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NIH I阶段I SBIR项目中，我们建议开发和评估Mol的概念概念证明 移动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重点放在 立体化学，众所周知的挑战概念，每年面临近200万本科生 他们正在从事医疗保健职业，还有100万生物学和化学专业的学生。意义： 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 医学研究和实践的化学是深刻的。大约一半的医学药物， 毒素和非法药物需要手性中心的活动。有机化学与 医学意味着有机化学的整合在现代健康相关的情况下越来越重要 教育。互动媒体为教育提供了潜在的变革技术。固有的 交互式应用程序的吸引力和直观性质对千禧一代和尚未命名的后千禧一代 一代使它们成为学习的强大媒介，交互式应用程序开始取代他们 在教室中，作为基于教师的讲座的补充。创新：MOL移动应用将提供 强大的方法使学生成功，了解有机的3D形状和特性 分子以及这些与现实生活中的健康应用之间的关系。游戏机制可能包括空间 玩家必须正确识别旋转3D结构的手性中心的难题，时间试验挑战 玩家可以快速匹配相应结构与呈现的命名法和模式的能力 促进对3D模型的操纵以确定立体异构主义并构建自己的立体异构体。 方法：我们的团队在教育游戏开发方面有广泛的知识，特别是在NIH-SEPA- 赞助的元！爆炸。 Meta！Blast现在使用Unity3D开发，现在用于大学教室和非正式 教育环境，包括被纳入爱荷华州核心生物学实验室的主要组成部分 大学。它正在全国各地的几个生物学课堂环境中进行评估；一 示例是在加利福尼亚州兰乔·库卡蒙加（Rancho Cucamonga）的查菲学院（Chaffey College） 我们相信这一经验可以扩展到该项目 在此提案中概述了。 Mol的每个方面都将使用快速迭代方法通过用户输入来开发。 每两周进行讨论和形成性评估将确保创建引人入胜，有趣， 相关，可用和教育。随后将进行更大的总结性评估和数据分析。 商业化：通过我们在严格的NSF I-Corps计划中的经验，我们相信遵循 成功的第一阶段和第二阶段的努力，我们拥有知识和支持，以解决巨大的机会 这个市场细分市场。商业上可行的应用程序将通过 Google Play和Apple App Store。正如我们的客户发现过程中观察到的 表明他们采用新学习材料的重要因素将来自建议或 他们的讲师要求。因此，我们的营销策略的关键要素是建立关系 与化学讲师一起，并将其视为需求创造伙伴。