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 STEM 游戏，解决有机化学中难学的主题。我们的第一个模块将重点关注 立体化学是每年近 200 万本科生面临的一个众所周知的挑战性概念 正在从事医疗保健职业的人，以及另外 100 万生物和化学学生。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 化学对医学研究和实践的影响是深远的。大约一半的药用药品， 毒素和非法药物的活性需要手性中心。有机化学与化学的相关性日益增强 医学意味着有机化学的整合在现代健康相关领域中越来越重要 教育。互动媒体为教育提供了一种潜在的变革性技术。内在的 交互式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 新一代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 作为对教师讲座的补充。创新：Mol 移动应用程序将提供 帮助学生取得成功的强大方法，了解有机物的 3D 形状和属性 分子以及它们如何与现实生活中的健康应用相关。游戏机制可能包括空间 玩家必须正确识别旋转 3D 结构上的手性中心的谜题，计时赛具有挑战性 玩家快速将相应结构与所呈现的命名法相匹配的能力以及模式 促进 3D 模型的操作以确定立体异构体，并构建您自己的立体异构体。 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 NIH-SEPA- 赞助 Meta!Blast。 Meta!Blast 使用 Unity3D 开发，现已用于大学课堂和非正式场合 教育环境，包括被纳入爱荷华州立大学核心生物实验室的主要组成部分 大学。它正在全国各地机构的多个生物课堂环境中进行评估；一 例如，加利福尼亚州库卡蒙加牧场的查菲学院 (Chaffey College) 是一所两年制社区学院，拥有较高的 西班牙裔学生和退伍军人的比例。我们相信这种经验可以推广到项目中 本提案中概述了。 Mol 的每个方面都将使用快速迭代方法根据用户输入进行开发。 每两周一次的讨论和形成性评估将确保创造出引人入胜、有趣、 相关的、可用的和有教育意义的。随后将进行更大规模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 第一阶段和第二阶段工作的成功，我们拥有知识和支持来应对巨大的机遇 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 分别是 Google Play 和 Apple App Store。正如我们在客户发现过程中所观察到的，学生 表示他们采用新学习材料的一个重要因素是来自建议或 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 与化学讲师合作，并将他们视为需求创造合作伙伴。