Virtual Reality is a idea that is currently being explored deeper to bring immersion to video games and simulations. However how can this be applied to a learning environment?  For my Capstone I worked on a virtual simulation of our solar system that can be viewed with the Oculus Rift. This is part of Project Stargazer, my ILP for the past two years where the group has worked with making an representation of the solar system with VR for The Franklin Institute.

I started out working on the design of the simulation in the Unreal Engine creating the cockpit and menu displays of the spaceship that would serve as our HUD. However as the only one in the group with knowledge of Unreal, I ended up also working on the code. During the year I finished the design of the spaceship, tried to get the ship to move, made a planet map for each in the solar system complete with HUD’s showing information on the planet and made starry background. However I was never able to finish the coding and could not get the ship to move even after a month of troubleshooting and consulting with Unreal coders. However I taught several of the sophomores in the project how to use Unreal and will continue to help out throughout the summer.

During this project I learned about the benefits of VR for education with it’s added immersion allowing for greater focus and more effective visuals.

Link to Levels (must be placed in Unreal Engine to Work) https://drive.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/folderview?id=0B2hdSK9AO85-N3NNc1BjMERQRXc&usp=sharing

For More information about Project Stargazer: http://projectstargazer.weebly.com/

For images of the simulation and time at Educon are below

Biblography

Antonio Gonçalves Vilas Boas, Yuri. "Overview of Virtual Reality Technologies." (n.d.): n. pag. Final Paper. University of Southampton. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/537bd8c9e4b0c89881877356/t/5383bc16e4b0bc0d91a758a6/1401142294892/yavb1g12_25879847_finalpaper.pdf

This article is an overview of VR showing its history, goals, and evolution. It goes over the principals of VR in terms of immersion, perception, and telepresence.  It discusses the educational value of VR by showing the ScienceSpace application which allows a student to learn about physics, electrostatic forces, and visualize the structures of molecules.

Biglari, Ehren, and Yusheng Feng. "Interactive Virtual-Reality Driven Learning Framework for Engineering and Science Education." Center for Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction (2014): n. pag. American Society for Engineering Education. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.

http://asee-gsw.tulane.edu/pdf/interactive-virtual-reality-driven-learning-framework-for-engineering-and-science-education.pdf

This Article discusses the usage of several VR devices and motion trackers and the usage of the technology in the modern day. The setup of their device is described as well as several of the strengths and weaknesses of the various VR devices. The Oculus is explained in terms of hardware, describing how the headset generates the an undistorted 3D environment.

Castillo, Anna. "Virtual Reality and Education." Stanford Teaching Commons. Stanford University, 22 May 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-talk/virtual-reality-and-education

An article looking at Stanford’s Virtual Reality lab and applications of the technology. The level of immersion that the lab provides is shown as an example of how to provide the students with realistic environments to better educate them about the subjects. However the biggest drawback is shown to be the development of such simulations which often take a year for each. The immersion of VR is being compared to watching a normal video of the same information to compare the difference and find just how effective it would be.

"Learning Through Exploring Virtual Worlds." Global Warming Intro. University of Washington, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/learning_center/pf/whyvr.htm

This site shows a project that attempted to use VR to explain and show a representation of Global Warming. The projects plan was to allow students to manipulate environmental variables to see how the atmosphere is affected. The site also explains the role VR could play in education explaining how the immersive experience can be used to present lessons.

Orlosky, J.; Weber, M.; Gu, Y.; Sonntag, D.; and Sosnovsky,S. A.  2015c.  An interactive pedestrian environment simulator for cognitive monitoring and evaluation, March 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Orlosky/publication/276848891_An_Interactive_Pedestrian_Environment_Simulator_for_Cognitive_Monitoring_and_Evaluation/links/55c0e2dc08aed621de1506a6.pdf

This article looks at using the Oculus Rift in a test for observing and monitoring pedestrians with cognitive impairments. The test uses VR to determine reactions and the pedestrians vision. The article also discusses problems with having the user physically interact with the world in a way that feels natural and use of the Leap Motion Control to track hand motion.

Piovesan, Sandra Dutra, Liliana Maria Passerino, and Adrian Soares Pereira. Proceedings of the International Association for Development of The Information Society (Iadis) International Conference on Cognition And Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (Celda) (Madrid, Spain, October 19-21, 2012). Virtual Reality as a Tool in The Education. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED542830.pdf

This article discuss the idea of using VR in education, explaining how it allows a student to explore and build their knowledge. It focuses on how VR can be used to simulate environments which would be too difficult or expensive for the student to visit normally. The article describes how the subject of Formal Languages was implemented into a 3D environment to allow for a VR test of the subject.

