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第一阶段SBIR项目中，我们建议开发和评估MOL的概念验证，a 手机STEM游戏，解决有机化学学习难的题目。我们的第一个模块将重点介绍 立体化学，这是一个臭名昭著的具有挑战性的概念，每年面对近200万本科生 他们正在从事医疗保健事业，另有100万名生物和化学专业的学生。重要意义： 有机化合物及其相互作用构成了生命的基础。有机食品的关联性 化学对医学的研究和实践是深远的。大约一半的医用药物， 毒素和非法药物需要手性中心才能发挥作用。有机化学与人类的关系日益密切 医学意味着有机化学的整合在现代健康相关中越来越重要 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 互动应用程序对千禧一代和尚未命名的千禧一代的吸引力和直觉性 这一代使它们成为一种强大的学习媒介，交互式应用程序开始取而代之 在教室里，作为对以教师为基础的讲座的补充。创新：Mol移动应用程序将提供 让学生取得成功的强大方法，学习有机食品的3D形状和属性 以及这些分子与现实生活中的健康应用之间的关系。游戏性机制可以包括空间 玩家必须正确识别旋转3D结构上的手性中心的谜题，时间测试具有挑战性 玩家快速将相应的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，特别是在NIH-SEPA- 赞助商Meta！该死的。使用Unity3D开发的Meta！BLAST现在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。它正在全国各地的机构的几个生物课堂环境中进行评估； 加州查菲学院的例子是，这是一所两年制社区学院，拥有 拉美裔学生和退伍军人的比例。我们有信心将这一经验推广到项目中。 在这项提案中概述了。MOL的每个方面都将在用户输入的情况下使用快速迭代方法进行开发。 每两周一次的讨论和形成性评估将确保创造出吸引人、有趣、 相关性、实用性和教育性。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，我们相信以下是 成功的第一阶段和第二阶段的努力，我们有知识和支持，以应对巨大的机遇 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 Google Play和苹果应用商店。正如我们在客户发现过程中观察到的那样，学生们 表示他们采用新学习材料的一个重要因素将来自建议或 他们的讲师要求。因此，我们营销战略中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。