RAPID: Virtual Epidemics for Promoting Upper Elementary and Middle School Students’ Immersion and Inquiry into Pandemic Outbreaks

RAPID：虚拟流行病促进中小学生对流行病爆发的沉浸和探究

• 批准号: 2031748
• 负责人: Yasmin Kafai
• 金额: $ 19.93万
• 依托单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-07-01 至 2022-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2031748&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Virtual; Epidemics; Promoting; Upper

This RAPID was submitted in response to the NSF Dear Colleague letter related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Epidemiologists have long used simulations of epidemics to better understand their complex dynamics. More recently, simulations have been used as a teaching tool for public health prevention and protection measures. Research has shown that through virtual simulations students can better understand the underpinnings of disease spread and social interactions. This project focuses on how virtual epidemics can engage teachers and students (10-14 years old) as participants and epidemiologists to experience and investigate critical aspects of epidemics, including characteristics that highlight vectors of a COVID-19 outbreak. The project will use an online virtual world called Whyville.net with over 8.4 million registered players (ages 8-16; average age 13; 78% female) which is free of charge and commercial advertisements. In the Whyville virtual world the project will launch a virtual epidemic called WhyCough. WhyCough will provide students opportunities to learn about epidemic outbreaks through immersion. Immersion in the virtual world includes experiencing outbreaks, engaging in prevention, and promoting social action and collecting data about outbreak, using simulators in a virtual CDC, and writing about experiences. Students and teachers will have access to supplemental materials for online discussions and activities. The project activities will provide teachers and students with opportunities for learning about infection, prevention, immunity and social interactions. Additionally, participants will learn about societal reactions to perceived health risks in order to promote a better understanding of infectious diseases on individual and community levels.The goal of the project is to offer a novel approach to learning about infectious disease, utilizing prominent features of virtual worlds that include; persistence, real time, and personal representation. The virtual world offers massive numbers of players allowing students to experience and investigate a virtual epidemic outbreak. The project will recruit at least 50 teachers and 1,500 students. Using a combination of survey and observational methods, the research will provide further insights into the design of large-scale online activities that promote a better understanding of epidemic outbreaks and issues related to individual reactions to those outbreaks. The research questions include: 1. What attributes of virtual virus design and associated activities do students find most engaging? 2. What do teachers find valuable about the virtual epidemic experience for student learning and engagement? What activities and innovations do they implement in their classrooms? 3. What kinds of connections do youth make from their experiences of a virtual epidemic to real life? The project will make data sets from the study accessible to other researchers and designers interested in understanding patterns of participation in massive communities. Activities proposed for virtual epidemics in Whyville will be available for adoption by other virtual worlds and networked games. The project will communicate results via multiple channels across a wide range of disciplines and audiences, including researchers, practitioners, and the general public. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.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.

本RAPID是为回应NSF Dear Colleague关于COVID-19大流行病的信函而提交的。 流行病学家长期以来一直使用流行病的模拟来更好地了解其复杂的动态。 最近，模拟被用作公共卫生预防和保护措施的教学工具。 研究表明，通过虚拟模拟，学生可以更好地了解疾病传播和社会互动的基础。 该项目的重点是虚拟流行病如何让教师和学生（10-14岁）作为参与者和流行病学家参与体验和调查流行病的关键方面，包括突出COVID-19爆发的媒介的特征。 该项目将使用一个名为Whyville.net的在线虚拟世界，拥有840多万注册玩家（年龄8-16岁;平均年龄13岁; 78%为女性），免费和商业广告。 在Whyville虚拟世界中，该项目将推出一种名为WhyCough的虚拟流行病。 WhyCough将为学生提供通过沉浸式学习流行病爆发的机会。 沉浸在虚拟世界中包括体验爆发，参与预防，促进社会行动和收集有关爆发的数据，在虚拟CDC中使用模拟器，以及撰写经验。学生和教师将有机会获得在线讨论和活动的补充材料。项目活动将为教师和学生提供学习感染、预防、免疫和社会交往的机会。此外，参与者将了解社会对感知的健康风险的反应，以促进个人和社区层面对传染病的更好理解。该项目的目标是提供一种新的方法来了解传染病，利用虚拟世界的突出特点，包括：持久性，真实的时间，和个人代表性。 虚拟世界提供了大量的玩家，让学生体验和调查虚拟的流行病爆发。 该项目将招募至少50名教师和1 500名学生。 这项研究将使用调查和观察相结合的方法，为设计大规模在线活动提供进一步的见解，以促进更好地了解流行病爆发以及与个人对这些爆发的反应有关的问题。研究问题包括：1.学生认为虚拟病毒设计和相关活动的哪些属性最吸引人？ 2.教师认为虚拟流行病体验对学生的学习和参与有何价值？他们在课堂上实施了哪些活动和创新？3.年轻人从虚拟的流行病经历到真实的生活，会产生什么样的联系？ 该项目将使其他有兴趣了解大规模社区参与模式的研究人员和设计人员能够访问研究数据集。在Whyville为虚拟流行病提出的活动将可供其他虚拟世界和网络游戏采用。该项目将通过多个渠道，在广泛的学科和观众，包括研究人员，从业人员和公众沟通的结果。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划资助，该计划支持建立对实践，计划元素，背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于增加学生对科学，技术，工程，信息和通信技术（ICT）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Pandemics & people: Designing a virtual epidemic event for immersive, connected, and playful participation in an infectious disease outbreak.

流行病

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Educational designer
• 作者: Fields, D. A.

Designing the Virtual SPIKEY-20 Epidemic: Engaging Youth in Seeking Information and Using Personal Protection

设计虚拟 SPIKEY-20 流行病：让青少年寻求信息并使用个人防护

• DOI: 10.1145/3459990.3465208
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Interaction Design and Children
• 作者: Strawhacker, Amanda;Kafai, Yasmin;T. Giang, Michael;Fields, Deborah;Tofel-Grehl, Colby
• 通讯作者: Tofel-Grehl, Colby