Introducing Life Science Doctoral Students in Oz to the Wizardry of Computational Modeling: Introducing Computational Thinking with CellDesigner™

A five-day, hands-on workshop was held at Monash University to introduce doctoral students in the life sciences to computational applications for research. Although three software tools were employed (CellDesigner (TM), MATLAB (TM) including the Parallel Computing Toolbox, and Nimrod), this paper reports on the use of CellDesigner in teaching computational thinking and modeling, including system dynamics and regulatory networks. Each session included a series of brief orientations to the tool, followed with illustrative, practical projects for participants to implement. From written evaluations and various forms of anecdotal evidence (e. g., oral communications, participation, project/assignment performance), we conclude CellDesigner to be a suitable tool for use in such a workshop.