Jenn Nester’s Week 6 Blog

CINQ 388–Week 6 blog

 

1) Does your work require IRB approvals? If Yes, articulate your detailed IRB strategy. If No, explain why you don’t need IRB approval and identify situations when you might need IRB approval.  

 

Question1: The purpose of our project is to teach people about the Lehigh River watershed using immersive virtual reality. We are going to be introducing the world of iVR to many for the first time. For some, playing in iVR will be “old hat”. We will be conducting focus groups to get input on the iVR experience and we will be assessing what individuals have learned about the watershed as a result of our program. We will be doing a systematic investigation which will include research development, testing and evaluation with the intention of contributing to generalizable knowledge. So the answer to the first of the three basic IRB questions, does the activity involve research, is yes.

 

Question 2: We will be conducting research from living individuals and obtaining information through interaction with the individual. We will also use, study and analyze the information. So the answer to question 2 is also yes, the research involves human subjects.

 

Question 3, Is the human subjects research exempt or does it require either expedited or full IRB review, is a bit more difficult to answer. However, the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research is not greater than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological exams or tests. Some individuals may experience discomfort or motion sickness as a result of iVR, but simply removing the VR goggles will alleviate the discomfort almost immediately. It seems like our human subjects research might be exempt

Jenn Nester’s Blog Post #5

  1. List ten things that make you feel human. 
  • Whizzing down the highway in my car makes me feel human
  • Feeling sad when I hear stories about people being bullied makes me feel human.
  • Making someone sad, laugh, makes me feel human
  • Lighting a fire in my fireplace when I’m cold makes me feel human
  • Filling my grocery cart with all different kinds of food makes me feel human
  • Reading a book makes me feel human.
  • Debating religion makes me feel human
  • Discussing the future makes me feel human
  • Learning something new makes me feel human
  • Solving a problem makes me feel human
  • Watching TV and going to the movie makes me feel human
  1. Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF / LVSIF. 

 

  1. Why should I engage? 

I believe it is important to engage with all members of the community who show an interest in learning about their environment. While immersive virtual reality is a new technology, the information contained in the program is both history and the future.

  1. How must I engage? 

I think it will be important to engage each individual on their own terms; whether they be a tween fully engaged with iVR, their mother or father who has minimal experience with iVR, or their grandparents who have even less experience with the new technology. 

  1. With whom must I engage? 

I will be engaging with not only the consumers (players) of our game, but also with the individuals who will be responsible for continuing with it after we are finished with our project. If this project is worth doing, it’s worth doing well and it’s worth continuing when we’re gone.

  1. What kinds of challenges, opportunities, and approaches should I care about? 

Convincing individuals who may have had a negative first experience with VR might be hesitant to try it again. This will be even more challenging if the individual who had the negative experience is one of the instructors in the nature center or library. Considering we are going into public libraries, we will have to work closely with the librarians in charge. It will be important to approach these individuals as the experts that they are and to help them master the technology we are planning to introduce.

  1. What might my epitaph read?

Hopefully my epitaph will read: Jenn Nester.  She disrupted public education and made learning fun.

Jenn Nester’s CINQ388 Week 4 Blog

Jenn Nester’s CINQ388 Week 4 Blog Prompts

 

  1. Based on your life experience, skills, and interests, what would a design process that is both uniquely yours and effective look like?

 

After teaching in the public schools for the last two decades, my design process would be to personalize the learning experience as much as possible. For the more traditional learner, I have found the ADDIE design most effective: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. However, the iVR environment we are looking to launch will probably be more effective using a Spiral Design. This iterative design has such benefits as: 1) estimates (i.e. budget, schedule, etc.) become more realistic as work progresses, because important issues are discovered earlier and 2) the model is designed to cope with the inevitable changes to the learning experience that will happen over the course of design and delivery.

 

  1. Identify your three most important stakeholders and list five UNIQUE attributes for each one of them.
      1. Nature Centers
        1. Run by volunteers/ nature enthusiasts/Wildlife activists
        2. Non-profit/ donations
        3. Interested in educating local community members
        4. Community partnerships with local colleges/universities
        5. Programs for pre-K through continuing education
      2. Public libraries
        1. Educational programs designed and delivered by professional librarians
        2. Organized to serve local communities
        3. Funded with local taxes
        4. Programs geared toward school-age children
        5. Trained to use/learn about new technology
      3. People who are playing the iVR game
        1. Nontraditional students
        2. Participants by choice
        3. Varied interests
        4. Some individuals might have hours of experience with iVR and some may be using it for the first time
        5. As the ages of the individuals vary, so will their knowledge and concern with the environment.

