SBIR Phase I: Contagious Disease Modeling Toolkit- Virtual Model Building for Learning

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发、部署和评估一个基于虚拟现实的建模工具包，称为传染病建模(CDM)工具包，它将使学生能够在基于网络的查询框架内构建病毒和细菌的虚拟3-D模型。该系统将使学生能够探索病毒/细菌轨迹、感染方法、公共卫生策略和治疗等基本问题。在模拟虚拟人在家里的活动的基础上(类似于模拟人生游戏，你可以建立一个家庭，定义居民的性格特征，并控制他们的互动)，学生们将创建与传染病相关的模型：感染虚拟人的病毒和细菌模型，对抗病毒和细菌的免疫系统和治疗干预模型，以及制定公共安全建议的行为模型。研究表明，学生不能有效地将讲座、2-D静态图像和对科学现象的文字描述混合在一起。构建虚拟现实模型与内容恰如其分，有助于加深对科学概念的三维本质的理解，以及基于模型的科学的探究技能。Cybernet Systems的这种教学方法和基础技术有可能开辟一种全新的教学模式，这种模式将扩展到许多其他数学、科学和技术领域。市场将包括中学生命科学、高中、本科生和研究生生物学、研究生公共和环境健康，以及包括医学和护理在内的专业医疗相关课程。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop, deploy, and evaluate a virtual reality-based modeling kit, called Contagious Disease Modeling (CDM) Toolkit, which will enable students to build virtual 3-D models of viruses and bacteria within a web-based inquiry framework. This system will enable students to explore fundamental questions of virus/bacteria trajectories, infection methodologies, public health strategies, and treatments. Built on a simulation of virtual people's activity in the home (similar to The Sims game, where one can set up a household, define the character traits of the residents, and control their interactions), students will create models related to infectious diseases: models of viruses and bacteria that will infect the virtual people, models of immune system and treatment interventions that will fight viruses and bacteria, and models of behavior that will enact public safety recommendations. Research has shown that students do not effectively blend lectures, 2-D static images, and textual descriptions of scientific phenomena. Building virtual reality models is the right match for the content and builds deep understanding of the 3-D nature of science concepts and the inquiry skills of model based science. This instructional approach and base technology, by Cybernet Systems, has the potential to open up an entirely new mode of instruction that will be extendable to many other mathematics, science, and technology domains. The market will be middle school life science, high school, undergraduate and graduate biology, graduate public and environmental health, and professional medical-related programs including medicine and nursing.