BGSU Zoom News

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Stevens explores using virtual reality for real learning | BGLA develops leadership skills for faculty, staff

Mark Stevens helps an education major try out a virtual reality program.

STEVENS EXPLORES USING VIRTUAL REALITY FOR REAL LEARNING

Imagine you are back in your seventh-grade history classroom, learning about the tomb of King Tutankhamun. You look at your textbook and see a small, outdated picture or two of part of the site, and then a short description that ultimately doesn’t tell, or show, very much at all.

Now imagine if you could actually go to King Tut’s tomb and explore it for yourself, complete with dark lighting, eerie music, an explorative environment and information points throughout the tomb that tell and show you more than your textbook ever could.

This is just one of many games that Mark Stevens from the BGSU’s College of Education and Human Development (EDHD) uses to demonstrate the uses of virtual reality (VR) technology, and one that he hopes to implement in K-12 school in the future. While it is next to impossible for students to see wonders of the world such as King Tut’s tomb in person, with Stevens’s use of VR, they would be able to explore a lifelike, realistically detailed version of it without ever leaving their classroom.

Stevens, an alumnus of BGSU’s master’s program in classroom technology and instruction design, is a full-time education technology instructor in EDHD, and he has a passion for not only emerging technologies, but also exposing his students to them. At BGSU, he creates immersive learning environments through virtual world creation — the same effect he hopes to achieve in school classrooms through VR. His BGSU students, all of whom are studying to become teachers, work with him to help develop the best ways to implement learning techniques into the VR games.

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BGLA DEVELOPS LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR FACULTY, STAFF

Faculty and staff have the opportunity to develop their leadership potential and contribute to the continued progress of the University through participation in the BG Leadership Academy (BGLA).

BGLA offers a systematic approach for faculty and staff to learn leadership theories and apply them to real institutional initiatives, resulting in functional solutions that will move the University further toward achieving the goals of its strategic plan. It will be a five-month integrated program, beginning in January, with five, full-day sessions.

To be eligible to participate, you must be a current, full-time employee with at least two years of faculty or staff experience at BGSU and request that your supervisor provide a “Nominator Rationale.” Learn more about the leadership academy and apply online. The application deadline is Dec. 1.

MEYER TO TAKE INTERIM ROLE FOR CAPITAL PLANNING AND CAMPUS OPERATIONS

Dr. Bruce Meyer, assistant vice president for campus operations, will serve as interim vice president for capital planning and campus operations to fill the role of the late Steven Krakoff, President Mary Ellen Mazey and CFO Sherideen Stoll announced Nov. 1.

The position will continue to be a dual report to the president and the vice president for finance and administration. Dr. Andrea Depinet, director of campus services, will step into Meyer’s role while he is in the interim position.

Meyer is a member of the Executive Team tasked with implementing the Campus Master Plan, and his current responsibilities align well with the position, Mazey and Stoll said. He has been with BGSU since 2010 and is responsible for the overall leadership, direction, vision and management of Campus Operations, which serves a wide range of University units, from Intercollegiate Athletics to Academic Affairs.

IN BRIEF

Immersing audiences in the decadence of America’s Jazz Age, BGSU Firelands College presents “The Great Gatsby” tonight through Saturday (Nov. 2-4) in the McBride Auditorium at Firelands.

Members of the BGSU Computer Art Club attended the Ottawa International Animation Festival to learn about what's going on in the animation industry and walked away as champion pumpkin carvers.

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