Complex Systems in a Complex Time: Two Flexible Activities Using Online Models to Study Infectious Disease Transmission and Code Complex Systems Simulations †

Abstract

With the advent of COVID-19, major media outlets and health organizations have been eager to provide projections on the spread of infectious disease through a population based on different variables. This report outlines two activities for leveraging the global interest in COVID-19 to (i) encourage students to explore simulations and data presentation, and (ii) develop models of complex systems using a block-based coding platform (StarLogo Nova).With the advent of COVID-19, major media outlets and health organizations have been eager to provide projections on the spread of infectious disease through a population based on different variables. This report outlines two activities for leveraging the global interest in COVID-19 to (i) encourage students to explore simulations and data presentation, and (ii) develop models of complex systems using a block-based coding platform (StarLogo Nova). The activities may be used independently or paired to build upon each other.