GeniVille: Exploring the Intersection of School and Social Media

GeniVille：探索学校和社交媒体的交叉点

• 批准号: 1238625
• 负责人: Paul Horwitz
• 金额: $ 49.83万
• 依托单位: Concord Consortium
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-10-01 至 2014-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1238625&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GeniVille; Exploring; Intersection; Social; Media

This project examines the design principles by which computer-based science learning experiences for students designed for classroom use can be integrated into virtual worlds that leverage students' learning of science in an informal and collaborative online environment. GeniVille, developed and studied by the Concord Consortium, is the integration of Geniverse, a education based game that develops middle school students' understanding of genetics with Whyville, developed and studied by Numedeon, Inc., an educational virtual word in which students can engage in a wide variety of science activities and games. Genivers has been extensively researched in its implementation in the middle school science classroom. Research on Whyville has focused on how the learning environment supports the voluntary participation of students anywhere and anytime. This project seeks to develop an understanding of how these two interventions can be merged together and to explore mechanisms to create engagement and persistence through incentive structures that are interwoven with the game activities. The project examines the evidence that students in middle schools in Boston learn the genetics content that is the learning objective of GeniVille. The project uses an iterative approach to the modification of Geniverse activites and the Whyville context so that the structured learning environment is accessible to students working collaboratively within the less structured context. The modification and expansion of the genetics activities of the project by which various inheritance patterns of imaginary dragons are studied continues over the course of the first year with pilot data collected from students who voluntarily engage in the game. In the second year of the project, teachers from middle schools in Boston who volunteer to be part of the project will be introduced to the integrated learning environment and will either use the virtual learning environment to teach genetics or will agree to engage their students in their regular instruction. Student outcomes in terms of engagement, persistence and understanding of genetics are measured within the virtual learning environment. Interviews with students are built into the GeniVille environment to gauge student interest. Observations of teachers engaging in GeniVille with their students are conducted as well as interviews with participating teachers. This research and development project provides a resource that blends together students learning in a computer simulation with their working in a collaborative social networking virtual system. The integration of the software system is designed to engage students in learning about genetics in a simulation that has inherent interest to students with a learning environment that is also engaging to them. The project leverages the sorts of learning environments that make the best use of online opportunities for students, bringing rich disciplinary knowledge to educational games. Knowing more about how students collaboratively engage in learning about science in a social networking environment provides information about design principles that have a wide application in the development of new resources for the science classroom.

本项目研究的设计原则，其中基于计算机的科学学习经验，为学生设计的课堂使用，可以整合到虚拟世界中，利用学生的科学学习在一个非正式的和协作的在线环境。GeniVille由Concord Consortium开发和研究，是Geniverse的整合，Geniverse是一款基于教育的游戏，旨在培养中学生对遗传学的理解，Whyville由Numedeon公司开发和研究，一个教育虚拟世界，学生可以在其中从事各种各样的科学活动和游戏。Genivers在中学科学课堂中的实施已经得到了广泛的研究。对Whyville的研究集中在学习环境如何支持学生随时随地的自愿参与。该项目旨在了解这两种干预措施如何融合在一起，并探索通过与游戏活动交织在一起的激励结构来创造参与和持久性的机制。该项目研究了波士顿中学学生学习遗传学内容的证据，这是GeniVille的学习目标。该项目使用迭代的方法来修改Geniverse活动和Whyville上下文，以便结构化的学习环境可以让学生在结构化程度较低的上下文中协作工作。在第一年的过程中，继续对该项目的遗传学活动进行修改和扩展，通过该项目研究了假想龙的各种遗传模式，并从自愿参与游戏的学生那里收集了试点数据。在该项目的第二年，来自波士顿中学的志愿者教师将被介绍到综合学习环境中，他们将使用虚拟学习环境教授遗传学，或者同意让学生参与常规教学。在虚拟学习环境中测量学生在参与，持久性和遗传学的理解方面的成果。GeniVille环境中内置了与学生的访谈，以衡量学生的兴趣。教师参与GeniVille与他们的学生进行观察，以及与参与教师的访谈。该研究和开发项目提供了一种资源，将学生在计算机模拟中学习与他们在协作社交网络虚拟系统中工作融合在一起。软件系统的整合旨在让学生在模拟中学习遗传学，这种模拟对学生具有固有的兴趣，学习环境也对他们有吸引力。该项目利用各种学习环境，充分利用学生的在线机会，为教育游戏带来丰富的学科知识。了解更多关于学生如何在社交网络环境中协作学习科学提供了有关设计原则的信息，这些原则在科学课堂新资源的开发中具有广泛的应用。