Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), with additional support from the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), GSCA hosted the Setting the Agenda for Giant Screen Research Workshop on October 18, 2013, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The one-day Workshop convened a group of 32 giant screen (GS) stakeholders, immersive practitioners, academic researchers and GS-industry affiliated experts to consider the key issues for a GS research roadmap. The Workshop goals, as outlined in the conference proposal submitted to the
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Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA)Mary Nucci
This report is a product of the Setting the Agenda for Giant Screen Research Workshop held October 18, 2013 in Albuquerque, NM, which grew out of many years of discussions about the potential of the giant screen (GS) format to educate, engage and entertain, and in response to the multiple calls for research on GS films. Over the course of one day, invited participant thought leaders representing GS filmmakers, marketers, exhibitors and distributors joined with immersive practitioners and academic researchers to identify the key research questions for a GS research agenda. However, as the term
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Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA)Mary Nucci
Plum Landing (https://pbskids.org/plumlanding/) is produced by WGBH Educational Foundation (http://wgbh.org), the Public Broadcasting Service affiliate based in Boston, MA. The website, Plum Landing, follows the adventures of an animated space alien, named Plum, after her spaceship crash-lands on Earth. With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Kendeda Fund, and the Northern Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. WGBH worked closely with a panel of science advisors to create an “innovative, environmental science
This is a report of an evaluation of the content and design of the science components of the Education Development Center's TV411 program, conducted by Owen Consulting, Inc. In 2010, EDC received a grant from NSF to reconstruct the TV411 website, produce new science content, including videos and web lessons, improve user interactivity, and develop materials to support adult educators who work with the site's target population of low literacy adults. This report lays out the evaluation design, provides an overview of site web metrics, describes the registered user population discusses the ways
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Education Development CenterEric GraigDavid Owen
This volume explores how technology-supported learning environments can incorporate physical activity and interactive experiences in formal and informal education. It presents cutting-edge research and design work on a new generation of "body-centric" technologies such as wearable body sensors, GPS tracking devices, interactive display surfaces, video game controller devices, and humanlike avatars. Contributors discuss how and why each of these technologies can be used in service of learning within K-12 classrooms and at home, in museums and online. Citing examples of empirical evidence and
This article describes a transmedia learning experience for early school-aged children. The experience represented an effort to transition a primarily television-based series to a primarily web-based series. Children watched new animation, completed online activities designed to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) exploration, and participated in (and reported on) offline activities that required them to investigate real-world phenomena. Children were expected to visit the website every weekday, for four weeks, as part of the experience. A single group pre-post test
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Concord Evaluation GroupJessica AndrewsChristine Paulsen
Sustainable Nano is the a blog created and written by scientists at the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a research center located primarily at universities in the midwest that seeks to advance technological innovations that are safe and sustainable by discovering molecular principles that govern nanoparticle-biological interactions, preparing a new and diverse generation of trans-disciplinary scientists, and engaging the general public.
This report describes a research study conducted by User Experience Research Consulting, Inc. (UXR) contracted by the iSaveSpecies team that would inform the development of online extended engagement conservation activities to bridge and support zoo visitors, onsite experiences with computer-based conservation stations. The study focused on two key concepts: engagement and conservation. Across three phases, researchers investigated visitor attitudes, perceptions, and experiences related to conservation action through the iSaveSpecies system and in their personal lives, and their ideas and
The digital revolution has transformed how young people discover and pursue their interests; how they communicate with and learn from other people; and how they encounter and learn about the world around them. How can we identify best practices for incorporating new media technologies into learning environments in a way that resonates with youth, including their interests, goals, and the ways they use technology in their everyday lives? How do we resolve the need to document and recognize informal STEM learning and connect it to formal education contexts? What strategies can be developed for inspiring and tracking student progress towards the learning goals outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? These questions are the underlying motivation for this CAREER program of research. Digital badges represent a specific kind of networked technology and have been touted as an alternative credentialing system for recognizing and rewarding learning across domains, both inside and outside of formal education contexts. While there is considerable enthusiasm and speculation around the use of digital badges, the extent to which they succeed at empowering learners and connecting their learning across contexts remains largely untested. This project seeks to fill this gap in knowledge. The approach taken for this program of study is a three phased design-based research effort that will be focused on four objectives: (1) identifying design principles and support structures needed to develop and implement a digital badge system that recognizes informal STEM learning; (2) documenting the opportunities and challenges associated with building a digital badge ecosystem that connects informal learning contexts to formal education and employment opportunities; (3) determining whether and how digital badges support learners' STEM identities; and (4) determining whether and how digital badges help learners to connect their informal STEM learning to formal education and employment opportunities. In Phase 1, an existing prototype created in prior work at Seattle's Pacific Science Center will be developed into a fully functional digital badge system. In Phase 2, the PI will also work collaboratively with higher education stakeholders to establish formal mechanisms for recognizing Pacific Science Center badges in higher education contexts. In Phase 3, the badge ecosystem will be expanded and students' use of and engagement with badges will be tracked as they apply to and enter college. The project involves high school students participating in the Discovery Corps program at the Pacific Science Center, undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington, and stakeholders in the K-12 and higher education community in Seattle. Educational activities integrated with this program of research will support: (1) mentoring University of Washington students throughout the project to develop their skills as practice-oriented researchers; (2) incorporating the research processes and findings from the project into university courses aimed at developing students' understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with using new media technologies to support learning; and (3) using the research findings to develop educational outreach initiatives to support other informal STEM learning institutions in their use of digital badges.
