Our Crowdfunding Groups
US higher education continues to suffer in science and engineering related fields compared to other developed countries. Yet the world we live in is becoming increasingly reliant on complex technology and innovations.
According to the National Math and Science Initiative, just 36 percent of U.S. high school students were ready for college-level science (2013 study). In stark contrast, by 2018 a staggering 92 percent of traditional STEM jobs will be for those with at least some post-secondary education and training.
The U.S. education system needs to offset this trend and prepare more middle and high school students for STEM fields of study.
We think our program for middle and high school students, which incorporates gaming and smartphone technologies, addresses this issue by bringing the classrooms to life; creating an environment that enables engaged students to discover and learn science more effectively.
The Ozcan Research Group at UCLA is developing a web-based learning platform for Global Health Education that integrates video lectures and interactive curricula to instruct middle and high school students on global health problems. This innovative learning platform will blend engaging video games simulations for disease diagnosis, as well as educational experiments with portable smartphone-based digital microscopes.
The UCLA Community School is a unique partnership among the Los Angeles Unified School District, University of California, Los Angeles, and local community-based organizations which is reshaping the way we think about public education.
Help us jumpstart our first-ever U.S. School pilot program at the UCLA Community School, empowering our children to have a better understanding of modern health challenges, learn of potential solutions and develop a passion for science and technology fields.
The Ozcan Research Lab will work with a biology teacher from the UCLA Community School to adapt its Global Health Education Platform to the needs of the UCLA Community School’s students and to integrate it into the biology curriculum currently being taught at the school.
The platform’s user interface will be upgraded, its video content customized and expanded and the student performance evaluations modules redesigned. The updated Global Health Education Program will take into account the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for California Public Schools.
The Ozcan Research Group is in the forefront of microscopy. We plan to expand the Global Health Education Program by designing educational modules around smartphone-based microscopes developed in our Research Group.
The Global Health Education Program will allow the students at the UCLA Community School to get access to a set of these microscopes, engage in hands on research and discover the microscopic world around us. The microscopes consist of a smartphone and a clever 3D printed smartphone attachment that together form an imaging system comparable with traditional microscopes, but portable and in most cases less expensive.
Every microscope will include:
As part of our educational program, we plan to recruit and train UCLA students to act as Educational Assistants to work with the UCLA Community School and, potentially, provide in-person demos and teaching sessions.
In October of 2015, the Ozcan Research Group collaborated with the Korea Youth Work Agency operated by the Korean government to teach 1,660 middle and high school students in Korea about global health problems and how to use innovative technologies to identify malaria.
For this effort, the Ozcan Research Group developed a first version of the online Global Health Education platform which included eight educational sessions focused on specific aspects of global health, partially based on the Millennium Development Goals announced by the UN in the year 2000. Each session starts with a short lecture and quiz about the video topic and ends with a video game that trains students to diagnose red blood cells for malaria.
BioGames, the malaria diagnosis training game developed by the Ozcan Research Group, allows students to view hundreds of images of single red blood cells and select which of them show signs of malaria. The students learn quickly how to diagnose blood cells as malaria positive, negative, or questionable.
The results that we obtained during the program rollout were truly remarkable.
Middle school students trained by the BioGames platform on average would perform close to or better than the trained clinicians we have asked to perform the same malaria classification game. Importantly after the conclusion of the program, the overwhelming majority of the students expressed increased interest in international relief, global-health, volunteer activities and STEM fields.
As you can imagine, bringing this innovative global health education pilot program to the UCLA Community School will have costs and we need your help to make this important program possible.
Here's the breakdown of what your gifts will support:
We know it’s going to take all of us to bring this to our community and achieve our goals -- so we’ve laid out a handy-dandy roadmap to help us get there!
Without you our pilot program will not be possible. Please consider a tax-deductible gift and join our Ozcan Lab team in support of our Global Health Education Program!
Thank you for your gift! Your helps us build our platform, leading to improvements in STEM education and empowering kids to choose career opportunities in science and technology. In honor of your generous contribution, we’d like to thank you by offering cool perks and describing the direct impact your gift has made on your project. Check them out below:
For gifts at the $25 Level - Our Exclusive Campaign T-Shirt!
For gifts $50 and over - The Urban Science Kit!
