SBIR Phase II: Agent-Based Simulation and Modeling over the World Wide Web

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need for enhanced student learning through virtual experimentation and user-driven visualization. Recent research strongly indicates that simulation-based learning produces significantly better results for a wider range of students than traditional learning drills. Phase II objectives center on expanding classroom tested AgentSheets technology to large-scale student creation and sharing of interactive simulations and virtual worlds that combine intra-school student creations and World Wide Web resources. AgentSheets is an agent-based graphical spreadsheet environment that lets a wide range of users create SimCityTM-like interactive simulations, domain-oriented visual programming environments, games and cellular automata. Phase II research centers on professionalizing the AgentSheets Behavior Exchange developed during Phase I and introducing, testing, and maintaining new agent organization techniques. Phase II techniques for scaling up to larger school systems include Sales Agents. An important Phase II research component is the insertion of AgentSheets into the normal school curriculum through on-going classroom experience and student teacher training. By the end of Phase II, Agentsheets aims to have AgentSheets technology in regular use in a variety of real-world K-12 classroom environments. Commercial applications include simulations and modeling for education and research, games, programming tools, and virtual reality applications in architecture, medicine, and data analysis.