SBIR Phase I: A personalizable e-reading app that supports science learning

这个SBIR第一阶段项目将产生一个创新的阅读应用程序，以支持科学学习。虽然科学教科书是一个核心的课程资源，这种资源往往是难以访问和难以阅读。科学教科书在句法（语法）和语义（词义）上都很复杂。具体来说，小学和中学的科学教科书往往写了3至5年，超过了发展的适当。由于这些复杂性，科学教科书经常淹没学生的工作记忆，阻止他们构建目标概念的准确心理表征。因此，这个项目将开发和测试一个个性化的电子阅读器与嵌入式阅读和语言支持。这项工作的智力价值在于它能够通过个性化和自适应内容来提高科学理解。该项目将针对全球气候变化下一代科学标准制作内容和评估。可定制的功能将使基础科学知识更容易获得和有趣的学生-从而广大公众。鉴于这些好处，它具有强大的潜力，以支持未来几代的STEM专业人士和更科学的公民。该项目将制作一个创新的iOS阅读应用程序，以支持科学学习。 关键的创新将是使科学内容适应和调整学习者。第一阶段项目有五个技术目标：（a）创建与NGSS一致的内容;（B）使用项目反应理论编写和测试评估;（c）开发和测试应用程序的后端，包括基于云的SQL数据库、内容交付网络和应用程序编程接口;（d）开发和测试
应用程序的前端，包括用户界面设计和模型视图控制器架构;（e）与学生和教师进行用户测试，以评估SquidBooks的可用性和初步可行性。在第一阶段，SquidBooks团队将解决将这一创新推向市场的一些技术挑战。iOS应用程序的主要功能可能会产生不必要的内存负载。这一技术挑战将通过将程序设计为高度预处理和模块化来克服。第二个挑战是使科学内容更具可读性和可访问性。这需要在使用精确的科学语言和通用语言之间取得平衡，同时保持核心科学思想。

This SBIR Phase I project will produce an innovative reading application, to support science learning. Although the science textbook is a central curricular resource, this resource is often inaccessible and difficult to read. Science textbooks are syntactically (grammatically) and semantically (word meaning) complex. Specifically, elementary and secondary science texts are often written 3 to 5 years beyond what is developmentally appropriate. Because of these complexities, science textbooks often overwhelm students' working memory, preventing them from constructing accurate mental representations of the target concepts. Thus, this project will develop and test a personalizable e-reader with embedded reading and language support. The intellectual merit of the effort resides in its ability to improve science comprehension through personalized and adaptive content. This project will produce content and assessments targeting the Next Generation Science Standards on Global Climate Change. The customizable features will make fundamental science knowledge more accessible and interesting to students -- and thus the general public. Given these benefits, it has strong potential to support future generations of STEM professionals and a more scientifically literate citizenry. This project will produce an innovative iOS reading app to support science learning. The key innovation will be to make science content adaptable and adjustable for learners. This Phase I project has five technical goals: (a) create NGSS-aligned content; (b) write and test assessments using item response theory; (c) develop and test the back-end for the app, to include cloud-based SQL databases, content delivery network, and the application programming interface; (d) develop and test
the front-end for the app, to include the user interface design and the model view controller architecture; (e) conduct user testing with students and teachers to evaluate the usabilityand initial feasibility of SquidBooks. During Phase I, the SquidBooks team will address some technological challenges in bringing this innovation to market. The key features of the iOS app create a potential for unnecessary memory load. This technological challenge will be overcome by architecting the program to be highly preprocessed and modular. A second challenge is making scientific content more readable and accessible. This requires a balance between using precise scientific language and common language, while maintaining core scientific ideas.