3799 Views (as of 05/2023)
  1. Nastassia Jones
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstassi/
  3. Associate Professor
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Southern University and A&M College SUBR
  1. Rochelle Darville
  2. http://linkedin.com/rochelleldarville
  3. Secondary School Teacher & Doctoral Student
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Southern University and A&M College SUBR, West St. John High School
  1. Christopher Guillory
  2. Associate Professor
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. Southern University and A&M College SUBR
  1. Emily Jackson-Osagie
  2. Assistant Professor
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. Southern University and A&M College SUBR
  1. Francesca mellieon-williams
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-mellieon-williams-1880su
  3. Associate Professor
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Southern University and A&M College SUBR
Public
Choice

Building Environmental and Educational Technology Competence and Leadership A...

NSF Awards: 2010563

2022 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult learners

Many of the nation's most vulnerable ecosystems exist near communities with scant training opportunities for teachers and students in K-12 schools. The Louisiana wetlands is one such example. Focusing on these threatened natural environments and their connection to flooding puts STEM concepts in a real-world context that is relatable to students living in these areas while integrating virtual reality technology. VR allows students in rural and urban schools lacking resources for field trips to be immersed into simulated field experiences. This exploratory project supports the professional growth and development of current middle and high school STEM teachers by providing multi year summer training and school year support around three specific areas: (1) environmental sciences themed content; (2) implementation of VR in the classroom, and (3) development of a support community for the teachers. Findings from this project will advance the knowledge of the most effective components in professional development for teachers to incorporate new knowledge into their classrooms. 

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Discussion from the 2022 STEM For All Video Showcase (32 posts)
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 9, 2022 | 07:17 p.m.

    Thank you for visiting our page! This exploratory project supports the professional growth and development of current middle and high school STEM teachers by providing multiyear summer training and school year support around three specific areas: (1) environmental sciences - wetlands conservation and management content; (2) using and creating virtual field trips; and (3) supporting VR implementation through classroom-based action research. This project will bring locally relevant VR experiences to teachers and students who are underrepresented in STEM. We are still near the beginning stages of our project which is why our video focuses on components of our project rather than project outcomes. We are especially interested in discussions regarding building and assessing teacher collaborative communities and connecting with others who are using virtual reality in STEM teaching and learning. However, we are excited about engaging with everyone and we welcome all comments and feedback.

    If you're a secondary STEM teacher in East Baton Rouge or surrounding parishes, we are currently recruiting cohort 2 teachers.  You can find the application here: https://tinyurl.com/BEETech2022

     
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    Christopher Guillory
  • Ebonie Darville

    Graduate Student
    May 10, 2022 | 03:31 p.m.

    This is awesome, and long overdue. Virtual reality will be the future

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Emily Jackson-Osagie

    Emily Jackson-Osagie

    Co-Presenter
    Assistant Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 12:42 a.m.

    Yes, it is. We are excited about the work that we do!

  • JLD

    May 10, 2022 | 03:41 p.m.

    Great job!!! Keep inspiring the people.

     
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    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Emily Jackson-Osagie

    Emily Jackson-Osagie

    Co-Presenter
    Assistant Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 12:43 a.m.

    Thank you! Inspiration is definitely one of our goals.

  • Icon for: Nathan Holbert

    Nathan Holbert

    Facilitator
    Associate Professor
    May 10, 2022 | 04:00 p.m.

    Thanks for sharing your work! I wonder if you can tell us a bit more about what these VR experiences are like. Are they mostly 360 videos of the locations? Are they interactive or game like? And I know you're in the early stages of the project, but have you had a chance to begin observing how teachers are integrating these experiences in their classrooms and curricula?

     
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    Cathryn Tuttle
  • Icon for: Cathryn Tuttle

    Cathryn Tuttle

    Graduate Student
    May 10, 2022 | 05:28 p.m.

    I'm curious about these things as well - how would the type of VR, whether it be a visual experience or a game-style one, affect student engagement and learning?

  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 11, 2022 | 12:02 a.m.

    Thank you for this discussion! Originally, our plan was to work with teachers to modify and incorporate the Google Expeditions into their classes; however, a few months after funding Google announced they would quit on the VR for education front. We are working to get Robot Labs Expeditions 2.0 as a replacement, but it’s been a uphill battle. Thankfully, The Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act in Louisiana released a virtual field trip focused on coastal wetlands and we have worked with teachers to use this experience. One teacher engaged students through an interactive virtual experience since their school is a 1-to-1 device school and all students have chrome books. We have figured out how to use the existing experience with goggles now and are waiting on one of our teachers to try it out. Here’s the experience: https://caminada.centralcreativity.com/caminada...

