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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将建立一个可扩展的游戏设计工具和课程，目标是增加学生对计算机科学（CS）的参与。K-12计算机教育未能吸引足够数量的学生学习计算机科学——尤其是在中学阶段，学生们通过判断自己在数学和科学方面的能力来做出关键的职业决定。这是一个严重的问题，因为尽管对IT工作者的需求不断增长，计算机科学本科课程的入学率却在以惊人的速度下降。可扩展游戏设计提供了CS的动机和学术关注点之间的理想平衡。这种方法是基于美国国家科学院推荐的现有信息技术流畅性框架，并将与新兴的国家信息技术教育标准（ISTE NETS）保持一致。这个项目将探索可扩展的游戏设计通过建立一个低门槛，高天花板的设计工具，称为AgentCubes，具有增量3D建模，动画，编程和可视化。该项目将把该工具整合到3D游戏设计课程中，为有效设计、开发和部署特别广泛的游戏提供一条有吸引力的途径——从简单的2D青蛙游戏到3D模拟游戏。这项提议的技术有很大的潜力来增加对计算机科学（CS）感兴趣的K-12学生的数量，这反过来又会导致大学水平的更大入学率。没有更强的计算机科学招生，美国就无法维持具有国际竞争力的IT劳动力。一个较少以编程为重点，更多以设计为基础的IT课程可能会增加女性和少数族裔的参与。我们可行性研究的初步结果表明，增量3D方法适用于不同种族和性别。提出的三阶段课堂整合策略是基于必修、选修和过渡模块的管道，这些模块向学生介绍制作简单的游戏，转向更高级的游戏和计算科学应用，并过渡到传统的编程模型。这一策略最大限度地提高了公立学校学生，尤其是女性和少数族裔学生接触计算机科学的机会，因为所有学生至少都要参加为期一周的必修课程。此外，作为创建交互式3D应用程序的通用终端用户工具，所提出的技术将超出教育游戏设计的范围。潜在的应用包括计算科学模拟、计算思维工具和面向大学生、科学家和工程师等潜在用户的严肃游戏。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build a Scalable Game Design tool and curriculum, with the goal of increasing the participation of students in Computer Science (CS). K-12 computer education fails to attract the necessary number of students to CS - especially at the middle school level, where students make critical career decisions by judging their own aptitudes towards math and science. This is a serious problem because, despite the growing need for IT workers, enrollment in undergraduate CS programs is dropping at alarming rates. Scalable Game Design provides an ideal balance between motivational and academic concerns of CS. This approach is based on the existing Fluency with Information Technology framework recommended by the National Academies of Sciences and will be aligned with the emerging National IT education standards (ISTE NETS). This project will explore Scalable Game Design by building a low-threshold, high-ceiling design tool, called AgentCubes, featuring Incremental 3D modeling, animation, programming, and visualization. The project will incorporate the tool into a 3D Gamelet Design curriculum to provide an attractive route to the effective design, development, and deployment of an exceptionally large spectrum of games - ranging from simple 2D Frogger-like games to 3D Sims-type games.The proposed technology has a high potential to increase the number of K-12 students interested in Computer Science (CS), which in turn should result in larger enrollments at the university level. Without stronger CS enrollments the US cannot maintain an internationally competitive IT workforce. A less programming-focused, more design-based IT curriculum is likely to increase the participation of women and minorities. Initial results from our feasibility study indicate that Incremental 3D approaches work across ethnicity and gender. The proposed 3-stage classroom integration strategy is based on a pipeline of required, elective, and transitional modules that introduce students to making simple games, move to more advanced games and computational science applications, and transition to traditional programming models. This strategy maximizes the exposure of public schools students in general, and women and minorities in particular, to computer science because all students will at least take the required one-week module. Furthermore, as a general end-user tool to create interactive 3D applications, the proposed technology will be useful beyond educational game design. Potential applications include computational science simulations, computational thinking tools and serious games with potential users such as university students, scientists, and engineers.