This virtual lab will revolutionize science class | Michael Bodekaer | TEDxCERN
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0:20 - 0:22Today, I am going to show you
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0:22 - 0:27how this tablet and this virtual-reality
headset that I'm wearing -
0:27 - 0:31are going to completely
revolutionize science education. -
0:31 - 0:33And I'm also going to show you
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0:33 - 0:38how it can make any science teacher
more than twice as effective. -
0:38 - 0:42But before I show you
how all of this is possible, -
0:42 - 0:47let's talk briefly about why improving
the quality of science education -
0:47 - 0:50is so vitally important.
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0:50 - 0:51If you think about it,
-
0:51 - 0:53the world is growing incredibly fast.
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0:53 - 0:57And with that growth comes
a whole list of growing challenges, -
0:57 - 1:00challenges such as dealing
with global warming, -
1:01 - 1:04solving starvation and water shortages
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1:04 - 1:05and curing diseases,
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1:05 - 1:07to name just a few.
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1:07 - 1:13And who, exactly, is going to help us
solve all of these great challenges? -
1:13 - 1:17Well, to a very last degree,
it is these young students. -
1:17 - 1:20This is the next generation
of young, bright scientists. -
1:20 - 1:23And in many ways, we all rely on them
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1:24 - 1:26for coming up with new, great innovations
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1:26 - 1:30to help us solve all
these challenges ahead of us. -
1:31 - 1:33And so a couple of years back,
-
1:33 - 1:37my cofounder and I were teaching
university students just like these, -
1:37 - 1:43only the students we were teaching
looked a little bit more like this here. -
1:43 - 1:44(Laughter)
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1:44 - 1:47And yes, this is really
the reality out there -
1:47 - 1:50in way too many universities
around the world: -
1:50 - 1:53students that are bored, disengaged
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1:53 - 1:56and sometimes not even sure
why they're learning about a topic -
1:56 - 1:58in the first place.
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1:58 - 2:02So we started looking around for new,
innovative teaching methods, -
2:03 - 2:05but what we found was quite disappointing.
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2:05 - 2:09We saw that books were being
turned into e-books, -
2:10 - 2:13blackboards were being turned
into YouTube videos -
2:13 - 2:16and lecture hall monologues
were being turned into MOOCs -- -
2:16 - 2:18massive online open courses.
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2:19 - 2:20And if you think about it,
-
2:20 - 2:24all we're really doing here
is taking the same content -
2:24 - 2:26and the same format,
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2:26 - 2:28and bringing it out to more students --
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2:29 - 2:32which is great, don't get me
wrong, that is really great -- -
2:32 - 2:35but the teaching method
is still more or less the same, -
2:35 - 2:38no real innovation there.
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2:38 - 2:40So we started looking elsewhere.
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2:40 - 2:45What we found was that flight simulators
had been proven over and over again -
2:45 - 2:46to be far more effective
-
2:46 - 2:52when used in combination with real,
in-flight training to train the pilots. -
2:52 - 2:53And so we thought to ourselves:
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2:54 - 2:56Why not just apply that to science?
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2:56 - 3:01Why not build a virtual
laboratory simulator? -
3:02 - 3:03Well, we did it.
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3:03 - 3:05We basically set out to create
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3:05 - 3:11a fully simulated, one-to-one,
virtual reality laboratory simulator, -
3:11 - 3:14where the students
could perform experiments -
3:14 - 3:15with mathematical equations
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3:15 - 3:19that would simulate what would
happen in a real-world lab. -
3:19 - 3:20But not just simple simulations --
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3:20 - 3:22we would also create advanced simulations
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3:23 - 3:24with top universities like MIT,
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3:24 - 3:29to bring out cutting-edge cancer
research to these students. -
3:30 - 3:32And suddenly, the universities
could save millions of dollars -
3:32 - 3:35by letting the students
perform virtual experiments -
3:35 - 3:38before they go into the real laboratory.
-
3:39 - 3:42And not only that; now,
they could also understand -- -
3:42 - 3:44even on a molecular level
inside the machine -- -
3:44 - 3:47what is happening to the machines.
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3:47 - 3:49And then they could suddenly perform
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3:49 - 3:52dangerous experiments in the labs as well.
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3:52 - 3:53For instance also here,
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3:53 - 3:57learning about salmonella bacteria,
which is an important topic -
3:57 - 4:01that many schools cannot teach
for good safety reasons. -
4:02 - 4:03And we, of course, quiz the students
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4:03 - 4:06and then give the teachers
a full dashboard, -
4:06 - 4:09so they fully understand
where the students are at. -
4:10 - 4:11But we didn't stop there,
-
4:11 - 4:14because we had seen just
how important meaning is -
4:14 - 4:16for the students' engagement in the class.
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4:16 - 4:18So we brought in game designers
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4:18 - 4:21to create fun and engaging stories.
