A Great Way to Present and Explain New Material
Why not just give it a try yourself?
Simulations are a great way to help students to visualize and interact with otherwise abstract concepts that they might struggle to learn. The simulation embedded below is a great example from the University of Colorado that allows the user to manipulate molecules in three dimensions, and to get a better look at the shapes that these molecules take the form of.
A Better Understanding
Many topics in the sciences run into the same issue -- that it is difficult for students to picture a concept, manipulate shapes in their head, or somesuch other concept-related difficulty. This is where simulations shine their best -- literally allowing students to circumvent these problems with the aid of technology.
There are a myriad of uses for simulations. They can be used to give students more authority and freedom than they normally would be given in lab, or allow students to quickly and easily repeat experiments (or sections of experiments). Simulations of laboratory experiments can also be used to allow students to perform more dangerous, complex, and/or expensive experiments than could be done in the classroom.