STTR Phase I: Independent Science Learning through Serious Games with Expert Avatars and Complementary Stories

这个STR第一期项目将开发和测试一个学习平台，以促进独立的、个人的和愉快的科学教育。该平台结合了一本引人入胜的书，书中的人物利用虚构的虚拟环境来解开谜团，以及一个基于计算机的补充虚拟环境，以支持游戏、探索和对书中出现的阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和亨丽埃塔·莱维特等专家化身(XAS)的采访。该项目的目标是提高5-8年级学生对科学的兴趣，这些学生缺乏科学教师，教育工具必须与吸引年轻人的高水平技术竞争，比如用会说话的化身和虚拟个人助理回答他们的问题的游戏。提高学生对科学职业的兴趣可以帮助填补高科技行业预计的劳动力短缺，并提供急需的科学教师。填补这些职位有望增加美国的GDP(和税收)和高科技出口。该项目将开发一个计划系列的初始产品，以促进科学、数学、工程、历史、艺术和其他学科的自主学习，通过有趣的故事和令人兴奋的虚拟环境，为各自领域的领先者提供XAS。该项目将建立在基于计算机的虚拟环境和游戏在教育中的成功应用的基础上，增加两个重要功能。首先，数字内容将得到这本书的补充，书中的人物使用一个虚构的虚拟环境来解决游戏中同样的星尘之谜。星尘是什么？它是在哪里、何时和如何形成的？它是如何进入乔治·华盛顿以及从他到你的？这本书提供了游戏的介绍、用户指南、脚手架和销售渠道。其次，用Unity3-D开发的虚拟环境和游戏将由XAS填充，供一些科学界的伟大思想使用。这款游戏将支持虚拟探索，比如回到大爆炸的时间旅行和与XAS的虚拟访问。XA将由人工智能(AI)系统支持，学生们可以在对话中回答关于XA的贡献、他们的生活和他们所处的历史时期的问题。将使用针对每个XA和基于云的混合AI系统的定制知识库来生成响应。该项目将包括对游戏的形成性评估，并结合书籍摘录来评估游戏、书籍和XA组合的好处和接受度。

This STTR Phase I project will develop and test a learning platform to facilitate independent, personal and enjoyable science education. The platform combines an engaging book, whose characters employ a fictional virtual environment to solve a mystery, with a complementary computer-based virtual environment to support games, explorations, and interviews with Expert Avatars (XAs), such as Albert Einstein and Henrietta Leavitt, that appear in the book. The goal is to increase the interest in science for children in grades 5-8, where there is a shortage of science teachers, and where educational tools must compete with the high level of technology to which young people are attracted, like games with talking avatars and virtual personal assistants to answer their questions. Increasing students' interest in science careers can help fill the projected worker shortage for high tech industries and provide desperately needed science teachers. Filling these jobs is expected to increase America's GDP (and tax revenues) and high tech exports. This project will develop the initial offering in a projected series to facilitate independent learning of science, mathematics, engineering, history, the arts and other subjects through interesting stories and exciting virtual environments populated with XAs for the leaders in their fields.The project will build on the successful application in education of computer-based virtual environments and games by adding two important features. First, the digital content will be complemented by the book, whose characters use a fictional virtual environment to solve the same STARDUST MYSTERY posed in the game. What is STARDUST? Where, when and how did it form? How did it get into George Washington and from him to you? The book provides an introduction, user's guide, scaffolding and sales channel for the game. Second, the virtual environment and game, developed with Unity 3-D, will be populated by XAs for some of the great minds in science. The game will support virtual explorations, such as a trip back through time to the Big Bang and virtual visits with the XAs. The XA's will be backed by an artificial intelligence (AI) system to support a conversation where students' can get answers to questions about the XA's contributions, their lives and their period in history. Responses will be generated using customized knowledge bases for each XA and a hybrid, cloud-based AI system. The project will include a formative evaluation of the game combined with book excerpts to assess the benefits of, and receptivity to, the game, book and XA combination.