Learning with VirtuSphere
Andy Petroski and I had the privilege of presenting our work with the Virtusphere in the ‘Emerging Tech’ area at DevLearn’s Expo last week in Las Vegas. Many of you got a chance to see the VirtuSphere as a High Tech Demo at LEEF 2009, and then again as a featured product at LEEF 2010. The DevLearn event gave us a chance to take our demonstration of the Virtusphere to a new level as we highlighted our first steps in developing learning scenarios for the locomotion device with an office walk through.
Our focus with the Virtusphere has been on skills that require locomotion and determining the benefits of the sphere, and physical activity, in the training of those skills. There has been some research already done on the connection between exercise and increased brain activity. We hope to apply and expand that research into specific learning solutions with our Virtusphere work. In our talk on the ‘Emerging Tech’ stage, Andy presented some insights learned from the Frankline Institute’s ”Physical Exercise for a Better Brain” article. Here are a few take-always:
Light exercise is good for your brain. it increases blood circulation and the oxygen and glucose that reach your brain. Studies show that in response to exercise, cerebral blood vessels can grow, even in middle-aged sedentary animals.
Dopamine and other chemical neurotransmitters are activated during exercise to regulate muscle movement. Activation of these chemicals also increases brain activity.
Studies of senior citizens who walk regularly showed significant improvement in memory skills compared to sedentary elderly people. Walking also improved their learning ability, concentration, and abstract reasoning.
With this research as a starting point, we’re investigating the VirtuSphere as a training tool that promotes physical activity during learning. Below are the areas we’re investigating and the associated projects we’re undertaking:
- Inner Space: Plasma Racer – built with anatomy students in mind, this first-person racing game put users in command of their own nano-mech suit. Players race through the human body on a life saving mission to the heart. Along the way, they must identify various arteries, veins, and life threatening anomalies.
- Outer Space
- Environmental Analysis: Claims Adjuster Training. This assessment tools would be used to improve the current training process for insurance claims adjusters/investigators. Once inside the VirtuSphere, a student would have to examine and appraise dynamically damaged in a virtual environmental. The advantage with this tool, is that students could run through countless scenarios in preparation for a state exam.
- Location Tours (History): The Battle of Gettysburg – working with digital models created by a local developer, this experience puts the user right in the heart of Pickett’s charge with a firsthand view of the Civil War’s turning point. This project will also include interactive waypoints which provide commentary and insight for the user.
- Architectural Walk Through
- Data Analysis / Manipulation
- Final Stage of Psychotherapy
Our presence at DevLearn was well received by the organizers and attendees. It was great to get feedback from the 40+ guests who climbed in and took the sphere for a spin and the 75+ that stopped by to talk with us about this unique technology. Thank you all for your discussions about soldier training, solar panel installation, mine and plant safety, law enforcement training, engine walk throughs and many more innovative ways in which the Virtusphere could be used as a learning solution.
