PicoVis: a dynamic visualisation tool for simulating a bluetooth communication environment enhancing student understanding.

Bluetooth (Bluetooth SIG 2003, Haartsen 1998, Johansson, et al. 2002, Morrow 2002) is a recently conceived universal communication standard that allows wireless connectivity among numerous portable electronic devices resulting in the formation of ad-hoc (Volbert 2002) wireless networks. The paper presents PicoVis, a dynamic simulation and visualisation environment modelling the functionality of a Bluetooth Personal Area Network (piconet), with the aim of aiding student comprehension of this relatively new technology. The simulation environment described in this paper is designed for teaching purposes and not for industrial use, unlike some of the currently available network simulation environments. The aim is that by simulating and visualising a wireless network, the cognitive load (Tuovinen 2000) placed on students when studying a new technology like Bluetooth for the first time will be reduced.