My Sports Pulse: Increasing Student Interest in STEM Disciplines through Sports Themes, Games and Mobile Technologies

Abstract

My Sports Pulse is a program designed to promote student achievement and interests in science and math disciplines using sports themed scenarios and celebrity athlete presence delivered over mobile devices to reach the broadest possible audience. The program is set up to pilot in five different geographic locations around the globe, followed by a broader public launch. During the phase one pilot, research questions include the effectiveness of the program in promoting student engagement and interests in math and science. The research data will provide insight into the effectiveness of extrinsic motivators, and their transference to intrinsic motivation using games and simulations toward the study of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. In this paper, we will present the design heuristics and conceptual framework for the My Sports Pulse program.