The solution, as pointed out by other answers, is to use
angular.element(element).trigger(event);
Here's an example of how I randomly select multiple select
elements:
$scope.randomize = function(){
var games = [].slice.call(document.querySelectorAll('.games select'));
games.forEach(function(e){
// Logically change the element (Angular won't know about this)
e.selectedIndex = parseInt(Math.random() * 100, 10) < 50 ? 1 : 2;
// Manually tell Angular that the DOM has changed
angular.element(e).trigger('change');
});
};