< https://www.helixcommunity.org/2003/grants/ >

1. Participatory simulations_
Role-playing activities have traditionally been used in social studies classrooms, but have infrequently been used in science and mathematics classrooms. Our use of the term participatory simulations is intended to refer to such role-playing activities used primarily in science and mathematics classrooms to explore how complex dynamic systems evolve over time. For example, each class member could play the role of a predator or prey in an ecology and engage in a class swide discussion of the resultant global population dynamics. A wide ranging set of sample content areas for participatory simulations include the spread of a disease, the flow of traffic in a grid, the distribution of goods in an inventory system, the diffusion of molecules through a membrane, or the emergence of an algebraic function from a set of points.

Discussed examples: participatory geometry; Disaster management; Location Team training; Ubiquitous games (i.e. physical Monopoly, SimCity).

Related links: (1) http://ccl.sesp.northwestern.edu/ps/ ;
(2) http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~vanessa/part-sims/ ;
(3) http://education.mit.edu/pda/
(4) http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Urban-Studies-and-Planning/11-127Computer-Modeling-for-Investigation-and-EducationSpring2003/CourseHome/index.htm
(5) http://www.palmgrants.sri.com/ideabank.html

2. Data-logging / Extended Notepad_
Using the mobile as an extended notepad to record data to be used into a virtual world and vice-versa from the virtual world to bring data out into the physical side for supporting human activities.

Discussed examples: remote machine repairing; class field trip.

3. Collaborative movement learning_
Our goal is to understand the richness of human movement coordination. We survey situations in which people develop and coordinate complex motions in order to enact fluid, graceful movements for aesthetic and functional results. We address movement in different contexts and at different spatial and temporal scales ñ from fine-motor to gross-motor, involving fingers and hands to whole-body movements, and from simpler to more complex, requiring shorter or longer periods of time to both learn and perform the actions. We focus on situations in which people and objects come together, and we create new movement-based objects and contexts for their use.

Discussed examples: support sport, dance, or every group interaction which requires spatial coordination.