This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project is designed to develop interactive, Internet-delivered educational television technology. The proposed research will use intelligent tutoring system (ITS) technology integrated with animation to create educational programming for middle school math and science that makes the viewer an actual part of the TV plotline. Through viewer interactions and dialog with the TV characters, the viewer's mastery of the subject matter will be assessed and the program events will unfold accordingly. Customized instruction will be presented to the viewer dynamically by the TV characters. This research will involve the development of a pilot detective TV show and test its educational effectiveness in three school districts, by comparing it to a similar version of the show without interactivity. The broad impact of the proposed research is to create web-based interactive television technology that allows viewers to participate in the unfolding of the TV program and influence the events that happen. Additionally, this development will enhance current educational television practice and will create two potential commercial opportunities: as a pure entertainment venture in the field of educational TV and as a complement to the current fully-automated online tutoring services. This type of interactive TV can serve as an entertaining way to learn as well as show how academic content is used in real world contexts. If successful, the proposed research would help raise educational achievement as well as stimulate interest in math and science by making the learning process more enjoyable.
