1
00:00:00,721 --> 00:00:02,374
How did you discover your passion

2
00:00:02,398 --> 00:00:03,927
or find your career?

3
00:00:03,951 --> 00:00:05,367
Were you exposed to it?

4
00:00:05,391 --> 00:00:07,002
Or was it trial and error?

5
00:00:07,380 --> 00:00:10,549
As child rights advocate
Marian Wright Edelman said,

6
00:00:10,573 --> 00:00:13,077
"You can't be what you can't see."

7
00:00:13,573 --> 00:00:15,788
Fortunately, we now live in a time

8
00:00:15,812 --> 00:00:19,527
when emerging technologies
may help us to solve this problem.

9
00:00:20,023 --> 00:00:21,386
For the past two years,

10
00:00:21,410 --> 00:00:24,157
I've been developing
an extended reality program

11
00:00:24,181 --> 00:00:27,563
that enables middle school students
from across the country

12
00:00:27,587 --> 00:00:30,185
to take on the role
of a marine biologist --

13
00:00:30,209 --> 00:00:32,487
even if they've never seen the ocean.

14
00:00:33,454 --> 00:00:36,843
As one seventh grader
who recently completed our program said,

15
00:00:36,867 --> 00:00:38,972
"I could see myself as a scientist,

16
00:00:38,996 --> 00:00:40,943
because I enjoyed this game."

17
00:00:41,838 --> 00:00:43,802
This feedback really excited me,

18
00:00:43,826 --> 00:00:47,255
because too few students
do see themselves as scientists.

19
00:00:47,849 --> 00:00:53,608
A 2014 study showed that 57 percent
of eighth- and ninth-grade students

20
00:00:53,632 --> 00:00:55,466
said, "Science isn't me."

21
00:00:56,118 --> 00:00:58,560
Coincidentally, also in 2014,

22
00:00:58,584 --> 00:01:01,535
I met Mandë Holford, a marine biochemist,

23
00:01:01,559 --> 00:01:04,357
and Lindsay Portnoy,
an educational psychologist.

24
00:01:04,740 --> 00:01:06,638
The three of us shared a passion

25
00:01:06,662 --> 00:01:10,801
for getting students excited by
and comfortable with science.

26
00:01:11,259 --> 00:01:13,488
We thought about how
we could give children

27
00:01:13,512 --> 00:01:16,421
the most realistic experience
of a scientific career.

28
00:01:16,825 --> 00:01:18,160
We discussed the research;

29
00:01:18,184 --> 00:01:22,996
it showed that students felt comfortable
taking risks when playing games.

30
00:01:23,020 --> 00:01:26,593
So the three of us started
an educational games company

31
00:01:26,617 --> 00:01:28,408
to bring science to life.

32
00:01:29,370 --> 00:01:33,758
Virtual reality seemed like
a low-cost way of increasing access.

33
00:01:33,782 --> 00:01:36,426
In addition, academic research has shown

34
00:01:36,450 --> 00:01:40,066
that virtual reality may lead
to increases in learning retention.

35
00:01:40,368 --> 00:01:43,155
This was perfect for us,
as we wanted to be in schools

36
00:01:43,179 --> 00:01:46,015
so that we could reach
the most number of students possible,

37
00:01:46,039 --> 00:01:49,170
particularly students who have
been underrepresented in science.

38
00:01:49,622 --> 00:01:52,683
So, with funding from
the National Science Foundation,

39
00:01:52,707 --> 00:01:55,414
we began developing
our extended reality program,

40
00:01:55,438 --> 00:01:57,303
that combined virtual reality

41
00:01:57,327 --> 00:01:59,543
with personalized digital journaling.

42
00:02:00,035 --> 00:02:02,082
We worked with teachers
while developing it

43
00:02:02,106 --> 00:02:06,106
to ensure that it would fit seamlessly
into existing curricula

44
00:02:06,130 --> 00:02:10,155
and empower teachers to use cutting-edge
technology in their classroom.

45
00:02:10,686 --> 00:02:13,241
We designed the virtual reality
for Google Cardboard,

46
00:02:13,265 --> 00:02:15,277
which requires only a smartphone

47
00:02:15,301 --> 00:02:19,310
and a $10 VR viewer made of cardboard.

48
00:02:19,833 --> 00:02:21,744
With this inexpensive headset,

49
00:02:21,768 --> 00:02:24,787
students are transported
to an underwater expedition.

50
00:02:25,260 --> 00:02:27,129
Students use their digital journal

51
00:02:27,153 --> 00:02:28,981
to write down their notes,

52
00:02:29,005 --> 00:02:30,391
to answer questions,

53
00:02:30,415 --> 00:02:31,732
to construct models

54
00:02:31,756 --> 00:02:33,275
and to develop hypotheses.

55
00:02:33,692 --> 00:02:36,965
Students then go to the virtual world
to test their hypotheses

56
00:02:36,989 --> 00:02:38,455
and see if they're accurate,

57
00:02:38,479 --> 00:02:40,629
much as scientists go to the field

58
00:02:40,653 --> 00:02:42,323
in their careers.

59
00:02:43,054 --> 00:02:45,215
When students return
to their digital journal,

60
00:02:45,239 --> 00:02:47,573
they share their observations, claims,

61
00:02:47,597 --> 00:02:49,393
reasoning and evidence.

62
00:02:49,925 --> 00:02:54,086
The students' written answers
and virtual interactions

63
00:02:54,110 --> 00:02:55,864
are all updated live

64
00:02:55,888 --> 00:02:57,865
in an educator assessment dashboard

65
00:02:57,889 --> 00:03:00,402
so that teachers can follow their progress

66
00:03:00,426 --> 00:03:03,037
and support them as needed.

