An article on Education Simulations (with references)

http://elatewiki.org/index.php/Educational_Simulations#Types_of_Educational_Simulations

Simulations may involve what-if scenarios, or what Prensky (2004) calls "interactive pretending." Alessi and Trollip (1991) divide simulations into those that teach about something (including physical and process simulations) and those that teach how to do something (such as procedural and situational simulations). C. Aldrich (2005) identifies four genres of computer-based simulations: "branching stories, interactive spreadsheets, virtual labs / virtual products, and game-based models" (Kreiger, 2006).