56% of students say that they would take a greater interest in STEM classes if they knew how STEM skills relate to the real world. Immersive technologies can provide learners with first-hand, authentic experiences with the tools and practices that scientists use every day. To engage the opportunities raised by immersive technologies in classrooms, teachers need support. 37% of teachers would like to teach with technology, but do not know how.
Our solution is a free innovative web platform that guides the learner through immersive media and integrates seamlessly with Google Classroom. The platform and its tools enable educators to push the boundaries of inquiry based learning—to harness students’ experiences and creativity, empowering them to take increasingly higher responsibility for planning and assessing their own learning. While our framework adapts to any subject matter, the first exploration of our action-driven inquiry model is Ocean School (OS).
The OS learning experience begins by presenting the learner with a critical challenge that guides their learning and ends with a “take action” on issues like habitat protection, sustainable fishing and traditional ways of knowing. Learners navigate the platform and its media rich learning objects with agency and purpose. OS’s Google integration provides the tools required to gather evidence and assess learning without disrupting the learner’s action-inquiry experience.
In AR/VR, Learners pilot the submersible ROPOS, exploring habitats at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, dissect cod or learn about its history through the eyes of an Indigenous artist. With 360 video, learners are transported to places they could never go – to a tropical island, 500 kilometres off the coast of Costa Rica – and gain a deeper understanding of our influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on us.
Through our rich audio-visual content, OS learners accompany a team of world-renowned scientists and community members on exciting expeditions. OS content exposes learners to a diverse array of marine and STEM careers. As “provocateurs,” our experts and youth hosts introduce students to ideas / subjects that interest them, offering opportunities for learners to engage in their own inquiries.
Ocean School will change the world by providing educators with a wealth of immersive content/activities featuring different locations, scientific concepts, and key environmental/social issues. Every Module is guided by overarching lines of inquiry and media rich learning objects to inspire discussion and motivate action (e.g., VR, AR, micro-docs, 360 videos, linear videos). OS helps educators/learners visualize and access the rich data generated by ocean observing systems, and engage a wide public audience in ocean exploration and discovery.
Ocean School will change the world by providing learners — the next generation of ocean citizens, innovators, and decision makers — with the knowledge and tools to investigate and design innovative solutions for the accelerating challenges that face the world’s oceans.
The North Atlantic unit will launch in October 2018 as we continue to develop our model and resources with educators and students to ensure they are meaningful, relevant and accessible.