 

  1. Identify three ways in which you will validate your project concept, technology, usability, and business model.
        1. Focus groups will provide feedback on the usability of the Oculus Go.
        2. Surveys will provide feedback to validate the efficacy of the technology.
        3. Assessments will be given at the conclusion of the experience to validate the success of the program to educate the public

Jenn Nester’s weekly post #3

Jenn Nester–Lehigh River iVR experience

  1. Top questions to answer
  • How can we impact the local community?
  • What is the problem with the social justice system in the US?
  • How can higher education impact low income communities?
  • Have you ever used/experienced immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) before?
  • How can iVR impact learning in the Lehigh Valley?
  • How can iVR affect learning for disengaged students?
  • What causes mass incarceration in the US?
  • How do you maximize the reach of local projects?
  • How does social media/other online sub-cultures affect a student’s point of view about higher education?
  • Do you have a social media account?
  • In what other ways can iVR be used to change methods of education?
  • How does cultural diversity affect our community?
  • How difficult might it be to implement iVR in a public school?
  • How can university students make a difference in the local community?
  • To what extent can video gaming practices help/hinder the Lehigh River iVR project development?
  • What specific social values/customs might prevent a low-income student from pursuing a higher education?
  • What is the relationship between the living conditions and the rate of incarceration?
  • Do you have any people around you who are/were in prison?    
  1. Develop and Visualize the Theory of Change (Logic Model) for your venture. 
  • Stakeholders include:
    • Researchers
    • Lehigh Gap nature center
    • Nature/Nurture center in Easton
    • Jacobsburg Nature center
    • D&L historical museum
    • 5 public libraries
  • Inputs
    • Personal funding/grant money
    • Time
    • Expertise (iVR development)
    • Project management
  • Outputs
    • Social outreach
    • Democratization of technology/integrated curricula (science, social studies, environmental science)
    • Software development
    • Educational technology continuing education
  • Outcomes
    • Change in formal educational curriculum development and delivery systems.
    • Raise awareness about Lehigh River watershed
  • Impacts
    • Better local water conservation
    • Decrease in levels of pollution
    • More local involvement 
  1. Develop a M&E plan for your venture. – Clearly list all assumptions. – Identify short-term and long-term success metrics.
  • The initial launch of this iVR program focused on at-risk, alternative high school juniors and focus groups indicated increased engagement and flow with the immersive virtual reality. The age groups targeted with this launch will be more diverse so it will be important to assess engagement and understand often.
  • While there are assessments embedded in our iVR game, interviews and focus groups to discuss individual experiences will be helpful in understanding user point of view.
  •  Multi-interviewer focus groups should help to ensure accountability and data validity.

JennNester’s WeeklyBlog#2

1. Give three compelling examples of how cultural issues affect your project.

While the immersive virtual reality game is a local exploration, the students for whom it was developed, for the most part, had a very small view of the area around them. Building 21 is an alternative school that focuses on project-based education. The students in Building 21 are considered at-risk of dropping out of school. Even with the technology at their disposal, most of them had smart phones, they had no real experiences farther than the Lehigh Valley mall. Many of them were not aware that there were mountains less than 15 miles away and none of them knew that the Lehigh Valley is a valley because of the mountains to the north and south. Several of them had heard of South Mountain without realizing that it is a real mountain.
2. Have you experienced or observed any of these social situations at home? Describe at least three such situations.

I spent 12 years teaching in an alternative secondary school in northern New Jersey and those students were also at-risk of dropping out of school. The demographics of the alternative schools was similar: 1) students got free/reduced price lunch, 2)  more males than females, and  3) more minorities than not. The population of Building 21 is not significantly different from the traditional high schools, but the population of the New Jersey alternative high school was. Both schools catered to disengaged students for whom the traditional school was not a good match. I didn’t get to spend as much time in Building 21, but the students with whom I interacted seemed to find great benefit in the alternative school.

3. Give three examples of cultural practices that can be leveraged to addressed community / market problems.

Children are at-risk of dropping out of school for any number of reasons, but alternative education seems to be the best option for those students. Smaller class sizes, project-based curriculum and technology integration are some of the commonalities with many alternative schools. When schools are successful in educating children, the community benefits. Bringing local businesses into the fold might be a good way to show the community the good that is being done in these alternative learning environments.