The intention is that providing as much information as possible about these resources and explaining the criteria used to evaluate them will make them more useful for secondary school biology teachers who would like to employ them.