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4:21 - 4:23For instance, here in this case,
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4:23 - 4:27where the students have to solve
a mysterious CSI murder case -
4:27 - 4:29using their core science skills.
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4:30 - 4:33And the feedback we got
when we launched all of this -
4:33 - 4:35was quite overwhelmingly positive.
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4:35 - 4:36Here we have 300 students,
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4:36 - 4:39all passionately solving CSI murder cases
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4:39 - 4:41while learning core science skills.
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4:43 - 4:45And what I love the most about this
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4:45 - 4:49is really when the students
come up to me sometimes afterwards, -
4:49 - 4:51all surprised and a little confused,
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4:51 - 4:56and say, "I just spent two hours
in this virtual lab, -
4:57 - 4:59and ... and I didn't check Facebook."
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4:59 - 5:00(Laughter)
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5:00 - 5:05That's how engaging and immersive
this really is for the students. -
5:05 - 5:08And so, to investigate
whether this really worked, -
5:08 - 5:12a learning psychologist
did a study with 160 students -- -
5:12 - 5:16that was from Stanford University
and Technical University of Denmark. -
5:17 - 5:20And what they did is split
the students into two groups. -
5:20 - 5:25One group would only use
the virtual laboratory simulations, -
5:25 - 5:28the other group would only use
traditional teaching methods, -
5:28 - 5:30and they had the same amount of time.
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5:31 - 5:33Then, interestingly,
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5:33 - 5:36they gave the students a test
before and after the experiment, -
5:36 - 5:41so they could clearly measure
the learning impact of the students. -
5:41 - 5:42And what they found
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5:42 - 5:48was a surprisingly high 76 percent
increase in the learning effectiveness -
5:48 - 5:53when using virtual laboratories
over traditional teaching methods. -
5:54 - 5:56But even more interestingly,
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5:56 - 5:59the second part of this study investigated
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5:59 - 6:02what the teacher's impact
was on the learning. -
6:03 - 6:04And what they found
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6:04 - 6:07was that when you combined
the virtual laboratories -
6:07 - 6:09with teacher-led coaching and mentoring,
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6:10 - 6:15then we saw a total 101 percent
increase in the learning effectiveness, -
6:15 - 6:20which effectively doubles
the science teacher's impact -
6:20 - 6:22with the same amount of time spent.
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6:25 - 6:27So a couple of months back,
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6:28 - 6:29we started asking ourselves --
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6:29 - 6:32we have a wonderful team now
of learning psychologists -
6:32 - 6:34and teachers and scientists
and game developers -- -
6:34 - 6:36and we started asking ourselves:
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6:36 - 6:38How can we keep ourselves to our promise
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6:38 - 6:41of constantly reimagining education?
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6:41 - 6:46And today, I am really excited
to be presenting what we came up with -
6:46 - 6:49and have been working
incredibly hard to create. -
6:51 - 6:54I will explain briefly what this is.
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6:54 - 6:57Basically, I take my mobile phone --
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6:57 - 6:59most students already
have these, smartphones -- -
6:59 - 7:04and I plug it into this virtual-reality
headset, a low-cost headset. -
7:04 - 7:06And now what I can effectively do is,
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7:06 - 7:09I can literally step
into this virtual world. -
7:09 - 7:12We'll have some of you
in the audience also get to try this, -
7:12 - 7:15because it is really something
that you have to try -
7:15 - 7:18to fully feel how immersive it really is.
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7:18 - 7:21It literally feels like I just stepped
inside this virtual lab. -
7:21 - 7:23Do you see me up on the screen?
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7:23 - 7:24Audience: Yes.
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7:24 - 7:26Michael Bodekaer: Great! Awesome.
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7:26 - 7:29So basically, I have just
turned my mobile phone -
7:29 - 7:32into a fully simulated, million-dollar
Ivy League laboratory -
7:32 - 7:35with all this amazing equipment
that I can interact with. -
7:35 - 7:39I can, for instance, pick up the pipette
and do experiments with it. -
7:39 - 7:41I have my E-Ggel, my PCR
and -- oh, look there, -
7:41 - 7:44I have my next-generation
sequencing machine, -
7:44 - 7:47and there I even have
my electron microscope. -
7:47 - 7:51I mean, who's carrying around
an electron microscope in their pocket? -
7:51 - 7:53And here I have my machine,
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7:53 - 7:55I can do different experiments
on the machine. -
7:55 - 7:56And over here I have the door,
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7:56 - 7:59I can go into other experiments,
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7:59 - 8:01I can perform in the laboratories.
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8:01 - 8:03And here, I have my learning tablet.
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8:03 - 8:04This is an intelligent tablet
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8:04 - 8:07that allows me to read
about relevant theory. -
8:07 - 8:09As you can see, I can interact with it.
