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SBIR Phase I: Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit - Virtual Modeling for Learning

Award Information
Agency: National Science Foundation
Branch: N/A
Contract: 0232158
Agency Tracking Number: 0232158
Amount: $99,714.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N/A
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: N/A
Award Year: 2003
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): N/A
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
727 Airport Boulevard
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
United States
DUNS: N/A
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Charles Cohen
 () -
Business Contact
Phone: () -
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides a plan to develop, deploy, and evaluate a virtual reality-based modeling kit that will enable students to build virtual models of gorilla motion and social interaction within a web-based inquiry framework. Using the Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit, students will build virtual models within the context of answering questions about gorilla behavior. The modeling possible with the virtual environment the investigator is proposing, which is quantitative/logical in its underlying operation, can help students move beyond the purely descriptive to an understanding of the relationships between relevant variables. Virtual reality is an environment that is uniquely suited for the dynamic nature of 3-D gorilla motion. Research has shown that students do not effectively blend lectures, 2-D static images, and textual descriptions of scientific phenomena. Building virtual reality models provides the right match for the content and builds deep understanding of the 3-D nature of science concepts and the inquiry skills of model-based science. Thus, the investigator will develop the Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit as representing an exciting learning environment, which uses the power of cyberspace to learn about gorilla space.

The market for the project for this immediate version of the software will be other zoo educational programs, middle school life science, high school biology, and university freshman-level animal behavior survey courses.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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