Present engineering has to deal with increasingly complex systems. In particular, this is the case in electrical engineering. Though this is obvious in microelectronics, also in the field of power systems engineers have to design, operate and maintain highly complex systems such as power grids, energy converters and electrical drives. This is reflected in engineering education, where teachers try to communicate the many aspects of complex systems and where students try to learn and deal with this complexity. The introduction of new technologies (e.g. ICT) in teaching, though very promising at first glance may turn out to be counterproductive when the accent is on teaching, rather than learning. The same technologies may prove to be highly effective, if they are introduced to support the understanding and, consequently, handling and even designing of complex systems. In this paper, a program of computer animations is discussed, that was originally and primarily designed for teachers and to be used during traditional lectures. It was found out however, that these animations could be very well used for self-study purposes provided a good instruction and clear assignments were given. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)