     

    The next level for us is our teachers using 360-degree cameras to create (or assign projects for their students) interactive virtual field trips using free software like thinglink basic plan or the software available through robot labs.

    We don’t have an interest in a game-style experience because our ultimate goal is for students to feel like they are present in a real wetlands environment.

     
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    Christopher Guillory
    Nathan Holbert
  • Icon for: Nathan Holbert

    Nathan Holbert

    Facilitator
    Associate Professor
    May 11, 2022 | 07:28 a.m.

    Thanks! This explanation is very helpful.

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Sudhir Trivedi

    Researcher
    May 10, 2022 | 04:06 p.m.

    Great ideas.

    I would love to know more about what you are doing with VR and virtual field trip.

  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 11, 2022 | 12:04 a.m.

    Thank you for your interest in our project. Could you respond with a little more detail about the discussion you’d like to have with our leadership team?

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
  • Sri Mettu

    Graduate Student
    May 10, 2022 | 04:48 p.m.

    This is an awesome topic for VR experiences. I would like to know what applications or tools you are using for the VR experiences. What are you planning to assess with teacher collaborations?

  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 11, 2022 | 12:09 a.m.

    Thank you for your questions. I have a little more information about what we’re using above. Assessing teacher collaborations is not a direct research question for our project; however, it would be interesting to see in what ways they play a role in supporting teacher implementation of VR..

     
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    Christopher Guillory
  • Erin McCarthy

    K-12 Teacher
    May 11, 2022 | 01:20 p.m.

    This is a really great idea. Virtual reality to help experience ecosystems in trouble.

     
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    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Christopher Guillory

    Christopher Guillory

    Co-Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 02:47 p.m.

    Erin

    Thank you for taking the time to view and comment on the video.

  • Chris Klein

    May 11, 2022 | 02:16 p.m.

    A few of you have asked about the solution being used in the video above. The students are all shown using the ClassVR Virtual and Augmented Reality headset that the teachers are managing via their web browser. For more information on ClassVR, please visit our website HERE

     
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    Christopher Guillory
  • Icon for: Joshua Danish

    Joshua Danish

    Facilitator
    Professor and Program Chair
    May 11, 2022 | 04:11 p.m.


    Thank you for sharing - this is wonderful! I had two questions: 1) Have you talked to any of the teachers about following up their VR experience with a real-world experience either to similar or different spaces?  Also, 2) have you any sense how the teachers might want to combine this experience with other activities or assignments where they share their impressions from what they saw?  Keep up the good work! 



     

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 12, 2022 | 07:55 p.m.

    Hello Joshua, one of our teachers planned to take the students to a local wetland but the field trip fell through. The work that we are using that I mentioned above also comes with a teachers’ kit and lesson plans with supplemental activities. So in short, yes our teachers plan to utilize VR with real world and other experiences.

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
  • Icon for: Cynthia Orona

    Cynthia Orona

    Program Coordinator
    May 12, 2022 | 02:09 p.m.

    Thank you for sharing this video!  I would like to know if you and your team have thought about ways the students and teachers can get involved in creating some of these virtual field trips themselves, allowing for the students to learn something they learned in real life with future students having a similar experience?

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
    Nastassia Jones
    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 13, 2022 | 10:48 a.m.

    Hi Cynthia! Thanks for viewing our video! We have 360-degree cameras and we’re working with our teachers to make sure they know how to use them so that they can work with their students to create content. We would love to see the students create virtual environments.

     
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    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
    Cynthia Orona
  • Icon for: K. Renae Pullen

    K. Renae Pullen

    K-12 Administrator
    May 12, 2022 | 03:56 p.m.

    Such a great video and exciting learning experience for teachers and students! I deeply appreciate the content being focused on local/regional phenomena like the changing our Louisiana wetlands and its impacts. EBR is super lucky. (from Shreveport)

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 15, 2022 | 10:29 p.m.

    Thank you for viewing our video all the way from Shreveport :-) since there is the SU-Shreveport campus, we’ve been discussing ways to increase our collaborative efforts so that we can have a better statewide impact!

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Christopher Guillory
    K. Renae Pullen
  • Icon for: Josh Sheldon

    Josh Sheldon

    Facilitator
    Project Lead
    May 13, 2022 | 06:18 a.m.

    Excellent! Thanks for sharing this.

    First, on the execution of the video, I really liked the bits where you had teachers talking in a small frame in front of classroom video. That was really compelling.

    Following up on the above discussion of game-like experiences, I do wonder if there might be utility in some small pieces from "games" to enhance the experience of "being there"? For example, I've been to a number of science centers, natural areas, etc. that use a scavenger hunt mechanic, in which visitors are asked to locate examples of different elements of the locale on their visit. Might this (or other pieces like it) be something to consider including?

    Perhaps even better, would there be any way to ask students to design mini-experiments that could be conducted in the VR experience?

    I feel your pain re: Google cancelling projects with little-to-no warning. Such a challenge. I'm glad the virtual field trip made its way to you, and wish you luck getting an alternate platform up and running. Is the choice of authoring platform dependent on hardware? In other words, have you already committed to a specific hardware for the schools you'll work with, or can you be dynamic in that regard?

    Finally, what have you been surprised by so far in working with the teachers and in seeing them work with students? And how have teachers informed the design of your work to date?

    I really appreciate your work - the wetlands of LA are such a natural treasure, and I'm glad you're working to build appreciation for them.

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
    Christopher Guillory
    Nastassia Jones
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 13, 2022 | 11:01 a.m.

    I love these comments and questions Josh!

    In terms of gaming, there could be a game like aspect to the virtual field trips via the points of interest embedded within the environments. I can totally see that scavenger hunt idea coming to life.

    I’ll have to think on that idea of mini experiments within the VR because I haven’t thought about that before. I only thought about that for Biology/chemistry/physics lab, but not for the work we are doing. Thanks for planting that seed.

    For hardware, we are using what is essentially a plastic version of Google cardboard similar to the ones in the video. We picked the robot labs platform because it has a set of experiences built already so it is a low hanging fruit type of way to first get teachers and students engaged. Once their minds are open to what is possible, then we want to move towards creating local experiences. We have a bit more flexibility in software to use for creation, as long as the final product can be converted to something that would work with the devices. We also are looking into Lenovo headsets and their Veative program.

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
    Christopher Guillory
  • Icon for: Latrenda Knighten

    Latrenda Knighten

    Mathematics Content Trainer
    May 15, 2022 | 07:51 p.m.

    Thanks for sharing your project and for your work with teachers and students!  I live in Baton Rouge, so I was pleased to see a "local" project.  The students' reactions to the VR simulations were priceless!  You mentioned that you are interested in connecting with others who are using VR for teaching and learning.  The Instructional Technology team in my school district (East Baton Rouge Parish) does a great job with providing professional development for our teachers on the use of VR for virtual field trips and other educational experiences.  Many of our teachers are doing an excellent job with providing students with VR experiences. You may want to reach out to them - I'm sure they would welcome the opportunity to collaborate.

     

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Nastassia Jones

    Nastassia Jones

    Lead Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 15, 2022 | 10:32 p.m.

    Hello Latrenda and thank you for sharing this information! We interact with quite a few EBR teachers so reaching out to build collaborative in-state development is something worthwhile exploring. 

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
    Christopher Guillory
    Latrenda Knighten
  • Dr. Sandy

    Researcher
    May 16, 2022 | 03:32 a.m.

    Awesome concept and creative form of teaching.

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Christopher Guillory

    Christopher Guillory

    Co-Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 02:49 p.m.

    Dr. Sandy

    Thank you for taking the time to view the video

  • Yolanda Leblanc

    K-12 Teacher
    May 16, 2022 | 08:47 a.m.

    This is awesome. I love how the students can be more engaged in their lessons.

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Francesca mellieon-williams
  • Icon for: Christopher Guillory

    Christopher Guillory

    Co-Presenter
    Associate Professor
    May 16, 2022 | 02:49 p.m.

    Yolanda

    Thank you for viewing the video and finding different ways of engaging students is so wonderful.

  • Icon for: Danielle Espino

    Danielle Espino

    Researcher
    May 17, 2022 | 03:46 p.m.

    Dr. Jones and team, what an outstanding project to leverage technology to enhance learning in such an immersive, interactive way! Kudos to you on your vision for empower teachers and students to bring their lessons to life in the classroom, without having to worry about technology resource limitations.  Thank you for creating access in a way that can inspire other learning environments to do the same.  I'm excited to see how this empowering work continues!  (btw, any places I can find publications/papers on this work?)

  • Icon for: Catherine Quinlan

    Catherine Quinlan

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 17, 2022 | 04:45 p.m.

    Love it! It was great to see the smiling faces and the excitement as the students were watching. Thanks for sharing. 

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.