Reiners, T., Teräs, H., Chang, V., Wood, L. C., Gregory, S., Gibson, D., Petter , N. & Teräs, M. (2014). Authentic, immersive, and emotional experience in virtual learning environments: The fear of dying as an important learning experience in a simulation. In Transformative, innovative and engaging. Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 30-31 January 2014. Perth: The University of Western Australia. http://ctl.curtin.edu.au/professional_development/conferences/tlf/tlf2014/refereed/reiners.html

This article describes how the addition of the Oculus Rift can improve the experiences of VR to be used to educate students. The article shows the comparison between passive and active learning and how VR would work compared to typical teaching methods. The article also shows a test run through VR where a person navigates a dangerous factory to determine how much a person would value their avatar’s safety in VR.

"Solar System Exploration." Planets - Solar System Exploration. NASA, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/

NASA’s guide to the aspects of our Solar System with a list of the planets and other celestial bodies. Provides information about the statistics of the planet's size, distance, and orbit, as well as an overview of the planets and their history.

"Unreal Engine 4 Documentation." Epic Games, Inc, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/index.html

A guide to Unreal Engine 4 including tutorials to the basic aspects of Unreal and creating a video game. The site provides a great deal of information about the program to assist a beginner in the creation of a basic game.

"Virtual Reality Technologies for Treating Obesity." - NHLBI, NIH. N.p., Nov. 2010. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/research/reports/2010-vr

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute held a meeting to discuss the potential use of VR to monitoring and controlling weight gain. The article discusses how VR can be used to suggest healthier eating through the social networking and the motivational and teaching aspects of VR. It discusses the ways to control an experiment with VR and the applications of it in the future.

In the morning they walked along the river, following a small trail of old footsteps that mixed the sand with mud and grime. Hollowed trees littered the riverbank and the excess of water had long since drove the trees into the murky grey water. A small village stood ahead, with homes that sat covered with ash and half flooded. A tarp sat in the middle of the village covering a three-legged stand. The man lifted the tarp to find an old painting of a man and a dog running down a green road with the joyful sun smiling down on them. A tragic reminder of the bright and simple past.

Can we bring it with us?

No, it’s too big for the cart.

Okay.

The boy looked at the buildings around them as they stood and swayed in the blackened swamp.

Should we look through the home?

No, there's nothing here.

He left the tarp covering the painting and walked away, the boy looked at the painting for a moment before following him, the faded blue tarp left on the stand to guard the ancient oiled canvas. They made camp further down the trail, the boy was still looked back towards the sunken village.

Papa, are their any more paintings?

Maybe

Can I make one

Yes, when you're safe

Okay

The man felt a cough building in his long-damaged lungs and turned away from the boy as his throat released a stream of ash and dead air.

This is my Rationale to explain why I feel that these choices should have been made;

In my piece, I started out with a description of their location, as most of the Road segments begin. As the piece fits in on page 276, I mentioned the tidal river with the broken bridge and used it to set up a broken flooded environment where they are forced to go around, following a path left by previous travelers. I decided to bring in a village in order to provide a place for the painting to feel natural and show a subtle piece of character development for the boy.

I choose to add in the painting to show a small remainder of hope in the barbaric world of The Road. Additionally the painting would work to give the boy an understanding of why to live on, showing him a small image of the world before and the idea that their can still be beauty in this world. The painting also allows a closer look at the boy who is shown to be quite creative at some points such as towards the beginning when he paints his face-mask with a piece of charcoal. The boy also asks if they can keep it, given that it’s his trademark response to almost all of the new things he finds.

Another smaller moment I added in was the boy asking if they should search the houses. The boy has constantly expressed fear when it comes to searching the houses, but here he understands the need to live on and is willing to take a chance in order to live on. This also sets up the ending where he is willing to take a chance and join the group. However the man is more guarded and disagrees with taking the chance as he knows he doesn’t have much time left and doesn’t want to take the chance and have his luck finally run out.

The boy later asks the man if their are any more painting and if he would be able to make one. The man’s response of “Yes, when you’re safe” rather than “when we are safe” is a subtle foreshadowing of the man’s approaching death that the boy doesn’t catch on. Finally the man’s cough shows how close he is to dying at this point.

“When Logan set out on a trip around the world he expected it to change his world and he thought he knew how. Looking back on it, he finally understood the answer to what he had been thinking throughout the entire trip “Why did he want to change?”

In this bestselling novel from the acclaimed author Stuart Perry, readers are introduced to Logan Harian, a soon to college student who has remained undecided in all manners of identity. Going on a trip that can “change lives” he sets out on a trip to find out who he is. As he travels from his hometown of Hollow Rock, Tennessee to the places deemed most “life changing”, he learns that life isn't very straightforward and the map that he’s following may not be the guide that he needs.