This project engages members of racially and economically diverse communities in identifying and carrying out environmental projects that are meaningful to their lives, and adapts technology known as NatureNet to assist them. NatureNet, which encompasses a cell phone app, a multi-user, touch-based tabletop display and a web-based community, was developed with prior NSF support. Core participants involved in programs of the Anacostia Watershed Society in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, and the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve in Charlotte, NC, will work with naturalists, educators, and technology specialists to ask scientific questions and form hypotheses related to urban waterway restoration and preservation of native species. They will then collect and analyze data using NatureNet, requesting changes to the technology to customize it as needed for their projects. Casual visitors to the nature centers will be able to interact with the environmental projects via the tabletop, and those who live farther away will be able to participate more peripherally via the online community. The research project, led by researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park, with collaborators from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and the University of Colorado, Boulder, will provide answers to two questions: 1) How do community-driven informal environmental learning projects impact participants, including their motivation to actively participate in science issues via technology and their disposition toward nature preserves and scientific inquiry? and 2) What are the key factors (e.g., demographic composition of participants, geographical location) that influence the development of community-driven environmental projects? Researchers will gather extensive qualitative and quantitative data to understand how community projects are selected and carried out, how participants approach technology use and adaptation, and how informal learning and engagement on STEM-related issues can be fostered over a period of several months and through iterative project cycles. Data will be collected through motivation questionnaires; focus groups; interviews; tabletop, mobile, and website interaction logs; field notes from participatory design and reflection sessions; and project journals kept by nature preserve staff. Through extensive research, iterative design, and evaluation efforts, researchers will develop an innovative model for community-driven environmental projects that will deepen informal science education by demonstrating how members of diverse communities connect environmental knowledge and scientific inquiry skills to the practices, values, and goals of their communities, and how technology can be used to facilitate such connections.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Tom YehMary Lou MaherJennifer PreeceTamara CleggCarol Boston
This RAPID proposal was submitted in response to the NSF Dear Colleague letter soliciting proposals related to research addressing the Ebola challenge. The PBS NewsHour will produce 8 Television reports and Web coverage of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer and technology experts as they apply their knowledge to tackling the Ebola virus. The programs will be distributed nationally through PBS, the NewsHour website, and multiple social media channels reaching a large national audience. The public needs to be kept informed about the research into Ebola in a way that is understandable to a broad general audience. Current news reports focus primarily on the immediate crisis of the victims and medical personnel while less so on the science of Ebola. The NewsHour programs will instead help people learn about the non-medical, non-clinical care research that can help lead to solutions about Ebola; information that may also be applicable to similar diseases. The videos and web content will show and explain the scientific work being done by some of the leading scientists, engineers, computer experts and big data gatherers. These researchers' stories and work will be told in ways that will be engaging to a large and diverse audience, increasing their knowledge of the scientific, engineering, and mathematical/computer data/modeling work that is critical to solving the Ebola crisis. The PBS NewsHour has significant reach through its nightly national broadcasts, its website, and its large social media following. Over 300 PBS stations broadcast the program each week night reaching 1.4 million people (11% African American and 51% female). The website has 3.8 million unique visitors and there are 575,000 Twitter followers. In addition over 1.5 million registered teachers use the PBS NewsHour educational materials. The videos and transcripts will be consolidated on the NewsHour website where they will exist permanently providing a resource for the public and researchers.
This report summarizes evaluative findings from a project titled “What Curiosity Sounds Like: Discovering, Challenging, and Sharing Scientific Ideas” (a.k.a.: “Discovery Dialogues”). The project, a Full-Scale development project funded by the National Science Foundation as part of its Advancing Informal Science Learning (AISL) program, explored new ways to actively engage both lay and professional audiences, and foster meaningful communication between scientists and the general public. Appendix includes survey and interview questions.