CAREER: Smarter Educational Software through Sketch Recognition

在许多技术学科中，从电气工程到机械工程，传达思想的最简单、最直接的方法就是画一幅画。当图表与计算机模拟程序相结合时，它们在教育中尤其强大，因为与纸不同，模拟程序允许学生探索物理系统的行为，如电路或机械设备。不幸的是，这些程序的鼠标和键盘界面阻碍了学生自由绘制图表，迫使他们不断地参考菜单来选择图表的各个部分。在计算机上绘图的硬件是存在的，瓶颈是计算机不能理解图形。PI的中心研究目标是构建和部署能够理解学生手绘图形的计算机模拟工具。由于两个原因，自由草图识别研究的结果还不能整合到最终用户的应用程序中。首先，自由草图识别功能不够强大，无法整合到有用的工具中。其次，人们对如何构建包含自由草图识别的可用界面知之甚少。这项工作将通过关注自由草图识别技术在本科工程设计中的应用来弥合自由草图识别技术与其最终用户之间的差距。这项工作的成果将是改进的自由草图识别技术，将自由草图识别纳入可用界面的指导方针，以及基于草图的教育模拟工具。该项目还包括一个重要的推广部分，旨在建立一个教育和技术研究人员社区，具有评估这些学习工具的有效性所需的综合专门知识。该研究项目直接支持国际和平协会的教育目标，即增加使用和开发技术的学生的数量和多样性。首先，能够理解手绘图表的技术将为学生提供更熟悉的模拟程序界面，降低在课堂上使用技术的门槛，特别是对于计算机经验较少的学生，包括女性和代表人数较少的少数族裔。其次，这项研究将在哈维马德学院进行，这是一所专门的本科生机构。学院规模较小，师生比例较低(1：9)，这将使PI能够与本科生密切合作，向他们传授进行研究的基础知识，并为许多人的研究生工作做好准备。

n many technical disciplines, from electrical to mechanical engineering, the simplest and most straightforward way to communicate an idea is to draw a picture. Diagrams are particularly powerful in education when they are combined with computer simulation programs because, unlike paper, simulation programs allow students to explore the behavior of a physical system, such as a circuit or a mechanical device. Unfortunately, the mouse and keyboard interface to these programs prevent students from drawing their diagrams freely, forcing them continually to consult menus to choose pieces of the diagram. The hardware to draw on the computer exists; the bottleneck is the computer's inability to understand diagrams.The PI's central research goal is to construct and deploy computer simulation tools capable of understanding students' hand-drawn diagrams. The results of free-sketch recognition research cannot yetbe incorporated into end-user applications for two reasons. First, free-sketch recognition is not sufficiently robust to incorporate into useful tools. Second, little is known about how to build usable interfaces that incorporate free-sketch recognition.This work will bridge the gap between free-sketch recognition technology and its end-users by focusing on its application to undergraduate engineering design. The outcome of this work will be improved techniques for free-sketch recognition, guidelines for incorporating free-sketch recognition into usable interfaces, and educational sketch-based simulation tools. This project also includes a significant outreach component aimed at establishing a community of educational and technological researchers with the combined expertise necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools on learning.This research project directly supports the PI's educational goal of increasing the number and diversity of students who use and who develop technology. First, technology that can understand hand-drawn diagrams will provide students with a more familiar interface to simulation programs, lowering the barrier to using technology in the classroom, particularly for students with less computer experience including women and underrepresented minorities. Second, this research will be performed at Harvey Mudd College, an exclusively undergraduate institution. The small size of the college and low faculty to student ratio (1:9) will enable the PI to work closely with undergraduates, teaching them the basics of performing research and preparing many for graduate work.