SBIR Phase I: Understanding Science Processes Through Modeling and Animation: Efficiently Producing Low-Cost Software Tools for K-12

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目建议开发新一代基于计算机的科学建模工具，使中学生能够深入了解关键的科学过程，如碳循环、风暴移动、能源转换。Animodeler Science Library中的100个‘Animodelers’(动画和建模)的主要特点是：1)它们是轻量级的--易于使用，很容易被教师整合到课程中，只需要很少的计算资源；2)它们使用媒体(图像、声音等)。和动画，以吸引当今的数字儿童；3)相当于一个学年的动画师的成本将约为每个儿童每年3美元。最重要的是，除了在标准的学校电脑上运行外，动漫玩家还将在学生的个人智能手机上运行，从而延长上学时间，并培养孩子们探索互动媒体的内在兴趣。为了开发Animodeler图书馆，第一阶段的一个关键目标是开发一个‘引擎’，能够以非常低的成本大量生产解决重点(微观)科学过程的Animodeler。鉴于《不让一个孩子掉队法案》(NCLB)现在包括科学，必须为K-12学生制定新的教学策略，使他们参与并支撑孩子们对科学的深入和综合理解。美国的科学教育需要重大更新。需要新的教学模式，以满足当今青年的兴趣，解决当今青年的标志--巨大的多样性，并解决当今学校面临的严峻财务挑战。我们认为，Animodeler科学图书馆以非常低的价格提供基于媒体的互动学习，利用我们年轻人已经密切接触的新兴的个人移动通信技术，是科学教育新方法的一个极好的例子。鉴于学校探索我们的图书馆的门槛很低(例如，与国家标准的明确关系、容易的教师整合、固有的学生兴趣和低成本)，有充分的理由预测它在市场上的成功。K-12在改变和采用计算和通信技术方面一直进展缓慢；但带着一种新发现的紧迫感，在K-12终于能够欣赏和接受它们的时候，Animodeler图书馆等创新出现了--这对美国、它的孩子和它的未来来说是一个真正有希望的迹象。“这个奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(Public Law 111-5)资助的。”

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new generation of computer-based science modeling tools that will enable middle schoolers to develop a deep understanding of key science processes e.g, carbon cycle, storm movement, energy conversions. The key features of the 100 'animodelers' (animation & modeling) in the Animodeler Science Library are: 1) they are lightweight - easy to use, easy to integrate by teachers into the curriculum, requiring little computational resources; 2) they employ media (images, sounds, etc.) and animation to engage the digital children of today; and 3) the cost for a school year's worth of animodelers will be approximately $3 per child per year. Most importantly, besides running on standard school computers, animodelers will run on students' personal smartphones thereby extending the school day and building on children's intrinsic interest in exploring interactive media. Towards developing the Animodeler Library, a key Phase I objective is to develop an 'engine' that can churn out, at very low-cost, animodelers that address focused (micro) science processes. Inasmuch as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act now includes science, it is imperative that new instructional strategies be developed for K-12 students develop that engage and scaffold children as they develop a deep and integrated understanding of science.Science education needs a major refresh in America. New models are needed for for teaching and learning that address the interests of today's youth, address the enormous diversity that is a trademark of today's youth, and address the stringent financial challenges of today's schools. In providing media-based interactive learning at a very low price point that leverages the emerging, personal, mobile communications technologies with which our youth are already intimately engaged, the Animodeler Science Library is, we feel, an excellent example of a fresh approach to science education. Given that the barriers for schools to explore our Library are low (e.g., clear relationship to state standards, easy teacher integration, intrinsic student interest, and low cost), there is good reason to project its success in the marketplace. K-12 has been slow to change and adopt computing & communications technologies; but with a newly found sense of urgency, innovations such as the Animodeler Library are coming along at a time when K-12 can finally appreciate and accept them - a truly hopeful sign for America, its children, and its future."This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."