AVITAE: desenvolvimento de um ambiente de modelagem computacional para o ensino de biologia AVITAE: development of a computational modeling system to biology education

Models of artificial life have been used for researchers in the areas of engineering, physics, biology and computer graphics, contributing for the advance of the human knowledge about the nature. In this perspective, an analysis of this technology in the educational context of the education of Biology becomes necessary. Aiming at the participation of the teacher in the use of computational modeling in classes, different modeling tools that use concepts of artificial life. The programs Scratch, Modelab2 and Autcel-RCO, are used to simulate an ecosystem, identifying the existing dependence between its biological components and its alimentary relations, allowing to the construction of representative projects of food chains. The study made possible to identify a set of desirable functionalities to support the use of computational modeling in biology education. © Cien. Cogn. 2008; Vol. 13 (2): 51-70.