IST students to design K-12 software as part of NSF grant

University Park, Pa. -- As part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, undergraduate Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) students will team up with graduate students in the College of Education next spring to design and build math, science and social studies software for the K-12 market.

Christopher Hoadley, who holds a dual appointment in IST and the College of Education, will oversee the project in his IST 331: Human Computer Interface Design class.

The course, Hoadley said, has two goals: to expose education students to the software development process and to introduce IST students to how people learn and how technology can help people learn.

"Few people are cross trained in computer science and curriculum development, so there are few people who can design educational technology and build it," said Hoadley, an assistant professor. "This course will give education students the ability to prototype educational technology and IST students the chance to see an important application of IT in the education world."

The project is part of NSF's $3.2 million Training and Resources for Assembling Interaction Learning Systems (TRAILS) grant, led by SRI International's Center for Technology in Learning. With Hoadley's class, Penn State joins Stanford University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Drexel University on the project.

Hoadley received $45,000 for his project.

In addition to linking two academic units, Hoadley plans on involving some local high school students on the software development. They will serve as advisers, helping to evaluate the courses' simulations, online tutorials, interactive exhibits and game.