Biology Lab at ESU goes Virtual!

Virtual Reality Biology Lab Online with Dr. Erika Martin

When moving a class online, it is a challenge in and on itself.  Dr. Erika Martin is adventuring to a new high standard for a first time new to online teaching by taking her Biology 101 Lab Online.  I have had the pleasure to work with Dr. Martin and Labster, the company that created the Virtual Reality world for science, for a couple months now. The project has been approved and the pilot will start in Spring 2019.  While working with Dr. Martin, and writing the proposal for funding, I asked Dr. Martin for a blurb on how she think Labster will benefit the class and why Emporia State University should invest in this project.  While expecting just a short paragraph, Dr. Martin exceeded my expectation with a lengthy but remarkable statement which I have shared for the readers below. Dr. Martin has great passion  passion and willingness to help her students thrive in this new, exciting learning medium!

 “Most students enrolling in the General Biology Laboratory course could be described as not excited to be there. As with many non-scientists, students view biology as meticulous, boring, and confusing. My goal is to engage students, get them to enjoy their class experience, learn basic biological principles, and gain a more robust and well-rounded understanding of the world they live in. A lofty goal, but not unreasonable. General Biology Laboratory is, and should be, a lot more than patience and numbers (though, there is a bit of that). Whether students realize it or not, biology is all around them - not just the plants and animals, but a lot of technology is derived from plant and animal models. The scientific method is not just a bunch of boring steps, but an interactive process that allows students to answer real-world questions in a rigorous and deterministic way! The purpose of this course is not rote memorization and learning a bunch of Latin words. The purpose of this course is to help students see how science is involved in their everyday lives. They learn about the basics of genetics that are used in the popular DNA kits from 23&Me or Ancestry.com; learn how changes in our environment can influence changes in how animals behave and look; learn what light is, where it comes from and how it helps plants grow; learn about diffusion and osmosis - important processes in the field of medicine, nursing, ecotoxicology, and others; plus learn how to answer their own questions about the world!

I am excited to help students get their feet wet in the diversity of biological topics, and online learning is a way to reach out to students that might not be able to take in-person classes. However, traditional laboratory classes are hands-on for a reason: hands-on learning allows students to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, use and appreciate scientific equipment, and understand the process of science. Reading, watching recorded videos, and memorization can teach the student about science, but is unable to get students to truly understand how science is done. That is why Labster would make the General Biology Laboratory class the next best thing to an in-person class. Students get to remotely experience being in a laboratory setting. They have to calibrate equipment, make and use solutions correctly, and conduct scientific research. Labster virtual reality programming allows students to make mistakes and subsequently explains what mistake was made and corrects them. Students can mix two wrong solutions and set their virtual lab aflame! Then, Labster will help them figure out where they went wrong, and correct those mistakes until the student understands and conducts the lab exercise correctly. There are built in guides and questions along the way to make sure the students are actively engaged and haven’t just pressed play on the video and left the room.

This opportunity would be fantastic for student learning, plus it would put Emporia State University at the forefront of online class technology. This project is a collaborative effort among myself from the Emporia State University’s Department of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University’s Information Technology (IT) department, Arizona State University’s online course coordinator, as well as the tech companies Google, Labster, and Lenovo. With the intent to begin in Spring 2019, ESU will become one of only a handful of universities in the nation to offer virtual reality online class experiences. Other institutions with similar programs include Arizona State, NYU, and Brown.”     -Dr. Erika Martin

Following Dr. Martin’s statement there is nothing left for me to say except, I was amazed, excited and feel honored to work alongside someone who truly wants to make a difference in young adult lives.


~Selayoa Lovett

Selayoa is an Instructional Designer for Emporia State University. She can be reached at scloud@emporia.edu.

