DIG-IT! Games Awarded Competitive Grant from the National Science Foundation For Learning Analytics
Bethedsa, Maryland (PRWEB) March 15, 2017 -- DIG-IT! Games has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $224,923 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on new approach to transparently capture and report game-based learning (GBL) outcomes that will lead to an improved understanding of the benefits of GBL as an education technology for learning science.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Barry Johnson, Director of the NSF’s Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
Commenting on the NSF SBIR grant, Suzi Wilczynski, CEO of DIG-IT! Games and Principal Investigator on this grant said, “As an industry stakeholder in GBL we have seen the struggles that game developers and educators face with educational games. Educators recognize the value of STEM games in their students’ learning experiences and the potential of using the data collected by digital games to improve students’ learning and create personalized learning environments, but measuring the success is often challenging. This lack of standardized measurement is a major roadblock to wide-scale adoption of GBL. This research aims to solve the reporting problem and increase GBL adoption by researching GBL data patterns to support an industry-wide data format for a common reporting dashboard for stakeholders. Educators and students will benefit and STEM based game adoption will grow once GBL products report using common methodologies and standards. We welcome stakeholders to participate with us on this important research.”
Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $225,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $750,000). Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.
NSF accepts Phase I proposals from small businesses twice annually in June and December. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program undergo a rigorous merit-based review process.
To learn more about the NSF SBIR/STTR program, visit: http://www.nsf.gov/SBIR.
About the National Science Foundation's Small Business Programs: The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards nearly $190 million annually to startups and small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. The non-dilutive grants support research and development (R&D) across almost all areas of science and technology helping companies de-risk technology for commercial success. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $7 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
Stuart Claggett, Dig-It Games LLC, http://www.dig-itgames.com, +1 (703) 980-1188, [email protected]
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