SBIR Phase I: Teaching Programming from the Browser: A Serious Business with Fun Rewards

The objective of the proposed Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research is to deliver an innovative programming environment via Web-application and to prove the effectiveness of this programming environment. The proposed effort should result in concrete market evidence that: (i) it is possible to deliver content that appeals to educators and students for grades 3-8 that meets stated goals and metrics in the teaching of technology; and (ii) delivery of such content as a Web-application onto typical classroom computers is practical. U.S. schools are faced with the conundrum of having to provide students with an adequate technical background, while having limited time and resources to make such training possible. The commercialization strategy of the research is two-fold: (i) to increase brand awareness and mind-share through the delivery of high-quality, educational content to schools; and (ii) to derive a primary revenue stream from a top-ten destination site for the under-13 demographic that delivers additional, entertaining and constructive activities to children for out-of-school use. All content will be free to users. It is the aim of the proposed research to teach basic programming as part of a fun, creative lesson plans in economics, math, and scientific methods, where both student and teacher see the technology programming activity as within the normal scope of learning. By utilizing the Web as a delivery platform, the research makes technology education accessible to any school or individual with access to the Internet. The proposed research has the opportunity for societal gains in an area that has been identified in numerous recent policy reports as a fast emerging crisis for our nation: educating our children to an appropriate level of technical fluency and properly preparing them for the workforce of the coming decades.