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VENOMSQUAD: BUILDING SKILLS AND INTEREST IN STEM WITH COLLABORATIVE AUGMENTED REALITY - AMERICAN STUDENTS PERFORM AT A LOWER LEVEL AND EXPRESS LESS INTEREST IN STEM THAN STUDENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES (FAYER ET AL., 2017). ADDITIONALLY, WOMEN, BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC), AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AS BOTH STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS IN STEM FIELDS (ROTERMUND & BURKE, 2021; HAMRICK, 2021). TO ADDRESS THE DIRE NEED TO PREPARE STUDENTS WITH KEY SKILLS LIKE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION, AND INCREASE INTEREST IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE CAREERS ESPECIALLY AMONG BIPOC, KILLER SNAILS, A SCIENCE-FOCUSED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, WILL CREATE VENOMSQUAD, AN AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR 6-8TH GRADE. WE WILL FOSTER AN INTEREST IN STEM AND FUTURE CAREERS BY CREATING AN AR EXPERIENCE USING MOBILE PHONES WHERE STUDENTS TAKE ON ROLES AS SCIENTISTS WORKING COLLABORATIVELY IN TEAMS TO UNDERSTAND HOW VENOM CAN BE USED TO MAKE THERAPEUTIC DRUGS. VENOMSQUAD WILL BE A 5-DAY CURRICULUM SUPPLEMENT THAT COMBINES AR GAME PLAY, AN INTERACTIVE WEB-BASED DIGITAL SCIENCE JOURNAL THAT REFLECTS STUDENT INTERACTIONS, AND AN INNOVATIVE ASSESSMENT DASHBOARD FOR EDUCATORS WHICH HIGHLIGHTS STUDENT COLLABORATION ACROSS PLATFORMS. IN VENOMSQUAD STUDENTS WILL TAKE ON ROLES OF SCIENTISTS COLLABORATIVELY SOLVING A REAL-WORLD PROBLEM: FINDING NEW, NON-ADDICTIVE PAIN THERAPIES BASED ON THE VENOM OF EXTREME CREATURES LIKE SNAKES AND CONE SNAILS. WHILE THE CONTENT WE PROPOSE FOR VENOMSQUAD IS UNIQUE, THE UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY AND PRINCIPLES OF MULTIMEDIA DESIGN FOR LEARNING ARE GENERALIZABLE TO OTHER CONTENT AREAS. VENOMSQUAD HAS THREE INNOVATIVE FEATURES: (1)TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN COLLABORATIVE MOBILE AR. THE CREATION OF VENOMSQUAD WILL REQUIRE NEW TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS (ADDRESSING BANDWIDTH, LATENCY, LOSS OF CONNECTION) TO ENSURE A HIGH LEVEL OF COLLABORATION FOR THE STUDENT TEAMS USING AR. (2)MULTIPLAYER DESIGN ENGINE. THE PROPRIETARY DESIGN ENGINE POWERING THE DIGITAL SCIENCE JOURNAL ENABLES COLLABORATIVE BEHAVIORS LIKE COMMUNICATION AND SHARING RESOURCES BETWEEN STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT INFORMATION BASED ON THEIR ROLES, WHILE MAINTAINING COMMON GROUND WITHIN THE GROUP. (3)EDUCATOR DASHBOARD OPTIMIZED FOR TIMELY, CONTEXTUAL FEEDBACK. WE WILL CREATE AN EDUCATOR DASHBOARD TO DISPLAY ACTIONABLE LEARNING ANALYTICS DRAWN FROM QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUAL STUDENT WORK AND COLLABORATIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS IN THE DIGITAL SCIENCE JOURNAL AND THE AR SCENES. THIS DISPLAY WILL HIGHLIGHT EVIDENCE OF SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION OR THE NEED FOR SUPPORT FROM THE EDUCATOR. THIS FEATURE OF THE DASHBOARD WILL HELP EDUCATORS ASSESS EACH STUDENT AND GROUP’S AR AND DIGITAL EXPERIENCE, ADDRESSING PAIN POINTS FOR EDUCATORS USING COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES IN CLASSROOM SETTINGS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE FEATURES ENSURE VENOMSQUAD WILL BE UNLIKE EXISTING LIFE/PHYSICAL SCIENCE MATERIALS ON THE MARKET AND WILL CREATE A NICHE IN WHICH KILLER SNAILS CAN GROW. OUR ITERATIVE APPROACH TO THE DESIGN AND TESTING OF VENOMSQUAD WILL EXAMINE HOW THESE FEATURES CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES. OUR EVALUATION PARTNER WESTED WILL CONDUCT AN RCT EXAMINING THE EXTENT TO WHICH VENOMSQUAD CAN AFFECT STUDENTS’ USE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES, ESPECIALLY ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY COLLABORATE, AND INTEREST IN STEM CAREERS, AND EDUCATORS’ ABILITY TO MONITOR AND SUPPORT STUDENTS DURING COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITIES.

