Making Space Social: Exploring the Educational Potential of the Facebook Social Network

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The Space Science Institute (SSI) will conduct a pilot investigation on the use and effectiveness of STEM-related games within contemporary web-based, multiuser social networking platforms. A host of gaming and content experts, consultants and advisors will work collaboratively with SSI to repurpose a set of existing games for use and research on Facebook. Three to five games will be chosen from a portfolio of nearly 30 space science and astronomy online games previously developed by the Institute. A representative sample of youth (ages 13+) and adults will be invited to participate in the game-selection process. The selected games will be repurposed for optimal use on Facebook. By the end of the first year, Facebook users will be able to access and interact with the games on Facebook. Data will be collected from game users as they progress through the games. The results of the data analysis will be used to inform the project and the informal science education field. The Institute for Learning Innovation will lead the formative and summative evaluations. Youth (ages 13+) and adults with access to Facebook will be targeted for participation in the formative testing and evaluation and the pilot investigation. The anticipated audience will be broad and diverse, as Facebook users span gender, race, age, and social class. The intended project impacts are that participants will experience gains in each of the three dimensions: (a) awareness, knowledge, and understanding, (b) engagement and interest, and (c) attitude. A mixed-methods approach will be employed to assess the game selection process, implementation of the games on Facebook, project effectiveness, and impacts. Formative evaluation strategies include embedded evaluation assessments, expert reviews, online feedback sessions, and short response polls. A multi-variable analysis of game use and a comparison between players and non-players will be used to inform the summative evaluation. This Pathways project could potentially transform contemporary notions about the effectiveness of games to generate interest and foster STEM learning within multiuser, social networking environments. Facebook, the preferred interface for this effort, is one of the most popular social networks currently in existence. Through it, this project could bring science content to millions of people around the country, including many from underrepresented groups. This pilot would contribute to the limited research base and, if successful, could serve as a model for future scale-up initiatives on other STEM topics, gaming formats, and platforms.