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How did you discover your passion,

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or find your career?

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Were you exposed to it?

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Or was it trial and error?

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As child rights advocate
Marian Wright Edelman said,

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"You can't be what you can't see."

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Fortunately, we now live in a time

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when emerging technologies
may help us to solve this problem.

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For the past two years,

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I've been developing
an extended reality program

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that enables middle school students
from across the country

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to take on the role of a marine biologist,

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even if they've never seen the ocean.

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As one seventh grader
who recently completed our program said,

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"I could see myself as a scientist

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because I enjoyed this game."

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This feedback really excited me,

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because too few students
do see themselves as scientists.

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A 2014 study showed that 57 percent
of eighth and ninth grade students

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said, "Science isn't me."

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Coincidentally, also in 2014,

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I met Mandë Holford, a marine biochemist,

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and Lindsay Portnoy,
an educational psychologist.

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The three of us shared a passion
for getting students excited by

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and comfortable with science.

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We thought about how
we could give children

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the most realistic experience
of a scientific career.

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We discussed the research that showed

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that students felt comfortable
taking risks when playing games.

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So the three of us started
an educational games company

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to bring science to life.

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Virtual reality seemed like a low-cost way
of increasing access.

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In addition, academic research has shown

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that virtual reality may lead
to increases in learning retention.

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This was perfect for us,
as we wanted to be in schools

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so that we could reach
the most number of students possible,

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particularly students who have
been underrepresented in science.

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So, with funding from
the National Science Foundation,

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we began developing
our extended reality program

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that combined virtual reality

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with personalized digital journaling.

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We worked with teachers
while developing it

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to ensure that it would fit seamlessly
into existing curricula

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and empower teachers to use cutting-edge
technology in their classroom.

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We designed the virtual reality
for Google Cardboard,

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which requires only a smartphone

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and a $10 VR viewer made of cardboard.

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With this inexpensive headset,

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students are transported
to an underwater expedition.

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Students use their digital journal

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to write down their notes,

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to answer questions,

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to construct models,

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and to develop hypotheses.

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Students then go to the virtual world
to test their hypotheses

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and see if they're accurate,

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much as scientists go to the field

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in their careers.

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When students return
to their digital journal,

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they share their observations, claims,

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reasoning and evidence.

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The students' written answers

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and virtual interactions

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are all updated live

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in an educator assessment dashboard

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so that teachers can follow their progress

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and support them as needed.

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To give you a better sense,
I'm going to show you

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a little bit of what students see.

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This is the virtual reality
when they're underwater

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observing the flora and fauna.

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This is the digital journal
where they're constructing their models

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based on this abiotic data
to show what they expect to see.

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Here, they're supporting that
with qualitative statements,

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and this is the educator dashboard
that shows progress

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and enables teachers
to see the students' answers as they go.

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When we were creating BioDive,

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again we really wanted to focus on access,

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so we designed it to require
only one phone for every four students.

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We also knew how collaborative
science work is,

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so we constructed the experience
to only be solved

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through collaborative teamwork,

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as each student is an expert
in a different geographic location.

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Given that these children's brains
are still developing,

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we limited each experience to last
a maximum of two minutes.

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And finally, because we know
the importance of repeated exposure

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for internalizing knowledge,

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we constructive BioDive to take place
over five class periods.

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We started piloting BioDive in 2017

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in 20 schools in New York and New Jersey.

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We wanted to see students
as they were using this new technology.

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In 2019, now,

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we are now piloting in 26 states.

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What we have heard from teachers
who have taught our program:

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"It was a nice way to show ocean dynamics
without the luxury of actually being there

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since we are in Ohio."

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(Laughter)

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"It's pretty mind blowing."

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"The students were totally engaged."

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But what really gives us hope
is what we're hearing from students.

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"I liked how it felt like I was there."

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"It's interactive and a fun way to learn."

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"It really gave me realistic examples
of how these organisms appear."

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"I could see myself as a scientist
because it seems really fun."

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Our feedback wasn't always so positive.

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When we began developing,

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we started off by asking students

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what they liked,

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what they didn't like,

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and what they found confusing.

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Eventually we began asking

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what they wished they could do.

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Their feedback gave us
concrete items to build in

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to be sure that we were including
student voices in what we were designing.

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Overall, what we have learned
is that this is the beginning

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of a new platform for giving students
both voice and ownership

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in deciding how they want to have impact

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in their careers.

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We focused on science

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because we know we need scientists

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to help us solve our current
and future challenges.

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But virtually reality could support
students in any area.

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How could we support students

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in exploring all of their desires

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with these eye-opening experiences
and chances to learn from primary sources?

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Could we create VR
for inexpensive headsets

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that lets them be immersed
in oral literature

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or in critical moments in human history?

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Extended reality has the potential

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to change the trajectory
of our children's lives

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and lead them to careers
they never imagined

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by giving them the chance
to see what they can be.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)