Background

The Ocean Sciences Quiz originated at and was developed by the MIT Sea Grant College Program, to promote ocean literacy and engage students, teachers, and teams worldwide. The game was originally developed by Jessica Lin, an undergraduate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, at MIT.

In 2011, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl leadership team, from the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, started working with MIT to further develop the game. A three-phase series of improvements will be rolled out over late 2011 to early 2013.

NOSB is a national academic competition for high school students interested in marine science. Each, year thousands of students from across the country and U.S. territories compete in buzzer style competition for the opportunity to advance to the national Finals Competition. The top national teams win prizes that send them to exotic marine locations around the world to learn, explore, and have fun. This game is a modified extension of the traditional competition buzzer rounds and is intended to be used for practice, learning, and fun.

OSQ is funded by the National Science Foundation.

What's Next for the OSQ?

Phase I focuses on the player against the clock. Its design and functionality are specific to helping individuals increase their knowledge of the ocean sciences. Individual players can identify and select specific subject area(s) to focus on, and can also pause or stop the game at any point to check progress and comprehension of the material by reviewing the end of game summary. In addition, participants also have the ability to submit their own questions into the game’s database to help expand the game’s breadth and depth.

Phase II, due out in late spring 2012, will take the game to the next level by allowing two players to compete against each other using the same computer. Phase II will have all the same functionalities as Phase I, but the speed and flow of the game will be faster as the players will not only be competing against a clock, but they will be trying to answer more questions correctly then their “competitor.” In this phase, players are not only able to expand their ocean science knowledge, but they can practice their quick response skills for upcoming competitions. Other elements that will be part of Phase II include the ability to select question difficulty, and the opportunity to rate and flag submitted questions within the game.

Phase III, which will be data-tested in 2013, will be developed on a different platform allowing individuals and teams to play each other over the Internet. Phase III will have all the capabilities of Phases I & II, but like the previous iterations it will also include some additional enhancements, such as the ability to identify and connect with other players, and a Leader Board.

We hope you enjoy playing the OSQ and appreciate the unique elements that each phase of development will bring!

The Organizations Behind the OSQ:

MIT Sea Grant runs the Massachusetts regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®). In addition to running the Blue Lobster Bowl, we work directly with students, train teachers and community leaders, and conduct public outreach activities that bring the latest science and technology out of the laboratory and into the hands of students, professionals, and the general public.

The National Sea Grant College Program is a network of 32 programs working to promote the conservation and sustainable development of our marine resources through research, education, and outreach. Sea Grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

© 2012 All Rights Reserved. | Web design by Rachel VanCott
This page is best viewed in Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari.