Dr. Laura Alexander, assistant professor of English at High Point University, tests the Oculus Rift and Vive headsets inside the HPU Gaming Studio for future classroom use.
HIGH POINT, N.C., June 15, 2016 – High Point University faculty were recently awarded three Think Big Grants that will change the way HPU students learn. Through cutting-edge technology and experiential learning, students will expand their scholarly pursuits and community outreach efforts through virtual reality, a Mobile Lab and Perception Analyzers.
The Mobile Lab Outreach Program: Strengthening Students’ Critical Thinking Skills through Science Outreach
This $51,080 grant will give students enrolled in biology and chemistry the opportunity to perform laboratory experiments with local middle and high school students in a Mobile Lab. This Mobile Lab will be integrated into the curriculum for HPU students where they will create the experiment on HPU’s campus and conduct the experiment in the Mobile Lab. This will enhance their higher-order thinking while at the same time serve the community by promoting interest and achievement in the sciences. This Mobile Lab will be up and running spring 2017.
“This Mobile Lab will help our HPU community strengthen our ties with the High Point community in the context of science outreach in the biological sciences,” says Dr. Veronica Segarra, assistant professor of biology at HPU. “The Mobile Lab will also provide our students the opportunity to acquire real-world experience in scientific research and science communication. This experience will ultimately help them refine their abilities and career interests.”
“The Mobile Lab is an innovative instrument by which we can engage students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) on multiple levels,” says Dr. Melissa Srougi, assistant professor of biochemistry. “Unique to our Mobile Lab is that HPU students are the ‘drivers,’ they will design their own experiments and teach them to the high school students. It is an incredible opportunity for our HPU students within the sciences to be independent investigators, leaders and mentors.”
Virtual Reality: Advancing Student Learning Through Immersive Technology
To advance student learning, a $23,245 grant will bring cutting-edge virtual reality to campus in the 2016-17 academic year. Virtual reality as a pedagogical tool knows no boundaries: it will be utilized by nearly every department on campus. The Oculus Rift and Vive headsets can immerse English Literature students in Shakespeare’s “Globe Theater” in London to watch a performance of Hamlet; immerse history students back in time during the Great Depression; train criminal justice students how to safely search a building for suspects; or transport astronomy students to outer space to explore the orbit of planets around the sun. A vast horizon of learning applications await HPU students and professors who will utilizing this revolutionary technology.
“Virtual reality will transform education in the 21st century,” says Dr. Thomas Dearden, assistant professor of criminal justice at HPU. “Virtual learning environments will immerse HPU faculty and students in simulated environments where they can not only learn and explore, but create as well.
Perception Analyzers
This $25,675 grant will provide HPU students access to the latest technology in analyzing media messages. These Perception Analyzers are a valuable and sustainable tool for students and faculty interested in examining how audiences perceive various message features. Students from a number of academic programs will learn to identify how audiences react to different media messages through these hand-held dials that gather continuous, in-the-moment feedback. In addition, the Perception Analyzer equipment and software will provide faculty research opportunities and increase the potential for community involvement. The analyzers will be available fall 2016.
“The Perception Analyzer will provide an incredible opportunity for faculty to gather in-the-moment data on what our students are thinking,” said Dr. David Bergen, chair and professor of human relations at HPU. “Professors from a variety of majors are now able to collect student perceptions on topics instantly in the classroom and to immediately utilize this data for instructional purposes and research.”
About HPU’s Think Big Grants:
The HPU Think BIG Awards are awarded annually on a competitive basis to exceptional HPU faculty projects that enhance the student learning experience and enrich the broader academic community. The grants awarded aim to encourage faculty to imagine and design truly innovative, creative and engaging approaches to student learning.