The University established a team of educators, scientists, animators, designers, and technology specialists who:

1. Worked with educators to identify conceptual roadblocks in science education.
2. Identified best practices.
3. Produced rich, interactive media to build upon best practices and improve the learning process.
4. Tested, evaluated and measured new media and how it improves science education.
5. Established the processes others may use to reproduce success in the production of new media for use in the teaching of science.
6. Will share their experiences and findings with others nationally.

The Science Literacy Project not only develops samples of the innovative, rich multimedia science modules which can be a model for future development by others, but also provides deep research into the effect of multimedia, hands-on, game-based learning module contributions on the improvement of science literacy in the K-12 school system.

The initial plan includes five selected scientists and teachers from local schools who are experts in physics, biology, chemistry and math. In addition, included is a team of researchers in cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology, and research design.

The project benefits from the expertise of a faculty advisor from the Computer Science Department at Ball State University who has over twenty years of software development and graphic design experience . The project director, Dr. Nasseh,  has over twenty five years of content development experience.

 In a 2006 Educause Review article written by Richard Van Eck, the Holy Grail model of game-based educational content development is described as a combination of a team of expert teachers and developers. In comparison, the Science Literacy Project utilizes a new model which includes subject-matter experts/teachers, researchers, developers, faculty advisors and a project director. This variety of experience and expertise will surpass the suggested model by Educause in its publication (Educause Review, March/April 2006 "Digital Game-Based Learning" by Richard Van Eck).

Benefits

If the United States is to remain competitive in the global economy, our citizens must not only be literate (in language and science), but also innovative. American society is increasingly dependent upon sophisticated technology. However, only a small fraction of our citizens actually understand that technology. Improvements to science education will help move the economy to the next level, where average citizens have an understanding of scientific and technical principles. The development of new media in science education will help pull us toward that goal. The entertainment industry has taken the concept of "gaming" from the checker board to the rich, interactive gaming media that children enjoy today. The same approach can be applied to science education to pull American youth into fascination with science and scientific discovery.

In addition to the publication, presentation and writing of various articles to share the findings and research results, the team plans to write a book which includes all the processes, experiences, collaborations and partnerships with the educators, teachers and developers.