You’ll get a super neat iPhone camera attachment that has 3 HD lenses (Fisheye, Super-wide, and our personal favorite, a MACRO lens). (A $45 tax deductible gift) Additionally, you'll receive a PDF copy of the National History Museum of Los Angeles' Citizen Science Initiative, where you are working directly with the National History Museum Scientists to help document, study and identify our local wildlife -- from our native butterflies (ButterflySCAN) to mapping our squirrel and ladybug populations!
For gifts $100 and over, you’ll receive both the Urban Science Kit AND our super neat-o shirt!
Finally, please don’t forget to also share our campaign with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #GlobalHealthEdu! We’ll be sure to give you a shout out!
Your gift helps us in our goal to upgrade, adapt and expand the Global Health Education Program, and develop Microscopy Educational Modules. Our way of thanking you: Shout out on Twitter!
Thank you for your gift! We'd like to thank you by sending you our cool Lab t-shirt perk! We will also give you thank you shout out on Facebook! (A $15 tax deductible gift).
Your gift of $50 gets us one step closer to developing the Microscopy Educational Modules for our Global Health Education Program with the UCLA Community School teacher. To thank you, we are excited to send you our very cool URBAN SCIENCE KIT, which includes: One (1) Multi-Lens HD Clip-On Smartphone Camera Kit, One (1) Citizen's Science Activity Kit, This would make a great gift for your young scientist in the family! We'll also give you a shout out on Twitter! (A $45 tax deductible gift).
Thank you for your gift -- your support means so much to us! For your generosity, we'd like to send you both our Lab t-shirt and our Urban Science Kit! (a $85 tax deductible gift).
Your gift helps us support one UCLA student working as an Educational Assistant with the UCLA Community School! We'd like to thank you by sending you two Urban Science Kits and a Lab t-shirt! We'll also give you a thank you shout out on Facebook and twitter! (A $230 tax deductible gift).
With your gift at $250, you support two UCLA Education Assistants or 50% of a smartphone microscope! To thank you, we'd like to invite you to tour our Ozcan Lab! (LA area only) Also, we'll send you: two Urban Science Kits and two Lab t-shirts! We'll also give you a thank you shout out on Facebook and twitter! (A $470 tax deductible gift).
Yay! Your gift funds ONE Ozcan Lab cellphone microscope for the UCLA Community school kid's use in the program! To thank you, we will: Send you Two (2) URBAN SCIENCE Kits Two (2) Global Health Program t-shirts Personal Tour of the Ozcan Research Lab. Acknowledgement and honorable mention on the Ozcan Research Group’s page. (a $970 tax deductible gift).
Your gift covers half of the curricula development costs or 10 UCLA Educational Assistants at UCLA Community School! Our way of thanking you: All previous perks (2 Urban Science Kits; 2 T-shirts) Personalized thank you photo from the Ozcan Research Group. Acknowledgement and honorable mention on the Ozcan Research Group’s page. (A $2470 tax deductible gift)
Your gift helps us launch our pilot project and encourage more UCLA Community School students to study STEM fields! Our way of thanking you: All previous perks (2 Urban Science Kits; 2 T-shirts) Personalized thank you photo from the Ozcan Research Group. Acknowledgement and honorable mention on the Ozcan Research Group’s page. (A $2470 tax deductible gift)
Your gift helps supports the cost for our entire curricula development for our UCLA Community School Teacher! We'd like to thank you by: Giving you a tour of the Ozcan Research Group and special invitation to lectures. Acknowledgement and honorable mention on the Ozcan Research Group’s webpage. Personalized thank you photo from the Ozcan Research Group.
Four Urban Science Kits. Four t-shirts. (a $4,940 tax deductible gift)
Wow! You are a Science Rockstar! Your gift helps provide the entire curricula development, support for the UCLA Community Teacher, Education Assistants, and three microscopes! We are humbled by your generosity and would like to thank you by: Sending you 4 Urban Science Kits and T-shirts A special dinner with Dr. Ozcan (greater LA area only) One-on-one tour of the Ozcan Research Group and special invitation to lectures. Acknowledgement and honorable mention on the Ozcan Research Group’s page. Personalized thank you video and signed photo from the Ozcan Research Group. Unique post on our Spark campaign for your amazing contribution! (a $9840 tax deductible gift)