Skip Navigation

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) 2019 Awards

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) 2019 Awards

The Small Business Innovation Research program at the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences' (ED/IES SBIR) provides funding to small business firms and partners for the research and development of commercially viable education technology products designed to support student learning, teacher practice, or school administration in education or special education.

A total of 23 new contracts have been awarded for FY 2019.

Phase I Awards (standard topics)

Phase I projects allow teams to develop, refine, and test usability and initial feasibility of prototypes of commercially viable education technology products. 13 Phase I awards were made in amounts up to $200,000 for 8 months. These projects are designed to support student learning, teacher practice, or school administration in education or special education. These awardees will be eligible to apply for Phase II funding in Fiscal Year 2020.

The Phase I awards are:

An Augmented Reality Sandbox for use in Early Elementary STEM Instruction
Parametric Studios, Christopher Whitmer

Collaborate
Aufero, Leigh Lawhon

Dynamic and Interactive Augmented Reality in Biology for Hands-On, Group Science Learning
Innovation Design Labs, John Condon

Esports Rapid Cycle Evaluation
Liminal eSports, James Collins

Foundational Reading Skill Exercises for English Language Learners
Charmtech Labs, Yevgen Borodin

LabAR: An Augmented Reality Learning System for STEM
LightUp, Joshua Chan

Language Learning Experience in Virtual Reality
AP Ventures, Cherie McGovern

Learn-Implementation Exchange in Context
LearnPlatform, Inc., Daniel Stanhope

Navigation System for Early Childhood Assessment and Instruction
Cognitive Toybox, Tammy Kwan

Online Music-based Game for Children with Speech- Language Delays/Disorders
IQ Sonics, David Sonnenschein

Powerskills Game Lab: Improving High School Communication Skills Through Formative Assessment
Hats & Ladders, Scott Brewster

Using Multiplayer VR to Advance Earth Science STEM Learning
Killer Snails, Jessica Ochoa Hendrix

VR-enhanced Immersive Science Investigations into Biology and Genetics
Lighthaus, Inc., David Sarno

Phase I Awards (special topic in postsecondary education)

Phase I special topic projects allow teams to develop, refine, and test usability and initial feasibility of prototypes of commercially viable tools to measure the return on investment (ROI) of educational and training programs to inform decision making by prospective postsecondary students. Two Phase I awards were made in amounts up to $200,000 for 8 months. These awardees will be eligible to apply for Phase II funding in Fiscal Year 2020.

The Training, Education, and Apprenticeship Program Outcomes Toolkit (TEAPOT)
BrightHive, Inc., Matt Gee

A User-Contextualized ROI Tool to Make Meaning of Lifetime Costs and Tradeoffs Associated with Different Degree Programs
Vantage Point Consultants, Jeffrey Carpenter

Phase II Awards

Phase II projects support further research and development of prototypes of education technology products that were funded by 2018 ED/IES SBIR Phase I awards. In the Phase II project, the teams will complete the development of the product, and conduct a pilot study in schools to demonstrate the usability and feasibility, fidelity of implementation, and the promise of the product to improve the intended outcomes. Eight Phase II awards were made for amounts up to $900,000 for 2 years.

The Phase II awards are:

Learning to Code with a Pretend Play Storytelling Model
Codespark, Joe Shochet

Modernizing the Reading Roots Intervention
Sirius Thinking, Christopher Cerf

Teacher Dashboard 2.0 for Learning Creative Computer Programming
VidCode, Alexandra Diracles

A More Perfect Union
Gigantic Mechanic, Greg Trefry

History Maker
Schell Games, Jesse Schell

Innovative IEP Goal Creation: Equipping Special and General Educators
Education Modified, Melissa Corto

Graspable Math Activities
Graspable, Erik R Weitnauer

Real-Time Formative Assessment of NGSS Mathematics Practices for High School Physical Science
Apprendis, Mike Sao Pedro