XRi has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant (Grant #1908159) for $1.48 Million over a three year period. Researchers at Kent State University will look at the use of 360 videos to train pre-service teachers. 360 video records in a spherical manner and will immerse the viewer into the classroom environment. Additionally, through annotation technology the trainee can be prompted to focus on certain aspects of the video and deeply explore the classroom environment. Through collaboration with education and computer science the research team will study how the use of these immersive videos can be used to train teachers.
The project is titled “Design and Implementation of Immersive Representations of Practice”. NSF awarded the $1.48 million dollar grant to Karl Kosko, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics education; Richard Ferdig, PhD., professor of educational technology, both in the College of Education, Health and Human Services; and Cheng Chang Lu, Ph.D., professor of computer science in the College of Arts and Sciences. The project also includes several Key Personnel, Graduate Student Researchers, and other student employees. The project has received media attention from a variety of outlets including the following linked articles and interviews:
Official Kent State Press Release (09-02-19): https://www.kent.edu/kent/news/kent-state-researchers-receive-nsf-grant-extended-reality-technology-teacher?fbclid=IwAR2t1oKUlqJNyL7J_6f1CbpgaZYQT4DaQ1PVO2PO08jFsl_3sttXWTamxZ0
Eureka Alert (08-27-19): https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/ksu-ksr082719.php
Crain’s Cleveland Business (08-30-19): https://www.crainscleveland.com/rachel-mccafferty-blog/ksu-researchers-receive-148-million-grant-help-better-train-future-teachers
Kent Stater / KentWired (09-02-19): http://www.kentwired.com/latest_updates/article_40522528-cdd5-11e9-81e0-97131d73af96.html
Digital Video (08-07-19): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_MK3rpYySY
Radio Interview:
WAKR
(aired9-6-19):https://www.wakr.net/news/this-week-in-tech/item/164801-this-week-in-tech-with-jeanne-destro-9-6-19