67
00:03:03,061 --> 00:03:05,367
To give you a better sense,
I'm going to show you

68
00:03:05,391 --> 00:03:07,131
a little bit of what students see.

69
00:03:08,139 --> 00:03:10,649
This is the virtual reality
when they're underwater

70
00:03:10,673 --> 00:03:13,051
observing the flora and fauna.

71
00:03:14,615 --> 00:03:17,783
This is the digital journal
where they're constructing their models

72
00:03:17,807 --> 00:03:20,674
based on this abiotic data
to show what they expect to see.

73
00:03:21,705 --> 00:03:24,435
Here, they're supporting that
with qualitative statements.

74
00:03:24,459 --> 00:03:27,204
And this is the educator dashboard
that shows progress

75
00:03:27,228 --> 00:03:30,629
and enables [teachers]
to see the students' answers as they go.

76
00:03:32,767 --> 00:03:34,798
When we were creating BioDive,

77
00:03:34,822 --> 00:03:36,986
again, we really wanted
to focus on access,

78
00:03:37,010 --> 00:03:41,014
so we designed it to require
only one phone for every four students.

79
00:03:41,420 --> 00:03:44,959
We also knew how collaborative
science work is,

80
00:03:44,983 --> 00:03:47,847
so we constructed the experience
to only be solved

81
00:03:47,871 --> 00:03:49,376
through collaborative teamwork,

82
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,999
as each student is an expert
in a different geographic location.

83
00:03:54,044 --> 00:03:57,057
Given that these children's brains
are still developing,

84
00:03:57,081 --> 00:04:01,219
we limited each experience to last
a maximum of two minutes.

85
00:04:01,243 --> 00:04:05,390
And finally, because we know
the importance of repeated exposure

86
00:04:05,414 --> 00:04:07,086
for internalizing knowledge,

87
00:04:07,110 --> 00:04:10,759
we constructed BioDive to take place
over five class periods.

88
00:04:11,642 --> 00:04:15,166
We started piloting BioDive in 2017

89
00:04:15,190 --> 00:04:17,805
in 20 schools in New York and New Jersey.

90
00:04:17,829 --> 00:04:21,192
We wanted to see students
as they were using this new technology.

91
00:04:21,827 --> 00:04:24,023
In 2019, now,

92
00:04:24,047 --> 00:04:27,453
we are now piloting in 26 states.

93
00:04:27,995 --> 00:04:30,872
What we have heard from teachers
who have taught our program:

94
00:04:30,896 --> 00:04:34,929
"It was a nice way to show ocean dynamics
without the luxury of actually being there

95
00:04:34,953 --> 00:04:36,128
since we are in Ohio."

96
00:04:36,152 --> 00:04:37,227
(Laughter)

97
00:04:37,251 --> 00:04:38,577
"It's pretty mind-blowing."

98
00:04:38,601 --> 00:04:40,737
"The students were totally engaged."

99
00:04:41,270 --> 00:04:44,740
But what really gives us hope
is what we're hearing from students.

100
00:04:45,209 --> 00:04:47,099
"I liked how it felt like I was there."

101
00:04:47,123 --> 00:04:49,600
"It's interactive and a fun way to learn."

102
00:04:49,624 --> 00:04:53,578
"It really gave me realistic examples
of how these organisms appear."

103
00:04:54,102 --> 00:04:58,420
"I could see myself as a scientist
because it seems really fun."

104
00:04:59,220 --> 00:05:01,515
Our feedback wasn't always so positive.

105
00:05:01,940 --> 00:05:03,518
When we began developing,

106
00:05:03,542 --> 00:05:05,509
we started off by asking students

107
00:05:05,533 --> 00:05:06,687
what they liked,

108
00:05:06,711 --> 00:05:07,862
what they didn't like

109
00:05:07,886 --> 00:05:09,370
and what they found confusing.

110
00:05:09,742 --> 00:05:13,687
Eventually we began asking
what they wished they could do.

111
00:05:14,149 --> 00:05:17,569
Their feedback gave us
concrete items to build in

112
00:05:17,593 --> 00:05:21,276
to be sure that we were including
student voices in what we were designing.

113
00:05:22,030 --> 00:05:26,627
Overall, what we have learned is that this
is the beginning of a new platform

114
00:05:26,651 --> 00:05:29,549
for giving students
both voice and ownership

115
00:05:29,573 --> 00:05:31,823
in deciding how they want to have impact

116
00:05:31,847 --> 00:05:33,228
in their careers.

117
00:05:33,693 --> 00:05:35,253
We focused on science

118
00:05:35,277 --> 00:05:36,943
because we know we need scientists

119
00:05:36,967 --> 00:05:39,994
to help us solve our current
and future challenges.

120
00:05:40,537 --> 00:05:44,636
But virtual reality could support
students in any area.

121
00:05:44,660 --> 00:05:49,192
How could we support students
in exploring all of their desires

122
00:05:49,216 --> 00:05:53,336
with these eye-opening experiences
and chances to learn from primary sources?

123
00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,950
Could we create VR
for inexpensive headsets

124
00:05:57,974 --> 00:06:00,731
that lets them be immersed
in oral literature

125
00:06:00,755 --> 00:06:03,025
or in critical moments of human history?

126
00:06:03,590 --> 00:06:07,565
Extended reality has the potential
to change the trajectory

127
00:06:07,589 --> 00:06:09,060
of our children's lives

128
00:06:09,084 --> 00:06:12,086
and lead them to careers
they never imagined

129
00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:15,425
by giving them the chance
to see what they can be.

130
00:06:15,793 --> 00:06:17,005
Thank you.

131
00:06:17,029 --> 00:06:19,753
(Applause)