EXP: Collaborative Research: Using Smartphone-Based Participatory Simulations to Engage Children in Scientific Thinking

该项目正在调查移动设备和云计算的结合带来的潜力，利用科学家用来分解、可视化和理解复杂系统(例如传染病的传播或全球能源的来源、生产和使用)的相同模拟和其他工具，让中学生参与科学探索。根据以学习者为中心的设计(LCD)指导方针和对动机和学习的研究，项目组正在开发参与式模拟软件工厂(PSimSF)，该工厂将为在广泛范围的移动设备上运行的各种科学过程生成参与式模拟(PSIM)。研究人员假设，在使用了广泛可视化的模拟中，个人参与会增加学生的参与度--更多的任务时间和学生之间的实时对话，这反过来又会提高学生的成绩。该项目的智力价值在于其团队在使用新兴技术、尖端科学方法和基于探究的学习方面的专业知识和经验的结合。此外，在创建和测试一些原型PSIM时，该项目正在帮助更大的教育界更好地了解这些新技术在支持积极的、基于项目的学习方面的潜力。最后，移动学习环境及其多人、类似游戏的互动建立在当今数字原住民的特征基础上。该项目更广泛的影响在于该项目正在制作的免费分发的PMIMS以及适当的年级课程材料。该项目还旨在使这项工作具有可伸缩性和可持续性，并特别关注潜在的商业化。

This project is investigating the potential that the combination of mobile devices and cloud computing offers to engage middle school children in scientific exploration using the same simulations and other tools that scientists employ to decompose, visualize, and understand complex systems, e.g. the spread of infectious disease or the sourcing, production, and use of energy across the globe. Drawing on Learner-centered Design (LCD) guidelines and research on motivation and learning, the project team is developing the Participatory Simulations Software Factory (PSimSF) which would produce Participatory Simulations (PSims) for various science processes that run on a broad range of mobile devices. The investigators posit that personal participation in the simulation, where a broad range of visualizations are employed, increases student engagement - with greater time on task and real-time conversation amongst the students, which in turn increases student achievement. The intellectual merit of the project rests in its team's combination of expertise and experience in working with emergent technologies, cutting-edge science methodology, and inquiry-based learning. Moreover, in creating and testing a number of prototype PSims, the project is helping the larger educational community to understand better what is the potential for these new technologies to support active, project-based learning. Finally, the mobile learning environment with its multi-player, game-like interactions builds on the characteristics of today's digital natives. The broader impacts of the project lie in the freely distributed PSims that the project is creating along with grade-level appropriate curriculum materials. The project is also aiming to make the work scalable and sustainable, with a specific focus on potential commercialization.