Design and Programming (Digispired i and ii)
Project Period: January 2006 – December 2012
Target Audience: Middle and High School Students
Funding Source: National Science Foundation ITEST Grant
Funding Amount: $1,940,793
Eighty-five middle school students will develop critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and communication skills by participating in game design and robotics activities. Students attend workshops for two weeks in the summer and eight to ten Saturdays in the fall and spring. After exploring Kahootz, Squeak, and Alice, students worked with Flash until December 2009. Digispired ii, funded by the NSF in 2010 for three years, will work with 65 high school student to design, develop, implement, and evaluate activities that integrate STEM principles using electronic technologies and software applications to prepare them to pursue STEM fields and careers.
Digispired ii will also work with 30 K-12 teachers in learning, creating and integrating game-based instructional modules on STEM careers exploration as well as learning about emerging STEM fields.
Related Resources
Videos: LilyPad Projects, Alice Tutorials
Articles: Alice Workshop, Digispired ii, ODU Visit, WiiSTEM Teacher Academy, Summer Academy, ITTIP Summer 2012 Newsletter, ITTIP November 2012 Newsletter, ITTIP December 2012/January 2013 Newsletter, STEM Learning Games and Game Design in iTest Projects (STELAR publication)
Website: Digispired
Lessons: Alice, Scratch