Edutainment in an electronic classroom
The virtual_control_room makes it possible for
school classes to plan and carry out a virtual mission to the comet Wirtanen to
look for traces of life. The students will play the roles of scientists, engineers,
mission control managers etc., and they will experience the excitement of making new discoveries.
The virtual_control_room setup
The virtual_control_room is a new vision of a learning environment.
It creates a unique setup that fascinates and motivates
students, thereby increasing the learning effect.
The virtual_control_room has a look and feel like a real space mission
control centre with a big screen and a number of work places.
The students are seated at these work places. For pedagogical reasons work places
are grouped in islands. An island has three work places each equipped with a
touch sensitive screen. Two students can share a work place.
This means that an island can accommodate between 3 and 6 students. Furthermore,
each island has a big screen (island screen) used to provide additional common information.
The islands are grouped around the big screen. A standard virtual_control_room
configuration includes four islands in order to accommodate a school class with up to 24 students.
However, the number of islands can vary according to specific needs and physical
constraints. This makes the virtual_control_room concept flexible.
Hands on experience
By planning and performing a simulated space mission, the students learn about astronomy, space science, physics, chemistry, and more. Learning by doing is more efficient than the classic unidirectional and passive style of lecturing and thus an optimal supplement. Students are more excited and motivated, hence the mediated knowledge is better memorized.
Currently, the virtual_control_room provides a scenario of a mission to a comet based on ESA's Rosetta mission to the comet Wirtanen. Many other missions can be supported, such as a mission to land on a planet or a visit to the International Space Station. The virtual_control_room also supports learning in scientific and technical domains other than space.
Learn about science
The space mission not only covers information about the solar system. It also presents topics from physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, geology etc. The missions are carefully planned from a pedagogical point of view, in order to maximize the outcome for the participants.
Performing tasks in a team
The virtual_control_room encourages cooperation between students in order to give the experience of both the necessity and the strength of working together when exploring complex physical phenomena. The different episodes of the mission are designed with collaboration in mind.
Pedagogical presentation of science and assistance by the virtual character Dr. Ashley
The virtual_control_room provides access to knowledge
about natural sciences and astronomy through simulated space missions,
presented and narrated in a pedagogical fashion, by the virtual Dr. Ashley.
The students will experience the laws of physics and will be introduced
to the concepts of space travel.
Intuitive user interfaces and Virtual Reality technology
The virtual_control_room provides an intuitive 3D virtual reality based user interface. The user interfaces to the system are touch sensitive screens and a special Personal Interaction Panel (PIP). The PIP allows students to manipulate 3D objects in a very intuitive and user-friendly way. The user interfaces and collaborative pedagogical approach of the virtual_control_room provide a learning environment with qualities beyond current state of the art. The illusion of being in a control room and working together is an important part of the concept.