SBIR Phase I: Powers of Minus Ten

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目提出了一个3D交互式应用程序，负十的幂（POMT），为iPhone和PC平台的开发和评估。POMT将被设计为伴随和补充高中科学课程，并提高学生对微观现象的规模和结构的概念。该应用程序的第一阶段版本将教授以遗传学为重点的基本生物学概念。研究目标包括（1）开发准确的3D生物内容，（2）设计有效的游戏和互动机制，以及（3）确保应用程序的商业和教育可行性。该项目将采用迭代设计过程，围绕输入从大一和大二的高中学生在西雅图，华盛顿州。评价将包括形成性和总结性部分。在形成性评估中，研究人员将监测POMT应用程序的吸引力、价值和可用性。应用程序的总结性评价将确定其对遗传学中生物结构的规模和功能的教学效果。由此产生的技术预计将通过参与适合21世纪世纪教育的多功能、独一无二的商业质量应用程序，培养学生对STEM主题的理解和兴奋。目前，教育内容创作者开始为K-12公立学校设计高质量的基于游戏的学习工具是一个关键的市场机会。 Powers of Minus Ten（POMT）将是一个多用途的教育应用程序，能够将各种数量级的科学可视化置于情境中，并展示了STEM对生物学教学的教育价值。大多数科学发现涉及的尺度与人类经验相距甚远，以至于学生和普通大众都无法想象。POMT将使用户能够从人类水平扩展到纳米级，研究自然世界的3D结构和功能。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括：（1）软件的可扩展性，以涵盖其他学科领域的主题，（2）创建新的教育方法，将最新的交互技术和手持设备的使用与传统的讲座和作业结合起来，（3）能够促进对尺度的复杂理解-这种理解不仅是下一代科学家在世界舞台上保持竞争力的先决条件，而且可以帮助建立一个有科学素养的民众。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development and assessment of a 3D-interactive application, Powers of Minus Ten (POMT), for the iPhone and PC platforms. POMT will be designed to accompany and supplement high school science curricula, and improve students' conceptions of the scale and structures of microscopic phenomena. The Phase I version of the application will teach basic biology concepts focusing on genetics. Research objectives include (1) developing accurate 3D biological content, (2) designing effective gameplay and interactivity mechanisms, and (3) ensuring the commercial and educational viability of the application. The project will employ an iterative design process that revolves around input from freshman and sophomore high school students in Seattle, WA. Evaluation will include formative and summative components. In the formative evaluation, the researchers will monitor the appeal, value, and usability of the POMT application. Summative evaluation of the application will determine its efficacy for teaching students about the scale and function of biological structures in genetics. The resulting technology is expected to foster students' understanding and excitement for STEM subject matter through engagement with a versatile, one-of-a- kind, commercial-quality application suitable for 21st century education. Currently, there is a critical market opportunity for educational content creators to begin designing high-quality game-based learning tools for K-12 Public Schools. Powers of Minus Ten (POMT) will be a multipurpose educational application that has the ability to contextualize a wide range of scientific visualizations across orders of magnitude, with demonstrated STEM educational value for Biology instruction. Most scientific discoveries relate to scales so far distant from the human experience that they are inconceivable to students and the general population. POMT will give the user the ability to scale from the human level down to the nanoscale, investigating the 3D structures and functions of the natural world. The broader impacts of this research include (1) the scalability of the software to encompass topics in other subject areas, (2) the creation of new educational methodologies that couple the use of the latest interactive technology and handheld devices with traditional lectures and assignments, and (3) the ability to facilitate a sophisticated understanding of scale - an understanding that is not only a prerequisite for the next generation of scientists to remain competitive on the world stage, but one that can aid in the establishment of a scientifically-literate populace.