Epistemic and Simulation Games

I have had only a few simulation game experiences. My very first experience was from many years ago, back in the days when I still had a windows 98. I had an airplane simulator which was the closest thing to a game that I had. This game actually came with the computer upon purchase so I played the hell out of it. It had all the dashboard switches, levers, throttle, breaks, and steering wheel. This was the way I spent most of my time.

This type of simulation was a good way to learn how to attempt to learn to fly a plane but I feel that it is not a sufficient way to teach students to learn to fly a plane. Recreationally, this is a great way to pass time and maybe learn the basics to planes. I can safely say that if one day if something goes terribly wrong on a plane, I will not be the one attempting to fly the plane to a safe location. Just recently, I was looking into dyno simulators for car engines.

These dyno simulators are used to build virtual car engines. Cars have always been something that I have a great interest in and I am probably take classes after graduating from the university to become a certified mechanic. I actually bought an expensive simulator that gives you specific engine blocks, intakes, exhausts, transmission, and other components of a car engine. I built a 1JZ engine (found in Nissan Cressida  Nissan 300ZX, and later model GT-R. I feel that through this type of simulator, in depth simulators, you can actually learn more and educate the masses.

There has to be a certain type of credentials that games must avide by inorder to be considered acceptable for class use. Just by comparing the two simulators I have played, money has a lot to do with the type of simulation I got. A free simulator from '98 cannot compare to a 2011 $100+ simulation. We are in a financial crisis, schools are getting very low amounts of money to support their students. If they had to pay for expensive equipment, schools would go broke fast. It really hurt me to pay over a hundred dollars for a simulator, and it hurt more when my computer go stolen containing that simulator. For that reason, I feel that school and games should be separate. They make simulators and epistemic games to supplement hands on experiences. They should be separate because they are not the same.

Evernote and Xmind

When working with Evernote, I noticed that I can link notes and tags in order to create a type of map concept for class. I tried using it for my Cellular Physiology class because there are various concepts throughout the semester that link together. I am able to take notes on a specific topic from on lecture and link it to another lecture in which it correlates to. For example, I took notes for an in depth lecture about phospholipid bilayers with integrated proteins and peripheral proteins. I was able to link that note to the concept of transport of eNOS (nitrous oxide synthase) transport to the muscles.

As for Xmind, I didnt like the format of setting up a flow chart. When creating the Learning Theories, I was confused. I felt that it was very disorganized compared to Evernote. It seemed plain and hard to track even though it was clearly laid out. Evernote seemed more disorganized but in the long run it felt more organized.