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8:09 - 8:13I can watch videos and see
content that is relevant -
8:13 - 8:16to the experiment
that I'm performing right now. -
8:17 - 8:18Then over here, I have Marie.
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8:19 - 8:22She is my teacher --
my lab assistant -- -
8:22 - 8:25and what she does is guides me
through this whole laboratory. -
8:25 - 8:26And very soon,
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8:26 - 8:29the teachers will be able
to literally teleport themselves -
8:29 - 8:32into this virtual world
that I'm in right now -
8:32 - 8:35and help me, guide me,
through this whole experiment. -
8:35 - 8:38And now before I finalize this,
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8:38 - 8:41I want to show you
an even cooler thing, I think -- -
8:41 - 8:44something you cannot
even do in real laboratories. -
8:44 - 8:45This is a PCR machine.
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8:45 - 8:47I'm now going to start this experiment.
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8:47 - 8:52And what I just did is literally
shrunk myself a million times -
8:52 - 8:53into the size of a molecule --
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8:53 - 8:56and it really feels like it,
you have to try this. -
8:56 - 8:58So now it feels like
I'm standing inside the machine -
8:58 - 9:01and I'm seeing all the DNA,
and I see the molecules. -
9:01 - 9:04I see the polymerase
and the enzymes and so forth. -
9:04 - 9:06And I can see how in this case,
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9:06 - 9:09DNA is being replicated millions of times,
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9:09 - 9:12just like it's happening
inside your body right now. -
9:12 - 9:16And I can really feel and understand
how all of this works. -
9:17 - 9:21Now, I hope that gives you
a little bit of a sense -
9:21 - 9:25of the possibilities
in these new teaching methods. -
9:27 - 9:29And I want to also emphasize
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9:29 - 9:32that everything you just saw
also works on iPads and laptops -
9:32 - 9:33without the headsets.
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9:34 - 9:36I say that for a very important reason.
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9:36 - 9:39In order for us to really
empower and inspire -
9:40 - 9:42the next generation of scientists,
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9:42 - 9:45we really need teachers
to drive the adoption -
9:45 - 9:48of new technologies in the classroom.
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9:49 - 9:51And so in many ways,
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9:51 - 9:55I believe that the next big,
quantum leap in science education -
9:55 - 9:58lies no longer with the technology,
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9:58 - 10:00but rather with the teachers' decision
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10:00 - 10:03to push forward and adopt
these technologies -
10:03 - 10:05inside the classrooms.
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10:05 - 10:08And so it is our hope that more
universities and schools and teachers -
10:09 - 10:11will collaborate with technology companies
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10:11 - 10:14to realize this full potential.
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10:14 - 10:16And so,
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10:16 - 10:18lastly, I'd like to leave you
with a little story -
10:18 - 10:20that really inspires me.
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10:20 - 10:22And that is the story of Jack Andraka.
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10:22 - 10:24Some of you might already know him.
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10:24 - 10:31Jack invented a new, groundbreaking
low-cost test for pancreatic cancer -
10:31 - 10:34at the age 15.
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10:35 - 10:39And when Jack shares his story
of how he did this huge breakthrough, -
10:39 - 10:42he also explains that one thing
almost prevented him -
10:42 - 10:44from making this breakthrough.
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10:45 - 10:50And that was that he did not
have access to real laboratories, -
10:50 - 10:52because he was too inexperienced
-
10:52 - 10:54to be allowed in.
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10:55 - 10:57Now, imagine if we could bring
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10:57 - 11:00Ivy League, million-dollar
virtual laboratories -
11:00 - 11:03out to all these students just like Jack,
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11:03 - 11:04all over the world,
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11:04 - 11:08and give them the latest, greatest,
most fancy machines you can imagine -
11:08 - 11:10that would quite literally
make any scientist in here -
11:10 - 11:13jump up and down out of pure excitement.
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11:13 - 11:17And then imagine how that
would empower and inspire -
11:17 - 11:22a whole new generation
of young and bright scientists, -
11:22 - 11:25ready to innovate and change the world.
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11:25 - 11:26Thank you very much.
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11:26 - 11:32(Applause)
- Title:
- This virtual lab will revolutionize science class | Michael Bodekaer | TEDxCERN
- Description:
-
Virtual reality is no longer part of some distant future, and it's not just for gaming and entertainment anymore. Michael Bodekaer wants to use it to make quality education more accessible. In this refreshing talk, he demos an idea that could revolutionize the way we teach science in schools today.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 11:38
Retired user commented on English subtitles for This virtual lab will revolutionize science class | Michael Bodekaer | TEDxCERN | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for This virtual lab will revolutionize science class | Michael Bodekaer | TEDxCERN | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for This virtual lab will revolutionize science class | Michael Bodekaer | TEDxCERN |
Retired user
Possible typo in 7:38 E-Ggel should probably be E-Gel.