TEACHING HUMAN HEALTH AND WATER STEWARDSHIP USING EXTENDED REALITY

FLU FINDERS: DATA LITERACY THROUGH WASTEWATER MONITORING - TO PREPARE FOR CHALLENGES IN THE BIOMEDICAL FIELD, STUDENTS MUST BE DATA-LITERATE. AMERICAN STUDENTS’ UNDERPERFORMANCE IN STEM FIELDS, AND THE LIMITING EFFECT THAT HAS ON THE STEM WORKFORCE INCLUDING ROLES IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE, IS AN ONGOING CONCERN (SASS, 2015; ROSENZWEIG ET AL., 2021). PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING, WHICH EMPHASIZES AUTHENTIC PROBLEM-SOLVING, IS ONE FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD THAT HAS BEEN EFFECTIVE AT BUILDING DATA LITERACY SKILLS AND IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT, BUT IS ALSO TIME-CONSUMING AND CHALLENGING TO IMPLEMENT (FRIEDRICH ET AL., 2024; MERRITT ET AL., 2017). BUILDING TOOLS THAT HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP THE SKILLS TO NAVIGATE A DATA-CENTRIC WORLD AND SEE THE VALUE OF SCIENCE IN THEIR LIVES, WHILE ENABLING EDUCATORS TO RESPOND TO THEIR STUDENTS’ NEEDS, WOULD HELP ADDRESS THIS CRITICAL ISSUE. THIS SBIR PHASE I & II AWARD WILL ENABLE KILLER SNAILS LLC TO DEVELOP A MULTIMODAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE, FLU FINDERS, THAT USES A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING FRAMEWORK TO DELIVER NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS-ALIGNED CONTENT TO STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-10. KILLER SNAILS WILL COLLABORATE WITH VIROLOGIST DR. JOHN DENNEHY TO CREATE 5 CLASS PERIOD-LENGTH CHALLENGES ABOUT MONITORING THE SPREAD OF FLU IN A COMMUNITY BY INTERPRETING DATA FROM SOURCES INCLUDING WASTEWATER AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES. DR. DENNEHY IS AN EXPERT AND INNOVATOR IN THE FIELD OF USING RNA SEQUENCING ON SAMPLES OF WASTEWATER TO MONITOR VIRAL DISEASES, AN IMPACTFUL, SURPRISING, AND DATA-DRIVEN FIELD THAT FORMS THE BASIS OF THE FLU FINDERS NARRATIVE. FLU FINDERS WILL LEVERAGE THE FEATURES OF AN INTERACTIVE, PERSONALIZED WEBSITE TO SUPPORT A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING CURRICULUM, ALLOWING STUDENTS TO BUILD DATA LITERACY, DIGITAL FLUENCY, AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS THAT ARE CRITICAL THROUGHOUT STEM SUBJECT AREAS. FLU FINDERS WILL ALSO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK WITH A REAL-TIME EDUCATOR DASHBOARD THAT SUMMARIZES STUDENT ACTIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS ACTIONABLE STEPS TO SUPPORT BUILDING NEW SKILLS. THIS APPROACH WILL ADDRESS ISSUES OF SCALABILITY THAT MAKE PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING LESS LIKELY TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN CLASSROOMS. FLU FINDERS HAS THREE INNOVATIVE FEATURES: (1) INTERACTIVE DATA VISUALIZATION BUILDER TO ENABLE STUDENTS TO EXPLORE THE DATA COLLECTED IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND POWER THEIR INFERENCES AND DECISION-MAKING (2) COLLABORATIVE INTERFACE TO ENABLE STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE ON A FINAL PRESENTATION, USING A PROPRIETARY DESIGN STRUCTURED TO SUPPORT SHARING THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND EVIDENCE-BASED REASONING. (3) REAL-TIME EDUCATOR DASHBOARD OPTIMIZED FOR PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO HIGHLIGHT PROGRESS AND DIAGNOSTIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TAILORED, TIMELY, CONTEXTUAL EDUCATOR FEEDBACK. THE DASHBOARD WILL DISPLAY ACTIONABLE LEARNING ANALYTICS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENT WORK AND THE COLLABORATIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS. THE DASHBOARD WILL HIGHLIGHT EVIDENCE OF DATA LITERACY SKILLS, OR THE NEED FOR SUPPORT FROM THE EDUCATOR. OUR INNOVATIVE FEATURES WILL BE ITERATIVELY TESTED TO EXAMINE HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS' LEARNING. OUR EVALUATORS, MARCY PEAK LLC, WILL CONDUCT A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL INVESTIGATING THE EXTENT TO WHICH FLU FINDERS INFLUENCED STUDENTS’ CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, DATA LITERACY, DIGITAL FLUENCY, AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, AND SUBJECTIVE VALUE OF SCIENCE, AS WELL AS EDUCATORS’ ABILITY TO MONITOR AND SUPPORT STUDENTS DURING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES. FLU FINDERS’ INTEGRATED NARRATIVE, CURRICULUM, AND DIGITAL PLATFORM WILL MEET THE DATA-CENTRIC NEEDS OF SCIENCE LEARNERS AND EDUCATORS.

