Rowan Engineering's virtual reality is no game for STEM students
Rowan Engineering's virtual reality is no game for STEM students
April 13, 2012
They’re flashy, modern and tech-savvy. What better way to get a student’s attention than through video games?
That’s exactly how engineering professors and students at Rowan University are appealing to high school students and college freshmen in a new, Internet-based virtual reality (VR) game system called SustainCity. Rowan professors and students are designing the series of games to give their audience a glimpse of what life in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has to offer.
“There’s a growing use of virtual environments for work, play, entertainment and scientific inquiry,” said Dr. Ying (Gina) Tang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and principal investigator for the project.
Tang credits some of this growth to the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has encouraged the use of virtual environments in STEM education and supported this particular project with a three-year $250,000 grant awarded in 2010.
“Games are interactions within immersive digital worlds that promote learning through authentic, engaging play. Infusing VR games with simulations and models into a classroom setting becomes essential,” she said.
SustainCity was designed to be incorporated into the pre-engineering curriculum of Project Lead the Way (PLTW), an organization that creates curricula encouraging middle school and high school students to explore engineering and technology fields. The game series also gives educators flexibility in its use as a STEM teaching tool. Every game can be played separately, without requiring knowledge of previous games in the series, to teach students specific tenets of STEM fields. Teachers who engage their students with every game module in the series help them grasp the interconnectivity of both the lessons they learn in classroom and the different aspects of engineering systems and processes in the real world.
The games allow students to role-play as an environmental scientist, bridge construction engineer, traffic engineer or mathematician who helps design and maintain an “eco-city,” a city run on sustainable and renewable energy sources and practices. The eco-city isn’t meant to be futuristic, said Tang, but “could be an existing, modern city. The goal is to preserve all the resources we have.”
Each game focuses on a specific challenge involved in the design or maintenance of an eco-city. These challenges encourage students to use strategic thinking to accomplish tasks like analyzing power sources and their costs and effects or designing a control circuit system that regulates traffic lights to prevent accidents and intersection gridlock.
One way the games engage students is by visually showing how VR simulations can help scientists and engineers make decisions and understand data in meaningful ways. Students learn through simulation and modeling. “We really want to create the environment for students to make connections between what they learn in the classroom and the knowledge and skills needed to solve real-life problems,” said Tang.
The games encourage collaborative learning, and students can work in groups and communicate with each other and their instructors through chatting features within the game. SustainCity also boasts in-game gadgets, like a virtual tablet that serves as students’ game menu and allows them to access references, messages and task lists.
Future plans include the addition of artificial intelligence to provide the students with individualized coaching within the games so they can continue to progress even when the instructor is unavailable to answer questions.
The SustainCity game modules do more than teach a specific scientific principle or even a universally desired skillset, like critical and strategic thinking. They engage students’ innovative skills directly, requiring them to explore and design their own solutions to problems in the virtual city. “More importantly, students often find a passion for their curricular content while navigating through the games and begin to see themselves as problem solvers,” said Tang.
Student response so far has been positive. In December 2011, students at Burlington County Institute of Technology in Medford, N.J., began beta-testing a game called “Power Ville,” through which they learned about the use and environmental impact of various energy sources. “The students loved this interactive and fun method of learning,” said Tang. “They were also interested in being part of the game design and offered us several constructive suggestions during the beta testing.”
The second game in the series, “Gridlock,” is expected to make its debut at Bridgeton High School in Bridgeton, N.J., in May. Other upcoming SustainCity games include “ThermoPower,” “Stability” and “BioEnergy.”
Engineering professors and students at Tennessee State University also are contributing to the project, designing the “Stability” module and assisting with implementation. The Educational Information and Resource Center, a non-profit education organization, also is involved and plans to host a workshop this summer that will help teachers learn how to use virtual reality programs in the classroom.
That’s exactly how engineering professors and students at Rowan University are appealing to high school students and college freshmen in a new, Internet-based virtual reality (VR) game system called SustainCity. Rowan professors and students are designing the series of games to give their audience a glimpse of what life in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has to offer.
“There’s a growing use of virtual environments for work, play, entertainment and scientific inquiry,” said Dr. Ying (Gina) Tang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and principal investigator for the project.
Tang credits some of this growth to the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has encouraged the use of virtual environments in STEM education and supported this particular project with a three-year $250,000 grant awarded in 2010.
“Games are interactions within immersive digital worlds that promote learning through authentic, engaging play. Infusing VR games with simulations and models into a classroom setting becomes essential,” she said.
SustainCity was designed to be incorporated into the pre-engineering curriculum of Project Lead the Way (PLTW), an organization that creates curricula encouraging middle school and high school students to explore engineering and technology fields. The game series also gives educators flexibility in its use as a STEM teaching tool. Every game can be played separately, without requiring knowledge of previous games in the series, to teach students specific tenets of STEM fields. Teachers who engage their students with every game module in the series help them grasp the interconnectivity of both the lessons they learn in classroom and the different aspects of engineering systems and processes in the real world.
The games allow students to role-play as an environmental scientist, bridge construction engineer, traffic engineer or mathematician who helps design and maintain an “eco-city,” a city run on sustainable and renewable energy sources and practices. The eco-city isn’t meant to be futuristic, said Tang, but “could be an existing, modern city. The goal is to preserve all the resources we have.”
Each game focuses on a specific challenge involved in the design or maintenance of an eco-city. These challenges encourage students to use strategic thinking to accomplish tasks like analyzing power sources and their costs and effects or designing a control circuit system that regulates traffic lights to prevent accidents and intersection gridlock.
One way the games engage students is by visually showing how VR simulations can help scientists and engineers make decisions and understand data in meaningful ways. Students learn through simulation and modeling. “We really want to create the environment for students to make connections between what they learn in the classroom and the knowledge and skills needed to solve real-life problems,” said Tang.
The games encourage collaborative learning, and students can work in groups and communicate with each other and their instructors through chatting features within the game. SustainCity also boasts in-game gadgets, like a virtual tablet that serves as students’ game menu and allows them to access references, messages and task lists.
Future plans include the addition of artificial intelligence to provide the students with individualized coaching within the games so they can continue to progress even when the instructor is unavailable to answer questions.
The SustainCity game modules do more than teach a specific scientific principle or even a universally desired skillset, like critical and strategic thinking. They engage students’ innovative skills directly, requiring them to explore and design their own solutions to problems in the virtual city. “More importantly, students often find a passion for their curricular content while navigating through the games and begin to see themselves as problem solvers,” said Tang.
Student response so far has been positive. In December 2011, students at Burlington County Institute of Technology in Medford, N.J., began beta-testing a game called “Power Ville,” through which they learned about the use and environmental impact of various energy sources. “The students loved this interactive and fun method of learning,” said Tang. “They were also interested in being part of the game design and offered us several constructive suggestions during the beta testing.”
The second game in the series, “Gridlock,” is expected to make its debut at Bridgeton High School in Bridgeton, N.J., in May. Other upcoming SustainCity games include “ThermoPower,” “Stability” and “BioEnergy.”
Engineering professors and students at Tennessee State University also are contributing to the project, designing the “Stability” module and assisting with implementation. The Educational Information and Resource Center, a non-profit education organization, also is involved and plans to host a workshop this summer that will help teachers learn how to use virtual reality programs in the classroom.