Team members: Emily Tsao, Y Lam, Edyn Marsland, Verona Collins

Blog #15: Team Prompts–

1. Identify the 10 toughest questions from the 14-page list, and

answer them in advance of your presentations.

1. Capture the basics of the venture. (Name, Team, etc) What is the POTENTIAL size and net impact of the venture? Three years from now, you aspire to be..? have x impact?

• Potential net impact: Implementation of immersive interactive learning resources in the educational system as a whole
• We want to distribute our resource to other schools with immersive technology and also create more content for students
• There really is no limit to the potential impact of our project because of a few reasons
  • Our content is accessible by anyone that has internet access
  • This is a very new technology that is already starting to spread and will continue to do so
    • Tech: Immersive classrooms, 3D cameras, tailored 360 content

1. Explain the problem being addressed from a macro perspective as well as a micro perspective. 

• Macro: Educational system is failing neurodivergent kids; arts education is key to developing a lot of critical learning skills, especially for neurodivergent kids, and it is not emphasized enough in the current educational curriculum. Additionally, in the future, this could impact the learning experience for all students, changing the way the educational system in the US works.
• Micro: Creating an immersive educational resource for high school level students at the Centennial School: a school for kids ages 6-21 years old with learning disabilities.

3. What does success look like for all the stakeholders? What are your metrics of success? How will you measure the Return on Investment?

• Metrics of success: # of schools we distribute our resource goes to
  • Getting positive feedback from students/teachers
    • How the students feel about our resource
    • How educators feel about our resource
• Measuring ROI: how the students react to the content we create
  • Talk about piper
  • How it benefits their learning experience in the long run
  • How it benefits them outside of the classroom
    • Improving social skills
    • Visual analysis skills
    • Critical thinking skills

4. Describe your specific plans and goals for the next phase of your project (Mountaintop Summer Experience or Fall semester).

• Centennial School Summer interests
  • Move beyond just the arts
  • Would like us to scan
    • Red Stag Pub, Heintzelman Funeral Home, Roxy Bowling alley, Oasis, Feasta pizza, Target, Red Robin, SkyZone, Parkettes, grocery store, dentist, doctor’s office, riding a bus/bus stop, park, basketball court, house, DMVs, clothing store, Centennial/playground, public library
  • These are all things that neurotypical people take advantage of on a daily basis. By making virtual tours we will give neurodivergent people the opportunity to experience these things in a controlled, non over stimulating environment
• Summer
  • Distribute resource to Freedom High School students
  • Potentially film Da Vinci Center’s exhibit
  • Visit and film Rubin Museum
• Fall 
  • Write and publish research paper
  • Attend Michigan State conference, conference at the LUAG, have our research in the LUAG student lab/exhibition space
  • Create more content
  • Secure more partnerships in the educational space beyond the Lehigh Valley, talk about Agastya Foundation

 

5. How is your approach different from your competitor’s approach? How is it similar

and/or different?

• Other virtual tours: Our tours are specifically designed for the needs of students with emotional, behavioral or learning disabilities. While we have been working with Centennial, we have been exposed to the learning needs of the specific students in the school. This allows us to have the information to curate the content to these students and those with similar disabilities (while even those with the same disabilities can have different needs, the sample size at Centennial will grant us a good variety of 

6. Do your primary stakeholders consider this issue a real problem or priority?

What do your primary stakeholders do right now to address this issue? What

options do your <primary stakeholders> currently have?

• Centennial School: Yes, this issue is the entire purpose of the school, offering equitable educational opportunities for students with disabilities 
  • The funding has already been used to creating the ILC / necessary tech / knowledgeable staff

7. If this is indeed such a big problem, how did we get here in the first place?

• Stigma surrounding disabilities 
• Education already is lacking in funding, so minority (special ed) students would have even less funding

8. How prevalent / significant is this issue? Can you provide specific and relevant

statistics?

• 1 in 5 US children have learning disabilities 

9. Why is this issue important? To whom?

• Equitable education for all, revamping special education
• Students, families, educators → more well-educated society 

10. Is this issue relevant outside of the specific geography you are working in?

• Yes, the entire world → especially in developing countries lacking in funding for education, let alone special education 

 

2. Write 3 elevator speeches about your project:

– For a professor/advisor

Our project Open Doors to the Arts works with 360 degree technology to create educational content that is geared towards students with neurodivergent needs. We are currently creating a virtual tour of the art gallery LUAG on campus. Tours such as this allow students with learning disabilities and/or emotional behavioral needs to access community spaces before physically entering. In other words, our virtual tours are a “stepping stone” for students as the actual experience of entering such a space can be overwhelming and risk overstimulation. These tours are embedded with audio descriptions that allow the student to engage at their own pace and to have guidance in where to place their attention and how to interpret pieces and objects. These tours are piloted in the Immersive Learning Center of the Centennial School which allow students to have a shared experience as the room is 270 degrees wrapped in screens. We are working on contributing to educational equity, creating access to the arts, thus increasing art exposure as well as preparing students for outside experiences.

– For an interviewer for a summer internship

Our project Open Doors to the Arts currently is in the process of creating a virtual tour of the art gallery on campus through 360 degree technology. Our virtual tours are created with the students at Centennial School in mind as they have learning and emotional/behavioral needs. These virtual tours have audio descriptions we made that are tailored to those needs and offer guidance in viewing the space. Open Doors to the Arts works with the Immersive Learning Center, a 270 degree classroom at Centennial School and plans to make virtual tours of community spaces in the near future, thus increasing accessibility. 

 

– For a roommate asking about your project

Our project Open Doors to the Arts currently works with 360 degree technology to create virtual tours for students at the Centennial School.