DOMESTIC WATER GRANTS - REGULAR

DOMESTIC WATER GRANTS - REGULAR

SBIR PHASE II: LEARNING FROM NATURE: MARINE EDUCATIONAL GAMES WITH BIG IDEAS (INNOVATIVE DIFFERENTIATED EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS IN SCIENCE)

VALUE- ADDED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND DUE TO COVID-19 CLOSURE

PART 2 OF HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

HEERF II - GRANT FUNDS TO STUDENTS

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND TO HELP STUDENTS WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO COVID-19.

SBIR PHASE I: LEARNING FROM NATURE - MARINE EDUCATIONAL GAMES THAT ASSESS SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER THROUGH GAME PLAY

SCALABLE DEEPONETS FOR DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF ENGINEERING SYSTEMS

CRRSAA/HEERF II FUNDING: STUDENT ALLOCATION

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND TO HELP STUDENTS WITH EXPENSES RELATED TO THE DISRUPTIONS OF CAMPUS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS.

TO BE ABLE TO FUND INSTITUTIONAL EXPENSES OF ONLINE EDUCATION DUE TO THE INTERRUPTION OF ON SITE CLASSES DUE TO COVID-19

CARES ACT: HEERF FUNDS- INSTITUTIONAL ALLOCATION

CARES ACT- HERFF FUNDS

STUDENT AID TO ASSIST WITH CONNECTIONS DURING COVID-19

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - IHE/INSTITUTION

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

REAP RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM (RES) GRANT UNRESTRICTED AMOUNT

HEERF FUNDS II FOR STUDENTS

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND TO ENSURE ALL NEEDED IN DISTANCE EDUCATION IS AVAILABLE FOR THE SCHOOL

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS TO ENSURE THE SCHOOL HAS ALL NECESSARY IT AND OTHER PROGRAMS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION MOVING FORWARD.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

THIS GRANT SUPPORTS THE COSTS INCURRED TO IMPLEMENT MEASURES TO RESPOND TO THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS 2019 (COVID-19), WHICH MAY INCLUDE WORKPLACE SAFETY, MARKET PIVOTS, RETROFITTING FACILITIES, TRANSPORTATION, WORKER HOUSING, AND MEDICAL EXPENSES. IT PROVIDES NEEDED RELIEF TO THE FOOD PROCESSORS, DISTRIBUTORS, FARMERS MARKETS, AND PRODUCERS FOR THEIR COSTS INCURRED BETWEEN JANUARY 27, 2020, THE DATE UPON WHICH THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE (HHS) UNDER SECTION 319 OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, AND DECEMBER 31, 2021. BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE EMPLOYEES OF THE FOOD PROCESSORS, DISTRIBUTORS, FARMERS MARKETS, AND PRODUCERS.

TOP NAILS AND HAIR BEAUTY SCHOOL: CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND GRANT

TOP NAILS AND HAIR BEAUTY SCHOOL: CARES ACT EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT

REAP RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM (RES) GRANT UNRESTRICTED AMOUNT - IRA 24/31