Modern/Western education has, from the 15th Century thru the last one, more and more emphasized standardized mass delivery, and highly privatized, individually competitive performance, convergent on mastery of a single body of canonized knowledge. That medium was consistent with the operation and organization of mechanical technology, the dissemination of knowledge by the printed book, and the authoritarian organization of social institutions.

Post-modern circumstances - particularly technological, social and geo-political developments since the mid-60's - are challenging the old paradigm on all sides, and from within. Increasingly personalized, public,collaborative, interdependent and divergent learning characterize the emergent<br />paradigm. "Constructivism" has developed as one expression of this new paradigm that champions play, simulations (let's pretend), and model building in contrast to 'work' as the preferred mode for learning. In fact, we are presented with so many unanticipated wholly new technologies that we are quite literally 'playing' them into increasingly practical, working, applications.

The development, the successes and vicissitudes, of the NAU Solar System Simulation provides a case study in using the new media and paradigm to discover and to anticipate configurations of social reality yet to come

and about to arrive.