SBIR 2012: The Institute of Education Sciences has awarded contracts to 11 companies under its 2012 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. These companies receive up to $150k for six months, during which they'll develop early stage prototypes and demonstrate their feasibility in test labs and classrooms. Its perhaps a sign of an, ahem, "paradigm shift" to see eight of the 11 awards going to gaming projects--with Filament Games nabbing two. The next SBIR round starts in the autumn.