Empowering Informal Educators to Prepare Future Generations in Wireless Radio Communications with Mobile Resources

无线无线电通信，如Wi-Fi，将公共和私人数据从一个设备传输到另一个设备，包括手机、计算机、医疗设备、卫星、太空火箭和空中交通管制。尽管无线电波发挥着至关重要的作用，也很普遍，但许多人并不熟悉无线电波，不知道它是如何产生的，如何与周围环境相互作用的，也不知道为什么无线电波是现代通信和导航的基础。这个话题不仅与当今的科技生活越来越相关&amp；#39；对于年轻人和公众来说，它对国家科学基金会至关重要&amp；#39；“未来产业”活动，特别是在推动无线教育和劳动力发展方面。在该项目中，来自学术界、工业界和非正规教育的STEM专业人士将携手设计、评估和推出数字应用程序、基于工艺的工具包、活动指南和移动在线专业学习，所有这些都将由非正规教育工作者轻松访问和灵活调整，以吸引青年和公众了解无线电频率通信。体验将包括具体的活动，例如物理连接手臂以创造和探索纵波和横波；移动体验，例如Wi-Fi信号的增强现实探索或协同信号干扰模拟；以及技术探索，比如发送和接收加密信息。/P PBSCS科学学习，佐治亚理工学院和儿童&amp；#39；美国的创意博物馆（CCM）与国家非正式STEM教育网络（NISE Net）博物馆合作伙伴将创建教学活动设计、数字应用程序和移动在线专业学习平台。该项目采用严格、多管齐下的研发方法，以先前的学习科学研究为基础，推进灵活、流动的非正式教育的学习设计框架，同时结合实践学习的最佳方面。该项目正在测试两个相关的假设：1)移动战略可以有效地支持高技术、科学主题的即时非正式教育；2)包括专业学习在内的移动资源套件可用于向非正式教育工作者、青年和公众传授无线电频率通信知识。数据来源包括前后调查，访谈和焦点小组与广泛的教育工作者和学习者。PA前端研究将确定公众对无线电频率通信的具体理解和看法方面的差距，并作为总结性研究组成部分的基线。迭代的形成性评价将包括青年和非正式教育者参与的共同设计过程。这些进程将支持不仅针对青年（重点是拉丁裔青年）而且针对非正式教育工作者和广大公众的适合年龄和文化的材料。总结性评价将审查流动资源套件对非正规教育工作者的影响& #39；学习，促进信心和意图，继续将项目资源纳入他们的实践。教育工作者在支持公众理解高技术STEM主题方面的准备可以是支持公众及时参与和对相关职业感兴趣的有效途径。来自青年和博物馆参观者的数据将研究兴趣、科学自我效能、内容知识和stem相关职业兴趣的变化。如果成功，这种设计方法可能会影响如何有效地设计和组织移动资源，从而影响未来非正式教育中同样重要的技术丰富主题。所有材料将在知识共享许可下发布，允许广泛共享和重新混合；研究和设计成果将发表在学术、行业和从业者期刊上。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的两个项目共同资助：推进非正式STEM学习计划，该计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。面向学生和教师的创新技术体验（ITEST）项目，该项目支持建立对实践、项目要素、背景和流程的理解的项目，这些项目有助于提高学生的学习能力。对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）以及信息和通信技术（ICT）职业有知识和兴趣。/P这个奖项反映了国家科学基金&amp；#39；的法定使命，并通过基金会的评估认为值得支持。的知识价值和更广泛的影响评审标准

pWireless radio communications, such as Wi-Fi, transmit public and private data from one device to another, including cell phones, computers, medical equipment, satellites, space rockets, and air traffic control. Despite their critical role and prevalence, many people are unfamiliar with radio waves, how they are generated and interact with their surroundings, and why they are the basis of modern communication and navigation. This topic is not only increasingly relevant to the technological lives of today's youth and public, it is critical to the National Science Foundation's Industries of the Future activities, particularly in advancing wireless education and workforce development. In this project, STEM professionals from academia, industry and informal education will join forces to design, evaluate, and launch digital apps, a craft-based toolkit, activity guides, and mobile online professional learning, all of which will be easily accessed and flexibly adapted by informal educators to engage youth and the public about radio frequency communications. Experiences will include embodied activities, such as physically linking arms to create and explore longitudinal and transverse waves; mobile experiences, such as augmented reality explorations of Wi-Fi signals or collaborative signal jamming simulations; and technological exploration, such as sending and receiving encrypted messages./P PBSCS Science Learning, Georgia Tech, and the Children's Creativity Museum (CCM) with National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) museum partners will create pedagogical activity designs, digital apps, and a mobile online professional learning platform. The project features a rigorous and multipronged research and development approach that builds on prior learning sciences studies to advance a learning design framework for nimble, mobile informal education, while incorporating the best aspects of hands-on learning. This project is testing two related hypotheses: 1) a mobile strategy can be effective for supporting just-in-time informal education of a highly technical, scientific topic, and 2) a mobile suite of resources, including professional learning, can be used to teach informal educators, youth, and the general public about radio frequency communications. Data sources include pre- and post- surveys, interviews, and focus groups with a wide array of educators and learners./P PA front-end study will identify gaps in public understanding and perceptions specific to radio frequency communications, and serve as a baseline for components of the summative research. Iterative formative evaluation will incorporate participatory co-design processes with youth and informal educators. These processes will support materials that are age-appropriate and culturally responsive to not only youth, with an emphasis on Latinx youth, but also informal educators and the broader public. Summative evaluation will examine the impact of the mobile suite of resources on informal educators' learning, facilitation confidence and intentions to continue to incorporate the project resources into their practice. The preparation of educators in supporting public understanding of highly technological STEM topics can be an effective way for supporting just-in-time public engagement and interests in related careers. Data from youth and museum visitors will examine changes to interest, science self-efficacy, content knowledge, and STEM-related career interest. If successful, this design approach may influence how mobile resources are designed and organized effectively to impact future informal education on similarly important technology-rich topics. All materials will be released under Creative Commons licenses allowing for widespread sharing and remixing; research and design findings will be published in academic, industry, and practitioner journals./P PThis project is co-funded by two NSF programs: The Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. 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./P PThis 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./P