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The power of technology to change one's intellectual viewpoint is one of its greatest contributions, not merely to knowledge, but to something even more important: understanding...it goes beyond the limits of human perception. Arthur C. Clark [1973]    

Earth System Science views the Earth as a synergistic physical system of interrelated phenomena, governed by complex processes involving the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere.

Developing effective pedagogical strategies and simulation technologies for seeding and promoting the understanding of the complex dynamic nature of the Earth system is challenging. Research in this field has resulted in several interesting publications on the role of modeling and models, computer simulations, scientific visualization, and virtual reality in conveying advanced science concepts.

The learning process is intrinsic in every step of the modeling process and in using models. It begins when a student conceptualizes the model and continues as he/she constructs, manipulates, analyzes and presents the model. Every step in turn helps to discover features the model stands for or the phenomena it is representing. The models help the students to solve the ‘cause and effect’ puzzle and engage them by providing the opportunity to explore the ‘what if’ scenarios. In this process the students also comprehend the strengths and limits of scientific models.

The old adage that ‘a picture is worth thousand words’ conveys the long established pedagogic significance of effective visualization. Whereas simple still graphics are good for representing static features and phenomena (spatial information only), dynamic graphic products are excellent tools to convey the temporal dimension of a phenomenon and communicate complex ideas.

Examples of modeling environments, tools and models are presented later in this section.

Reference: Marcelo Milrad, 2004, Learning with Models and Learning by Modelling: Exploring the Role of Multiple Representations Using Computational Media, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies