University of Calgary: Innovative teaching method allows students to take a field trip without ever leaving the lab - India Education Diary

In the Faculty of Science, first-year undergraduate students are exploring stream valleys successful Utah without leaving campus. Using a holographic model, developed utilizing bundle from Clirio Inc, astir 460 students participated successful a geoscience laboratory utilizing HoloLens, an augmented world / mixed world headset.

The Department of Geoscience has been moving hard implicit the past respective years to bring varied learning opportunities successful geoscience to the forefront, and HoloLens headsets are portion of this initiative. Drs. Adam Pidlisecky, PhD, Annie Quinney, PhD, Alex Dutchak, PhD, Glenn Dolphin, PhD, and geoscience pupil Haidar Putra collaborated to bring the task to life.

When wearing a HoloLens, a virtual outcrop exemplary (VOM) is projected successful beforehand of the student’s eyes, allowing them to determination astir and interact with the exemplary successful 3D space, without leaving the classroom.

Photo above: Geoscience students, from left, Nicole Garner, Emma Hicklin, Kylie Tiedje, and Nichol Gillan usage the HoloLens during a geoscience laboratory (HoloLens representation superimposed).
Student-generated models let for targeted design
“We’re trying to modernize a batch of what we’ve been doing,” says Pidlisecky, who is the subordinate head, strategy and innovation, and world entrepreneur-in-residence successful the Department of Geoscience.

As portion of our committedness to innovation, we’re trying to bring successful modern technologies to the schoolroom and use them successful innovative ways to make inclusive, accessible, immersive experiences that let for a broader scope of students to acquisition and larn geoscience.

The squad sought the proposal of Putra to experimentation with the caller exertion and make mixed-reality models for geoscience learning. Pidlisecky says providing an accidental for a pupil to plan the solution is successful enactment with the tone of innovation astatine the University of Calgary.

“Haidar, having taken the people comparatively recently, was well-tuned to the mindset and needs of the students, and was frankincense an evident prime for this project. Innovations often travel from radical who are precise adjacent to the ‘customer symptom point’ and what the lawsuit occupation is. If we are solving problems associated with improving pupil outcomes, it’s important that we deliberation of ways to seizure their dependable and empower them to beryllium portion of processing solutions.”

Putra, who is successful his past twelvemonth of his undergraduate studies, is studying geology (honours) with a insignificant successful absorption and society. He says helium loved the acquisition of being capable to usage creation successful acquisition and utilizing mixed world to adhd breathtaking assortment to the pupil learning experience.

“Experiencing the simulations virtually makes acquisition 10 times better, successful my opinion,” helium says.

His chap students agree. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“There were immoderate students who could truly usage this exertion to its limits,” Putra tells. “They would really determination around, explore, and look nether the model.”

Holograms supply casual entree to distant locations
Quinney, who teaches the wide fashionable “Dinosaurs class” says they anticipation to make much contented successful the adjacent future, including a protected dinosaur excavation wherever fewer are permitted to access.

Beyond its evident “cool” factor, the usage of holograms to survey geoscience besides brings a big of benefits erstwhile it comes to accessibility.

While the logistical situation of taking a people of 460 undergraduates retired to a distant tract is apparent, Dutchak says the hologram-based exertion tin service arsenic a proxy for getting retired into the field.

“It’s mostly accessible to radical careless of wherever you are, what your acquisition level is, and what your capabilities are,” helium says.

“Geology instructors person been relying much and much connected VOMs for teaching, and particularly erstwhile tract schools were closed for 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dolphin says. “However, nary 1 has done immoderate systematic probe into their efficacy arsenic a teaching tool. One of the goals is to papers whether and what students larn done the usage of VOMs, delivered successful a mixed-reality environment. It’s 1 happening to person an innovative and caller teaching tool, but it besides has to work.”

The squad besides wants to marque the exertion useable by their colleagues crossed the department.

“Ultimately, we would emotion for different instructors to suggest what contented would enactment for the learning outcomes they’re trying to achieve.”