SBIR Phase I: Teaching Cell Biology with Multimedia Apps that Use Tactile Instruction

本SBIR一期项目拟开发一系列移动设备（iPad, iPhone， Android设备）app，针对高中和大学阶段的学生进行细胞生物学基础教学。该计划旨在提高学生对科学的兴趣和热情，从而提高学术成就。传统的讲座和教科书不适合以探究为基础对复杂的科学概念进行探索，从而使学生获得碎片化的知识，对科学的创造性成果、普遍性及其内在的逻辑性和一致性缺乏认识。此外，现有的用于移动设备的生物教育计算机模拟使用其触觉能力来回答多项选择题或选择“下一步”按钮，浪费了平台的能力。所提出的app有效地利用了移动设备的触觉能力，便于对所呈现的信息进行深度处理，从而充分利用移动设备平台的力量来丰富学习体验。这些应用程序将整合有指导意义的动画，真正的互动练习，刺激主动学习，以及内置的评估工具，以提供高保真的教学。通过使用新颖的触觉学习技术，这些应用程序将提高知识的获取，超越传统的多媒体教学。这些努力的更广泛/商业影响是帮助提高美国学生对科学的兴趣和成就，如果美国要在以科学为基础的创新经济中保持全球领先地位，这是必不可少的。根据美国国家科学委员会（National Science Board）的数据，2009年，美国4年级、8年级和12年级的大部分学生都不精通他们年级所教授的知识和技能。虽然2009年美国15岁学生的平均科学素养分数比2006年略有提高，但美国的分数低于参与评估的其他33个经合组织（OECD）国家中的12个。此外，2008年美国的毕业率为77%，在有毕业率数据的25个经合组织国家中排名第18位。这些学习缺陷会延伸到大学和大学以后，这将影响美国以生命科学为基础的产业的未来。此外，对细胞生物学的理解对一般人群很重要，因为熟悉细胞生物学并了解该领域的进展将如何影响健康、个人和社会问题，对健康素养变得越来越重要。

This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a series of mobile device (iPad, iPhone, Android device) Apps targeted at teaching fundamentals of cell biology to high school and college level students. The program will be designed to increase student interest and enthusiasm for science, with a resulting increase in academic achievement. Traditional lectures and textbooks are poorly suited for inquiry-based exploration of complex science concepts and thus leave students with a fragmented knowledge and little sense of the creative achievements of science, its universality, and its inherent logic and consistency. Furthermore, existing biology education computer simulations for mobile devices waste the power of the platform by using its tactile capabilities to answer multiple choice questions or select a "next" button. The proposed apps effectively utilize the tactile capabilities of mobile devices to facilitate in-depth processing of the information being presented and thus will fully utilize the power of the mobile device platform to enrich the learning experience. The apps will integrate instructive animations, truly interactive exercises that stimulate active learning, and built-in assessment tools to provide high fidelity instruction. By utilizing novel tactile learning techniques, the apps will enhance knowledge gain and move beyond traditional multimedia instruction.The broader/commercial impact of these efforts is to help increase U.S. student interest and achievement in science, which is essential if the U.S. is to remain a global leader in the science-based innovation economy. According to the National Science Board, large majorities of 4th, 8th and 12th graders were not proficient in the knowledge and skills taught at their grade level in the U.S. in 2009. And while the average science literacy score of U.S. 15-year-olds improved slightly in 2009 from 2006, the U.S. score was lower than the score of 12 out of 33 other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations participating in the assessment. Furthermore, the U.S. had a 77% graduation rate in 2008, earning a rank of 18 out of 25 OECD countries for which graduation rate data were available. These learning deficiencies extend into college and beyond, which will impact the future of the robust U.S. life science-based industry. Additionally, an understanding of cell biology is important to the general population because familiarity with cell biology and an understanding of how advances in this field will affect health, personal and societal issues is becoming increasingly important to health literacy.