Research on human–robot interaction has often ignored the human cognitive changes that might occur when humans and robots work together to solve problems. Facilitating human–robot collaboration will require understanding how the collaboration functions system-wide. The authors present detailed examples drawn from a study of children and an autonomous rover, and examine how children’s beliefs can guide the way they interact with and learn about the robot. The data suggest that better collaboration might require that robots be designed to maximize their relationship potential with specific users
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is researching and testing an experimental, short-format television broadcast and Web project entitled "Science InSight." The goal of this experimental research is to determine if short-format television segments can successfully increase Americans' understanding of -- and interest in -- new research in science and technology and, if they can, which of several possible formats is likely to be most successful. During this research and development phase, WNET will test the viability of the project model and develop and refine the model for use in a selected group of media venues such as the forthcoming PBS weekly public affairs program,"Public Square." The specific activities to be undertaken in the research phase include: -assembling an expert board of up to six advisors with expertise in science, science journalism and media; -producing three, experimental, short-format, "program concept" video segments of varying lengths for use as science information pieces in other media programs; -conducting formal and informal testing and evaluation of these test formats for appeal, credibility, clarity and comprehensibility of style and content; and -identifying additional key potential distribution partners from television media, print, Web and science centers outlets.
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative evaluation of the second season of NOVA scienceNOW, the PBS series that explores cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation in real time. (GRG also served as the external evaluator for NOVA scienceNOW during Season One). In addition to the television series, WGBH-TV developed a companion website, a series of high school classroom activities, and a Science Cafe outreach initiative, designed to discuss, in non-academic environments, the latest developments in science. The Season Two evaluation included: 1) a viewer study
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative evaluation of the first season of NOVA scienceNOW, the PBS series that explores cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation in real time. The evaluation included two primary components: 1) an evaluation of the television series, and 2) an evaluation of the outreach, which consisted of a companion website and a series of Science Cafes hosted around the country. GRG's evaluation was designed to assess the project's effectiveness in meeting its overall goal of engaging a variety of audiences more deeply with scientific research in
In MIT’s NSF-funded Terrascope Youth Radio (TYR) program, urban youth, many from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences, worked as paid interns who received training in radio production, reporting and writing stories with scientific content and audio storytelling to create environmentally oriented audio pieces that were engaging and relevant to their own and their peers’ lives. Teen interns participated between July 2008 and Autumn 2012. TYR’s goals were to improve a broad audience of teens’ engagement with, knowledge of, and attitudes about science, technology, engineering, and
In this report, noted scholar James Paul Gee discusses the evolution of digital media and learning (DMAL) from its infancy as an ""academic area"" into a more organized field or coherent discipline. Distinguishing among academic areas, fields, disciplinary specializations, and thematic disciplines, Gee describes other academic areas that have fallen into these categories or developed into established disciplines. He argues that DMAL will not evolve until a real coherence develops through collaboration and the accumulation of shared knowledge. Gee offers a concrete proposal of one way scholars
As today’s policy challenges become more complex, it has become clear that American media—online news, television, radio, newspapers, and magazines—are not up to the task of explaining the problems underlying them or providing citizens with all the information they need to engage in public conversations about them. Democracy cannot function properly without those conversations. But one new medium—videogames—may well fill the gap. By their very nature, videogames can engage players in ways that enable players to make their way through the intricacies of policy problems. As players begin to
Poster on NSF grant DRL-1132393 (Cyberlearning Research Summit 2012: Imagining the Future of Learning, Systems, People, and Technology) from the 2012 ISE PI Meeting.
Poster on NSF grant DRL-1114663 (3D Visualization Tools For Enhancing Awareness, Understanding, And Stewardship Of Freshwater Ecosystems) from the 2012 ISE PI Meeting.
Poster on NSF grant DRL-1114655 (""Investigating An Intelligent Cyberlearning System For Interactive Museum-based Sustainability Modeling"") from the 2012 ISE PI Meeting.
Presentation on the evaluation of NSF grant DRL-0917640 (The Energy Project) presented at the CAISE Convening on Sustainability Science and Informal Science Education, February 6th, 2012.