NYU-POLY PIs Wein, Isbister and Skelton awarded National Science Foundation grant
Published March 28th, 2010
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By Diane Ludin , Carl Skelton , Katherine Isbister and Joel Wein
Professors Wein, Isbister and Skelton collaborated to win a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program. The project will study games for teaching about complex, distributed systems. They will collaborate with Brooklyn College who were simultaneously awarded a Collaborative Research grant.
Abstract:
Complex distributed systems are critical in the modern computing experience, yet many undergraduate computing curricula give students little exposure to the full complexity of these systems. Investigators have developed a prototype gaming environment, called DWORLD, to provide students more realistic experiences with distributed systems. The current project extends the capabilities of this environment. Students compete by addressing a variety of issues in a virtualized distributed system in order to keep the system healthy and operating normally. Game scenarios are designed to enhance student skills and knowledge of key concepts such as scalability, robustness, fault-tolerance and the ability to build a distributed system. Expected outcomes include a software package that can be easily adopted by other faculty and a collection of lab modules and assignments.
The game is being piloted in undergraduate courses at Polytechnic University of New York and CUNY Brooklyn College. Workshops are used to train faculty how and why to use the gaming environment in their courses. As part of a broader context, the project assesses the potential for games as an important tool in STEM education.
