I-Corps: Scaffolding the acquisition and development of computational algorithmic thinking capabilities in formal and informal learning environments

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是双重的。首先，通过将虚拟助理作为促进者、通过设计笔记本整合的脚手架系统以及对学习环境和虚拟环境中的协作交互的支持，该平台有可能提供一个自给自足、自定进度、独立的在线平台，专注于与文化和社会相关的游戏设计，有可能展示和支持数十万目前无法在美国社区内获得这些类型的机会、计划或平台的学习者。其次，该平台有潜力通过其展示工作的能力和其虚拟游戏测试能力来支持学习者群体之间的全球协作，这将允许用户从任何地方就游戏设计给予和接收实质性反馈，从而为其迭代设计提供信息。这个i-Corps项目提出了一个独特的在线平台和支持脚手架，该平台通过支持社会变革的游戏设计来支持学习者，其方式几乎类似于SCAT(支持计算算法思维)项目支持非裔美国中学女孩面对面(DRK-12#1150098)。SCAT及其支架已被证明不仅有效地通过为社会变革设计游戏来帮助非裔美国中学女孩从事计算，而且还有助于改善她们作为批判性思考者和游戏设计师的看法，从而致力于游戏设计或与STEM相关的领域。因此，该平台的核心技术是一个独立的在线平台，通过为社会变革设计和实施游戏(视频或移动)来支撑学习者，并发展他们的计算算法思维能力。它的设计将利用SCAT学习环境中脚手架的负担，包括促进者、设计笔记本和其他学者。该平台将包含几个关键的集成子工具，用于模拟和指导学习者思考他们的设计，建立联系，做出设计决策，收集反馈以告知他们游戏的迭代设计，向他们自己和他们的同行提问，反思他们的经历，并展示他们创造的东西。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project are two-fold. First, by combining virtual assistants as facilitators, an integrated system of scaffolds through the Design Notebook, and support for collaborative interactions both within a learning environment as well as virtually, the platform has the potential to provide a self-contained, self-paced, stand-alone online platform focused on culturally- and socially-relevant game design that has the potential to expose and support hundreds of thousands of learners who do not currently have access to these types of opportunities, programs, or platforms within their communities in the United States. Second, the platform has the potential to support global collaborations between groups of learners through its ability to showcase work and its virtual play-testing capabilities that will allow users to give and receive substantive feedback about the design of a game, and thus inform its iterative design, from anywhere.This I-Corps project proposes a unique online platform with supporting scaffolds, that supports learners through game design for social change virtually in similar ways as the SCAT (Supporting Computational Algorithmic Thinking) project supported African-American middle-school girls face-to-face (DRK-12 #1150098). SCAT and its scaffolds have been shown to be effective not only at helping African-American middle-school girls engage in Computing by designing games for social change, but also in improving their perceptions of themselves as critical thinkers and game designers with an intent to pursue game design or some STEM-related field as a result. As such, the core technology of the platform is a stand-alone online platform that scaffolds learners through designing and implementing games (video or mobile) for social change as well as develops their computational algorithmic thinking capabilities. It will be designed to leverage the affordances of the scaffolding in the SCAT Learning Environment including the facilitator, Design Notebook, and other Scholars. The platform will contain several key integrated sub-tools that model and coach learners as they think through their designs, make connections, make design decisions, collect feedback to inform the iterative design of their games, ask questions of themselves and their peers, reflect on their experiences, and showcase what they have created.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.