SBIR Phase I: Scalable Game Design: Broadening Computer Science Participation with Low-Threshold, High-Ceiling Design Environments

SBIR 第一阶段：可扩展的游戏设计：通过低门槛、高天花板的设计环境扩大计算机科学的参与

• 批准号: 0712571
• 负责人: Alexander Repenning
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: AGENTSHEETS INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0712571&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Scalable; Game; Design

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop a scalable game design environment, including curriculum, with the goal of increasing the participation of students in K-12 computer science education. Partially due to exaggerated fears of job outsourcing, enrollment in University-level computer science programs is dropping at an alarming rate. Another, more fundamental problem is a broken pipeline effect in which K-12 students simply fail to get interested in computer science courses. Advanced placement courses offer a methodical introduction to computer science, but their focus on abstract programming and the lack of motivating applications has resulted in dwindling participation. Multimedia courses are popular, but often are little more than advanced PowerPoint tutorials. Game design, when done in a scalable way, can provide an ideal balance between motivational and academic concerns of computer science. Game design can also be matched to the existing Fluency with Information Technology framework recommended by the National Academies of Sciences. The proposed research will explore scalable design by building a low-threshold, high-ceiling design environment based on Incremental 3D model creation and programming. The research will incorporate this environment into a scalable design curriculum. This scalable design should provide an attractive route to the effective design, development and deployment of an exceptionally large spectrum of games ranging from simple 2D Frogger-type games to 3D Sims-type games.The proposed technology should dramatically increase the number of K-12 students interested in computer science, which in turn will result in larger enrollment in computer science at the university level. Without stronger computer science enrollments the US cannot maintain an internationally competitive IT workforce. A less abstract programming, more design-based IT curriculum should also increase the participation of women and minorities. Further, the resulting general environment can be employed as a simulation-authoring tool for computational science and, through Web integration (e.g. with Google Earth), as computational cyberinfrastructure. The user audience will include K-12 students, university students, scientists, engineers and members of the general public interested in computational 3D applications. The commercialization pathway utilizes a novel business model based on offering the technology as a consumer tool that will be free for K-12 but sold as a special take-home deal to students interested in using the technology at home. Additional revenue will be created through product support such as game design workshops and curriculum development. The open nature of the tool will permit the development of extensions such as plug-ins, as well as integration with existing rich-media technology such as a 3D modeler.

这个小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段研究项目将开发一个可扩展的游戏设计环境，包括课程，目的是增加学生对 K-12 计算机科学教育的参与。部分由于对工作外包的过度担忧，大学计算机科学课程的入学人数正在以惊人的速度下降。另一个更根本的问题是管道效应破裂，K-12 学生根本对计算机科学课程不感兴趣。大学先修课程提供了对计算机科学的系统介绍，但其对抽象编程的关注以及缺乏激励应用程序导致了参与人数的减少。多媒体课程很受欢迎，但通常只不过是高级 PowerPoint 教程。游戏设计如果以可扩展的方式完成，可以在计算机科学的动机和学术关注之间提供理想的平衡。游戏设计还可以与美国国家科学院推荐的现有信息技术流畅性框架相匹配。拟议的研究将通过构建基于增量 3D 模型创建和编程的低门槛、高上限设计环境来探索可扩展设计。该研究将把这种环境纳入可扩展的设计课程中。这种可扩展的设计应该为有效设计、开发和部署从简单的 2D 青蛙类游戏到 3D 模拟人生类游戏的大量游戏提供一条有吸引力的途径。所提出的技术应该会大大增加对计算机科学感兴趣的 K-12 学生的数量，这反过来又会导致大学计算机科学专业的入学人数增加。如果没有更强大的计算机科学招生，美国就无法维持具有国际竞争力的 IT 劳动力。更少抽象的编程、更多基于设计的 IT 课程也应该会增加女性和少数族裔的参与。此外，由此产生的通用环境可以用作计算科学的模拟创作工具，并通过网络集成（例如与谷歌地球），用作计算网络基础设施。用户受众将包括 K-12 学生、大学生、科学家、工程师以及对计算 3D 应用感兴趣的公众。商业化途径采用了一种新颖的商业模式，该模式将技术作为一种消费工具提供给 K-12，该工具将免费提供给 K-12，但作为特殊的带回家交易出售给有兴趣在家使用该技术的学生。额外的收入将通过游戏设计研讨会和课程开发等产品支持创造。该工具的开放性将允许开发插件等扩展，以及与现有的富媒体技术（如 3D 建模器）集成。