Mol: An interactive learning platform to address difficult concepts in organic chemistry

Mol：一个交互式学习平台，用于解决有机化学中的困难概念

• 批准号: 9271112
• 负责人: William Schneller
• 金额: $ 22.27万
• 依托单位: SUBSTRATE INTERACTIVE, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-15 至 2018-09-14
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9271112
• 关键词: Achievement; Address; Adoption; Analytical Chemistry; Android; Apple; Area; Assessment tool; Biological; Biology; Blast Cell; Businesses; California; Cellular biology; Chemistry; Collaborations; Complement; Country; Data Analyses; Databases; Development; Drug Design; Drug Kinetics; Education; Educational Assessment; Elements; Ensure; Environment; Evaluation; Face; Faculty; Feedback; Female; Forensic Medicine; Foundations; Generations; Health; Health Professional; Healthcare; Hispanics; Illicit Drugs; Innovation Corps; Institution; Intuition; Iowa; Knowledge; Learning; Life; Marketing; Mechanics; Medical; Medical Research; Medicine; Modernization; Nature; Nomenclature; Organic Chemistry; Participant; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmacodynamics; Pharmacologic Substance; Phase; Play; Pre-Post Tests; Process; Property; Psyche structure; Recommendation; Risk-Taking; STEM game; Science; Shapes; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Stereoisomer; Structure; Students; Technology; Testing; Text; Time; Toxicology; Toxin; Underrepresented Groups; United States National Institutes of Health; Universities; Veterans; Visual; Woman; Women' s Group; base; career; cohort; college; commercialization; community college; computer game; design; ethnic diversity; experience; formative assessment; game development; handheld mobile device; hands-on learning; health application; informal learning; innovation; instructor; interest; learning materials; learning outcome; lectures; minority student; mobile application; nanobiology; new technology; novel therapeutics; professor; programs; prototype; rural area; science education; stereochemistry; student participation; success; teacher; three dimensional structure; three-dimensional modeling; tool; undergraduate student; usability; web interface

In this NIH Phase I SBIR project we propose to develop and evaluate a proof-of-concept for Mol, a mobile STEM game to address difficult to learn topics in organic chemistry. Our first module will focus on stereochemistry, a notoriously challenging concept facing nearly 2 million undergraduate students each year who are pursuing a healthcare career, and another 1 million biology and chemistry students. Significance: Organic compounds and their interactions constitute the very foundation of life. The relevance of organic chemistry to medical research and practice is profound. About half of medicinally-used pharmaceuticals, toxins, and illicit drugs, require chiral centers for their activity. The increasing relevance of organic chemistry to medicine means that the integration of organic chemistry is more and more important in modern health-related education. Interactive media provides a potentially transformative technology for education. The intrinsic appeal and intuitive nature of interactive apps to the millennials and the as-yet-unnamed post-millennial generation makes them a powerful medium for learning, and interactive apps are beginning to take their place in classrooms as a complement to teacher-based lectures. Innovation: The Mol mobile app would provide a powerful approach to enable student success, learning about the 3D shapes and properties of organic molecules and how these relate to real-life health applications. Gameplay mechanics could include spatial puzzles where the player must correctly identify chiral centers on rotating 3D structures, time trials challenging the player’s ability to quickly match the corresponding structure with the nomenclature presented, and a mode promoting the manipulation of 3d models to determine stereoisomerism, and build-your-own stereoisomer. Approach: Our team has extensive knowledge in educational game development, notably with the NIH-SEPA- sponsored Meta!Blast. Developed with Unity3D, Meta!Blast is now used in college classrooms and in informal education settings, including being incorporated as a major component of the core Biology Lab at Iowa State University. It’s being evaluated in several biology classroom settings at institutions across the country; one example is at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, California, a two-year community college with a high proportion of Hispanic students and veterans. We are confident this experience can be extended to the project outlined in this proposal. Each aspect of Mol will be developed with user-input using a rapid iteration approach. Bi-weekly discussions and formative evaluations will ensure the creation of a product that is engaging, fun, relevant, usable, and educational. This will be followed by a larger summative evaluation and data analysis. Commercialization: Through our experience in the rigorous NSF I-Corps program, we believe that following a successful Phase I and Phase II effort, we have the knowledge and support to address the large opportunity in this market segment. A commercially viable app would be distributed to Android and iOS platforms through Google Play and the Apple App Store, respectively. As observed in our customer discovery process, students indicated a significant factor in their adoption of new learning materials would be from a recommendation or requirement by their instructor. As such, a key element in our marketing strategy is to cultivate relationships with chemistry instructors and view them as demand creation partners.

在这个NIH第一阶段SBIR项目中，我们建议开发和评估Mol的概念验证， 移动的STEM游戏，以解决有机化学中难以学习的主题。我们的第一个模块将侧重于 立体化学，一个众所周知的具有挑战性的概念，每年面临近200万本科生 还有100万生物和化学专业的学生。重要性： 有机化合物及其相互作用构成了生命的基础。有机的相关性 化学对医学研究和实践的影响是深远的。大约一半的药用药物， 毒素和非法药物需要手性中心来进行活性。有机化学的重要性日益增加， 医学意味着有机化学的整合在现代健康相关领域越来越重要 教育交互式媒体为教育提供了一种潜在的变革性技术。本征 互动应用程序对千禧一代和尚未命名的后千禧一代的吸引力和直观性 这一代人使它们成为强大的学习媒介，交互式应用程序开始取代它们的位置。 作为对教师授课的补充。创新：Mol移动的应用程序将提供一个 强大的方法，使学生的成功，了解3D形状和有机的属性 分子以及它们与现实生活中的健康应用的关系。游戏机制可能包括空间 游戏中玩家必须正确识别旋转3D结构上的手性中心，计时挑战 玩家能够快速地将相应的结构与所呈现的术语相匹配， 促进3D模型的操作，以确定立体异构体，并建立自己的立体异构体。 方法：我们的团队在教育游戏开发方面拥有丰富的知识，特别是与NIH-SEPA合作， 赞助Meta！爆炸使用Unity3D、Meta！Blast现在用于大学课堂和非正式场合。 教育环境，包括作为爱荷华州核心生物实验室的主要组成部分 大学它正在全国各地的机构的几个生物课堂环境中进行评估; 例如，在加州兰乔库卡的查菲学院，一所两年制的社区学院， 西班牙裔学生和退伍军人的比例。我们有信心将这些经验推广到项目中 在这份提案中。Mol的每个方面都将使用快速迭代方法与用户输入一起开发。 每两周一次的讨论和形成性评估将确保创建一个吸引人的，有趣的， 相关的、可用的和教育性的。随后将进行更大规模的总结性评价和数据分析。 商业化：通过我们在严格的NSF I-Corps计划中的经验，我们相信， 成功的第一阶段和第二阶段的努力，我们有知识和支持，以解决巨大的机会， 这个细分市场。商业上可行的应用程序将通过以下方式分发到Android和iOS平台 Google Play和Apple App Store。正如我们在客户发现过程中所观察到的， 表示，他们采用新学习材料的一个重要因素是建议或 他们的导师的要求。因此，我们营销策略的一个关键要素是培养关系 与化学教师合作，并将他们视为需求创造伙伴。