Using InstaVR for Virtual Reality

Over this past year, we have been exploring with students creating their own Virtual Reality Applications along with Dr. Joyce Zhou from the School of Business. You can read more about that in the Educause Blog. Learning Technologies invested in a product called InstaVR almost a year ago. InstaVR provides a turnkey solution to creating VR applications with very little programming knowledge.  You can see some examples on our website. Have you considered having your students make their on VR application for your course? We have the abilities to do that AND they can publish their applications to the Google Play Store and/or to Apple. We can help you build the project into your curriculum. Here is a quick tutorial for your students:

1.     Use the Samsung Gear 360 Camera.

2.     Download the software for Samsung Gear 360 if you haven’t done so already. You can download from: https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/virtual-reality/gear-360/gear-360-sm-r210nzwaxar/  - it’s a link at the top, small writing…easy to miss.

3.     Next, you will need to download the App to your phone. The app looks like the image on the right. Locate this app in the Play Store for Android or on the App Store for iOS.

4.     Recording the video:

a.      If you plan on using InstaVR to develop hotspots, hovers, links and rich content then I would suggest using a STILL IMAGE. You can change this setting on the Samsung by pressing the menu key until you activate the Photo setting.

b.     If you plan on demonstrating an event, illustrating how something works or to give users the experience of a live event, then I suggest using VIDEO.  You will need to toggle to the Video setting the same way you did the still image setting. Once you record the video, upload the video the Samsung Gear 360 Action Director software you downloaded in step 2. From there, once your video is uploaded, drag it to your timeline (bottom of screen). Then click the PRODUCE button on the right hand corner.

6.     Begin a new project by selecting the drop down at the top.

7.     Once you create your project, you will see the five options at the left. The first option is AUTHORING. This is where you upload your VR content. (The file you created previously with Samsung Active Director).

8.     There are several options for creating hotspots, links and actions.

a.      HOTSPOT – A hover, allows you to create a pop-up video or image.

b.     LINKS – Will take the user to another VR file OR external website.

c.      ACTIONS – Will make a phone call or email.

9.     The second tab is BRANDING. The branding options allow you to upload your own icon and graphics for when users load the VR app.

10.  Preview allows you to preview the applications.

11.  Package the app for various VR mediums including Samsung, Oculus, Web.

12.  Finally, download your file to view. 

It's very simple to create a Virtual Reality application with InstaVR; contact me and I'll help you build a rubric for an upcoming project! 

~Anna

Anna is the Educational Technology Coordinator for Emporia State University. She can be reached at acatters@emporia.edu or by phone 620.341.5107. 

Virtual Reality Applications

Community,

Over the past year our team has been researching and trying software to develop virtual reality applications. Virtual Reality allows you to see imagery in three dimensions and we feel that it has great potential in the classroom. To prove this, we have been working with Dr. Joyce Thierer, Professor of History. We wanted an opportunity to record a video with a 360 camera and then transform it into a Virtual Reality application that could be used for a class. Dr. Thierer agreed to participate in our research study and invited us to a history performance where she would be performing as Mary Fix, a Kansas woman who was an early settler in the Flinthills. Dr. Thierer was gracious enough to invite us to her ranch for the performance. The weather was perfect and the location was beautifully set in the Flinthills near Emporia, Kansas. Here is a list of equipment that we took with us that day:

• Samsung 360 Gear 2 Camera $250
  Samsung Link
• Tripod $35
  Link to Tripod

We are also utilizing InstaVR for the development of the applications. Andrew Woodberry has been an excellent resource for us and provided a tremendous amount of support for our project. http://www.instavr.co.

Once on scene, we recorded the performance and then downloaded the footage to InstaVR. From there, the editing time took a total of four hours; however, that's mainly because we were new to the software and were working through some of the tutorials while developing. Take a look at the final product!

The work we have done with Virtual Reality has been incredible. We have since created a VR application for the One Button Studio and the MakerLab, also found on our website. We are now partnering with the library to develop an application. Demand and growth continue. At semester end, we will know for sure how this has impacted students retention and their success in the courses they submitted VR applications for.
Our work has gotten some national attention, too. Take a look at these articles recently published:

• Link to Edscoop
• Link to InstVR Customer Success Story

If you have considered a VR application, please send us an email or comment below for more information. One of our Instructional Designers will contact you to make arrangements.

~Anna