Online Site Visits using 360-degree Panoramic Collaborative Spaces

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This project aims to serve the national interest by pioneering a transformative online virtual learning approach to simplify student's access to real-world site visits and the practice of collaborative communication skills. This project will open up new educational applications for online delivery of field trips that heavily rely on dangerous, or financially prohibitive locations. In this project, multi-user 360-degree panoramic collaborative spaces (360PICS) will be used to create digital field trip experiences that illustrate the real sites where geographically-dispersed students can connect and interact with each other. This project will advance the understanding of the site visit experiences for STEM students and investigate the conditions under which improved student learning occurs through online, easy-to-access, digital site visits. Students will be able to engage with other students within the 360PICS environment while staying focused on practicing the skills required on those site visit experiences.The research goal of this proposal is to present civil, architectural and construction engineering students with opportunities to enable online location-independent site visits, using real-world occasions where situated learning is dangerous, unsafe, or difficult to achieve. The specific objectives of the project are to (1) characterize student communication and collaboration during digital site visits, (2) capture, develop, and define 360PICS affordances that are most conducive to enhance student communication and collaboration during digital site visits, and (3) assess the influence of 360PICS on student communication and collaboration during digital site visits. Web-based virtual reality techniques will be employed to develop 360PICS and create the required communication and collaboration affordances. The uses and effects of 360PICS will be assessed using a mixed-method approach, collecting qualitative and quantitative measurements to specifically understand the influence of 360PICS on student communication and collaboration during digital site visits. In connection with this project, educational and outreach efforts will be integrated into several online courses, workshops, webinars, and outreach activities. This project will also provide the opportunity for online project-based learning for undergraduate students as a part of a 360PICS-based course module. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.