I-Corps: Scaffolding the acquisition and development of computational algorithmic thinking capabilities in formal and informal learning environments

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project are two-fold. First, by combining virtual assistants as facilitators, an integrated system of scaffolds through the Design Notebook, and support for collaborative interactions both within a learning environment as well as virtually, the platform has the potential to provide a self-contained, self-paced, stand-alone online platform focused on culturally- and socially-relevant game design that has the potential to expose and support hundreds of thousands of learners who do not currently have access to these types of opportunities, programs, or platforms within their communities in the United States. Second, the platform has the potential to support global collaborations between groups of learners through its ability to showcase work and its virtual play-testing capabilities that will allow users to give and receive substantive feedback about the design of a game, and thus inform its iterative design, from anywhere.This I-Corps project proposes a unique online platform with supporting scaffolds, that supports learners through game design for social change virtually in similar ways as the SCAT (Supporting Computational Algorithmic Thinking) project supported African-American middle-school girls face-to-face (DRK-12 #1150098). SCAT and its scaffolds have been shown to be effective not only at helping African-American middle-school girls engage in Computing by designing games for social change, but also in improving their perceptions of themselves as critical thinkers and game designers with an intent to pursue game design or some STEM-related field as a result. As such, the core technology of the platform is a stand-alone online platform that scaffolds learners through designing and implementing games (video or mobile) for social change as well as develops their computational algorithmic thinking capabilities. It will be designed to leverage the affordances of the scaffolding in the SCAT Learning Environment including the facilitator, Design Notebook, and other Scholars. The platform will contain several key integrated sub-tools that model and coach learners as they think through their designs, make connections, make design decisions, collect feedback to inform the iterative design of their games, ask questions of themselves and their peers, reflect on their experiences, and showcase what they have created.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.