UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rungun Nathan, professor and program chair of mechanical engineering at Penn State Berks, was disappointed earlier this semester when he discovered he couldn’t take his engineering class on a field trip to a Bosch factory. Pandemic-related restrictions were still in effect, and he was told his 20-student group was too large.
Field trips and in-class demonstrations have always been a core part of his curriculum, however, and the tech-savvy instructor began thinking about the potential of a virtual field trip. “Wait,” he recalls thinking, “we have everything [the technology] needed — why are we not putting it together?”
The conclusion led to his submission in this year’s Open Innovation Challenge (OIC). He titled the project “Bring the X* to the Classroom,” where “X*” can be a factory or any off-site location.
“Instead of limiting it to going to a factory, I thought, why not open up the idea?” Nathan said. “It could be done for everything.”
As an OIC finalist, Nathan presented his idea to the attendees at this year’s Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Symposium. During his five-minute presentation, he outlined the technology requirements: the sole site visitor would need two cameras (one for each eye), a microphone for audio and speakers. Classrooms would need a screen, projector and audio equipment.
Following the five finalists’ presentations, viewers voted for their favorite. Nathan’s peers were impressed with the idea, and it received the most votes and he won the challenge.
The honor comes with support from TLT to further explore the idea. Since the necessary technology already exists, Nathan expects TLT to help “stitch it together” into a wearable platform that instructors can sign out when they want to use it. Classroom adjustments will be minimal, he said. Extra mics will need to be added, and the team will need to think through how the class will interact with the field trip-goer to ask questions in real time.
With the technical aspect of “Bring the X* to the Classroom” relatively straightforward, Nathan is hopeful that creating the platform itself can happen quickly. He said that this is an exciting prospect for both students and instructors because the benefits are clear: fewer hours and less money invested in field trips mean more field trips overall.
Nathan agrees that it’s best to keep field trips with a tactical component in person. Still, the technology could be applied to experiences where the number of participants must be limited, whether due to ongoing pandemic restrictions or for other reasons. One such example Nathan provided is medical students watching live operations.
Nathan was one of five OIC finalists who presented at the 2022 TLT Symposium. Additional faculty presentations were:
— Anne Hoag, associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications and director of the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship, Penn State University Park, “Closing the Gap between Virtual and Actual Study Abroad.”
— Mary Ann Smith, lecturer in biology, Penn State Schuylkill, “Bringing the Campus to Life: An App to Engage Students with Our Campuses, Their History, and The Environment.”
— Jeannette Lang, assistant teaching professor of English and assistant director of the Writing Commons, Penn State Altoona, “Student-Centered & Student-Created Professional Development: Creating an Interactive Tutoring Platform.”
— Austin Boyle, assistant teaching professor of economics, Penn State University Park, “VR Classrooms.”
For those with their own innovative ideas, the 2023 OIC will be open for submissions before next year’s TLT Symposium, typically held in March. TLT is currently exploring a new OIC format, and details will be released as they become available.