For my project I looked at the various leaders of Reconstruction and the part they played in the difficult time after the Civil War. The website contains information about the president's and congress's role in shaping the years after the Civil War explaining there successes and failures as leader and how they as seen today. In addition it looks at what was achieved during the Reconstruction period and how it's influence was seen later on.

Website:

http://38030043.nhd.weebly.com/

The first of three books in the Chaos Walking series “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness, shows us a world where thoughts are open for all to see. Due to a strange disease all of the women are dead while the men and animals have their thoughts open for everyone to see called Noise. This strange setting is where the book starts off before the main character Todd Hewitt and his dog Manchee live and where they find an area in town without Noise. From their secrets are slowly revealed and we begin to learn what is really going on and he is forced to leave to learn more about the outside world.

Patrick Ness is well known for his well planned suspense and clever humor. His other books such as “The Crane Wife” and “The Crash of Hennington” show that he excels in making interesting characters and clever narratives. Along with the Chaos Walking series he has also written two other young adult novels “A Monster Calls” and “More Than This” both containing several similarities to “The Knife of Never Letting Go” with their dark atmosphere and strange settings.

The Noise is an excellent idea and a world with it’s existence proves to be interesting and thought provoking. In the text it is typically shown as scratchy fonts occasionally intersecting with each other. At some point it feels rough and not completely used to the fullest but at other point it is used perfectly in describing the chaotic world in which the characters live in. The noise does a great job of not only showing the lack of privacy but also makes each escape more difficult when the men after you can hear your thoughts.

Another device used to great effect is the knife of the title which is typically used to show the fine line between survival and murder. Which fits in very well given that death is taken more seriously and more accurate here than most other young adult novels. Todd constantly struggles with whether or not he can kill someone which is used to great effect throughout the book to make Todd a very conflicted and sympathetic character.

The main character Todd is a well written character who is naive but sympathetic and whose many questions make him an excellent viewpoint for this chaotic world. His dog Manchee proves to be an interesting side character with his loyal, confused, and innocent behavior painting a true and sad picture of animals with voices. Another character who is difficult to describe without spoilers, helps bring a new viewpoint which questions much of the worlds ideals. While one of the main antagonists Aaron a deranged priest constantly works as a determined threat following the characters with a strange set of ideals. Several side characters such as the Mayor are shown to be cleverly written but lack adequate time to be interesting.

The book proves to be quite good but the beginning is slow and tedious. It’s understandable though that the introduction to the world might seem drawn out with the amount of information that is given and it does prove to be interesting at a few points. However the book's greatest strength is the amount of surprises the book manages to keep hidden. After 64 pages an important character is revealed and the story begins to get very good. The numerous plot twist throughout the story ensure that the story is kept interesting and clever right to the end where it ends with a satisfying cliffhanger.

This book is perfect for people who enjoy science-fiction and elaborate stories. The character’s are unique to most of the genre and the book explores ideas that are rarely seen in other sci-fi works. This gives a feeling of discovery as you read more, learning about this strange world that borrows several ideas from other sci-fi stories but constantly feels fresh throughout the series. The first book leads nicely into the next two and I would greatly recommend them both as they both function quite well on their own merits and never feel like more of the same sci-fiction stories.

The book is an excellent read that shows a well created setting along with cleverly written characters. The story is well written and was able to hold my attention despite a rough start. The numerous surprises and plot twists slowly tear down the original thoughts the reader has amassed about the world to show the unthinkable truth. The finale is spectacular and leads to a well planned climax and shocking ending that heightens the desire to pick up the sequel.

The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness, Candlewick Press, 2008, 479 pages, Science-fiction.

Se llama Denise. Ella es italiano y tiene pelo oscuro. Ella tiene cincuenta y seis. Le gusta hacer yoga y monta su bicicleta. Está casada con un hijo. Su lugar favorito es Venecia, Italia, donde quiere vivir.

• En el primer piso la sala, cocina, y comedor.

• En el segundo piso dos el dos cuarto, y baño.

• En el sótano piso la sala de yoga y sala de arte.

  La Sala De Yoga
  
  La Sala De Arte
  

• El jardín especial con un montón de flor y una árbol.

  El Jardín
  
  

• La sala elegante con el  dos sofá de lujo, la mesa antiguo, y tres ventana.

  La Sala
  

• El comedor grandísima con la mesa elegante, la cuatro silla simple, y tres ventana.  

  El Comedor
  

• La cocina moderno con la nevera, la estufa, y el lavaplatos, el fregadero, y dos ventana.

  La Cocina
  

• El primero cuarto modera con dos la cama, la mesa simple y dos ventana.

  El Primero
  

• El segundo cuarto grandísimo con la cama simple y cuatro ventana.

  El Segundo
  

• El baño nuera con el duco moderna, inodoro, y el lavamanos.

  El Baño
  

• El sótano enorme con la tele chiquito y lavar ropa nuera.