Using eXtended Reality for Field Biology Education and Outreach

Presenter: Savanna Gouvaia

Co-Presenter(s):
Alex Flores, Nikko Calzadilla, Sehajpreet Sran, Sara Kassis, and Lisa Patrick Bentley

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Bentley

Department: Biology

Abstract:
Here, we discuss two different projects that use eXtended Reality (XR). In the first project, we are testing an approach to use Oculus virtual reality (VR) headsets to teach undergraduate biology students how to make detailed field observations about a local ecosystem and learn about ecosystem change. In the second project, we created an immersive 360-degree instructional video and associated written guide to show how to set up and utilize a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to study forest and fire ecology. Out aim is to use this platform to provide outreach related to the novelty of our research approach and significance of our research results.