Water INTENsE: INteractive TEchNology Education

水密集型项目将增加基于STEM的学习，并通过为全国各地两年制大学副学士学位课程的学生开发水技术和农业领域的虚拟现实(VR)模拟技术员课程来改善劳动力培训。先进技术环境和能源中心(ATEEC)将与工业和教育领域的合作伙伴合作，开发并现场测试虚拟现实培训模块，重点模拟水/废水和农业/节水领域的学习情况。模拟将允许理工科学生在情景环境中接受动手应用培训，为学生提供关于虚拟现实世界设备的练习，而对于大多数教育机构来说，实际的现场设备往往成本高昂。该项目将利用ATEEC在职业分析、课程开发和水技术方面的教学材料项目方面的工作。由于ATEEC与工业和教育有关的国家环境技术网络，该项目处于有利地位，可以补充和增强现有的水和农业技术课程，利用该领域的各种内容专家，并确定和满足劳动力需求。通过其在线资源中心，ATEEC与全国各地的两年制大学进行互动，并将通过其成熟的在线资源中心以及额外的NSF和ATE渠道传播所有VR模块，以努力接触到尽可能多的教育工作者、学生和技术人员。更广泛地使用模拟模块将导致1)能够接触到STEM领域代表性不足的学生，2)增加水/废水和保护/农业工作的技术人员数量，以满足对熟练、多样化劳动力的日益增长的需求。项目评估将侧重于虚拟现实学习单元的开发进度、衡量学生的表现及其在工作场所的成功程度，以及分发学习材料。

The Water INTENsE project will increase STEM-based learning and improve workforce training by developing virtual reality (VR) simulated technician curricula in the areas of water technologies and agriculture for students in two-year college associate degree programs around the country. The Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC), working with partners in industry and education, will develop and field test VR training modules that are focused on simulating learning situations in the fields of water/wastewater and agriculture/water conservation. The simulations will allow technology students to receive hands-on, applied training in a contextual environment, providing students with practice on virtual real-world equipment when actual field equipment is often cost-prohibitive for most educational institutions. The project will leverage ATEEC's work in occupational analysis, curriculum development, and instructional material projects in water technology. Due to ATEEC's national environmental technology network with industry and education, the project is well positioned to supplement and enhance existing water and agriculture technology curricula, utilize a wide variety of content experts in the field, and determine and fulfill workforce needs. Through its online resource center, ATEEC interacts with two-year colleges across the nation and will disseminate all VR modules through its own well-established online resource center and through additional NSF and ATE channels in an effort to reach as many educators, students, and technicians as possible. Broader use of the simulated modules will result in 1) the ability to reach students that are underrepresented in the STEM fields and 2) an increased number of technicians in water/wastewater and conservation/ag jobs that meet the growing need for a skilled, diverse workforce. Project evaluation will focus on the progress of the development of the VR learning modules, measurement of student performance and their success in the workplace, and dissemination of the learning materials.