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BALTIMORE, Md., April 21, 2008 – Educators someday soon will be able take the “learning can be fun” adage to a new level by meeting students on computer-simulation game platforms with new technology created by innovators at NASA and a yet-to-be-selected game developer.

NASA Learning Technologies* (LT) sponsored a workshop today to present its concept of delivering NASA content through a Massively Multiplayer Online* (MMO) educational game to interested development partners. Designed to enhance learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), such an online educational game would draw players into a synthetic environment that can serve as a powerful “hands-on” tool for teaching a range of complex subjects.

Dr. Daniel Laughlin, NASA LT project manager, said MMOs help players develop and exercise a skill set closely matching the thinking, planning, learning, and technical skills increasingly in demand by employers. These skills include strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team building and cooperation, and adaptation to rapid change.

“Research and development are at the core of the LT mission,” Laughlin said. “NASA expects this MMO will empower students to make educational choices that will take them into STEM fields of study and eventually careers needed to support NASA’s mission.”

NASA’s LT project office is collaborating with the Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in developing the project’s business strategy, which includes a formal request for proposals (RFP) for development partners and planning for today’s workshop.  

“Our office works hard to achieve successful partnerships that provide value to NASA and beyond to support new businesses, economic growth, collaborative research, and further discovery,” said Nona Cheeks, chief of Goddard’s IPP Office. The IPP Office acts as a matchmaker between NASA and commercial businesses, research institutions, and other government laboratories to form mutually beneficial collaborative research, licensing, and other innovative agreements.

The daylong workshop provided more than 200 potential development partners the opportunity to learn directly from NASA officials about the vision, goals, and expectations for the development of this MMO Educational Game. Participants heard top NASA scientists and education officials speak about NASA’s vision for space exploration and how the Agency is planning to leverage an MMO educational game to enhance STEM education efforts across the nation. Sessions underscored the importance of stimulating STEM, the value of NASA partnerships to the U.S. economy, and information about current and future science missions.  Participants at the workshop were also provided with the opportunity to register for one-on-one private briefing sessions with NASA officials to discuss specific questions about the RFP.

The power of games as educational tools is rapidly gaining recognition. Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations could permit learners to experiment with chemical reactions in living cells, practice operating and repairing expensive equipment, and experience microgravity, making it easier to grasp complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical problems. NASA’s MMO educational game will function as a persistent, synthetic environment supporting education as a laboratory, a massive visualization tool, and collaborative workspace that simultaneously draws students into a challenging game-play immersion.

NASA LT said the MMO should appeal mainly to teenagers, ranging from middle-schoolers through high-school and college students.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which is just outside of Washington, D.C., is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. The Center manages many of NASA’s Earth observation, astronomy, and space physics missions. LT projects support and enhance formal and informal education in STEM fields.

Contact us today:
techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov
(301) 286-5810

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