Tag: pitch

Overview:

I want to use a Virtual Reality application to teach elementary age kids currency math. I think it would be beneficial for kids to learn this skill. The number of young adults who cannot do money math is growing. I have a close friend who has trouble counting the different coin amounts because they are unaware of the different monetary values. To me, this is something that we can and should be fixing. The ability to count out money is something you cannot get by without in the world we live in. I believe this problem needs to be addressed at the elementary level so that kids are exposed to the math from an early age and continue to practice and get better as they grow up. I believe that teaching kids money math through the use of VR equipment is the best way to go about it because kids are intrigued by video games and combining the two will help keep their attention.  There have been studies conducted about the relationship between video games supporting learning and educators agree with this statement (Jonker and Wijers, 2008).

 

VR Breakdown:

There will be multiple levels that vary in difficulty going from first graders up to fifth graders. The beginning level will teach the kids the different names and values of each coin and dollar bill so they can begin to familiarize themselves with each. As the kids move up in school, the math problems will coincide with what they are working on in their math classes so they are getting more practice with everything they are learning. As the child moves into fifth grade, they will be put into virtual scenarios where they gain experience purchasing different things in virtual store settings so they will be able to count out the money they owe and it will increasingly become more difficult, depending on the individual level of each student. In the Th!nklets article, they mention a money math game that is on the computer, and this is the mathematics I would like to incorporate into the VR world and make the game more immersive for the students. This will make them feel less like they are learning and more like they are simply playing a game (Jonker and Wijers, 2008).

 

Target Market:

My target market is elementary students, starting with first graders and going to fifth graders. However, the software can be adapted to provide more difficult scenarios and be implemented in middle schools as well. I want students to be able to count their money and not have to rely on calculators, or solely the use of debit and credit cards when they grow up because they never learned the different coin values or feel embarrassed to count out the money on their own. This skill will also come in handy for any high school student that wants to get a job in any retail store, or any job that deals with the exchange of money.

 

Empathy:

As the student submits answers to the different math problems in the game, there will be levels when they are given different amounts from other “students” and they have to count the money to see if they were correct or not. The “students” who are a part of the game will have times when they give the incorrect amount and if the player tells them the amount is correct, the student will laugh, letting them know they gave the wrong amount on purpose to teach the player how it feels to be picked on. In the higher levels of the game, when the player is in the store environment, there will be other “students” around them if they get their amounts wrong again. This is not to make the player feel embarrassed or bad, it is to teach them that everyone makes mistakes and that that is no reason to laugh at someone else.

 

References:

Vincent Jonker and Monica Wijers. 2008. Th!nklets for mathematics education: re-using computer games characteristics in educational software. In Proceedings of the 8th international conference on International conference for the learning sciences – Volume 1 (ICLS’08), Vol. 1. International Society of the Learning Sciences 406-413.

The worst part about being a science major is walking into your lab and taking a breath, only to be assaulted by the smell of formaldehyde-preserved animals, reminding you that today is, in fact, a dissection lab. Perhaps you have a weak stomach and are easily nauseated by the smell and sight of organs. Or maybe you’re an animal rights activist and don’t believe in killing and preserving animals for the sake of dissection and believe there’s another way. That’s where OFPF comes in.

OFPF is primarily an augmented reality-based program that allows college students to dissect a vast array of animals and plants, without ever having to harm an actual animal. The HTC Vive-based simulation will combine simulated animals, ragdoll physics, and various “random encounters” that mimic the occasional odd specimen in a real dissection.

While not an original concept, what separates OFPF from the current dissection simulations out there, is the use of the HTC Vive’s controllers and attention to detail in the physics and especially the motions of the player. Should the player cut with a shaky hand, for example, the incision would mimic the shakiness of the player’s motion.

Simpler editions of the program are computer-based, and are played using huion’s osu! tablet. The simple edition of the program will contain a cow eye, squid, frog, and worm dissection, while more advanced editions will provide more advanced dissections, such as dogfish, cat, rat, pig, and various other common classroom dissections.

 

Sources:
Lin, Mike Tz-Yauw, et al. “A Study on the Effect of Virtual Reality 3D Exploratory Education on Students’ Creativity and Leadership.” EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 7, 01 Aug. 2017, pp. 3151-3161. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.stevenson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1144451&site=ehost-live.

Throughout American history, a wave of immigrants who have come to the U.S. either by ways of compulsion or their own free will has faced discrimination

After 9/11, Muslim culture has been a target of discrimination. This division of people has caused us to lose our humanity. Pictures have surfaced of children choking on gas in Syrian countries and we still have policies that keep Syrians from seeking refuge in our country based on religion.

So my VR experience address the question of how we can regain our empathy for Syrian Refugees? How can we regain our humanity?

Well the best way to understand someone’s plight is to be in it. I propose a role reversal experience where the United States is in turmoil and our citizens are in need of refuge. The user will go through process of obtaining asylum in American and then try to assimilate into a culture completely different from their own in a society that resents them.

Through this experience, I hope that United States citizens can look at the struggle of these refugees and understand it. I am hoping that after putting themselves in their position they will rethink their position. That politicians will not lobby to keep innocent people out of our country and that citizens will not be afraid of a person speaking Arabic.

Education and Application. In the VR scenario the user will learn about Muslim culture and Syrian culture. They will hear people speaking Arabic and even learn Arabic phrases and allow them to destigmatize Muslims as all being terrorist. Originally my idea was to allow students who are taking a Religious Studies or Cultural Courses  to use the simulation but this can be applied to various demographic such as lawyers, law students, social workers, diplomats, writers and politicians.

The leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 15-24, our age group, is car accidents. What is the second? Suicide. Among all age groups, another life is lost every 13.7 minutes to suicide. That’s 105.8 people a day, 38,364 per year. For every 100-200 attempts in youths, there is 1 completed act. This is a huge problem in the United States.

Suicide is 100% preventable, if the signs are noticed and action is taken. In 80% of suicides someone didn’t say something when they saw warning signs. This program will assist in making high school through college students aware of the signs of suicide and how to take action to prevent it.

 

 

 

 

 

Warning signs include acquiring a gun or stockpiling pills, talking about wanting to die or kill oneself, impulsivity or increased risk taking, giving away prized possessions, self-destructive acts (self-mutilation), increased drug or alcohol abuse, talking about having no reason to live, mood changes, ideation, and social isolation/withdrawal.  Problems that increase suicide risk include prior attempts, mental health disorders, history of trauma or abuse, family history of suicide, and *lack of social support*.

Some things you can do to help prevent suicide includes asking them directly, listen to them, show you care, contact their parent or a counselor, and whatever you do, do not leave them alone. It is better to have them be mad at you for a couple weeks than be gone forever.

This application involves a series of videos with the user making a choice at the end of each video. The choices made influences the overall outcome of the video. The user starts out having a conversation with their “friend” who is suicidal. Over the course of the video, warning signs are revealed. The user gets to choose what they do when each opportunity is presented. After the last decision, the suicidal person either thanks the user for doing something when they saw the warning signs or the user is at the suicidal person’s funeral.

The difference between this application and others is the character in the application that is suicidal is like your friend and the user’s choices influence the outcome. The goal is to invoke empathy and splagna within the user, as well as educate people about the warning signs of suicide and how to intervene. Know the signs, save a life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

Lesser, Loryn. “Adolescent Suicide: Prevalence; Circumstance; and Conditions of Recognition”. November 2017. PowerPoint Presentation.

 

One of the oldest pastimes and arts to enable survival throughout history is hunting. In modern times however, it is not necessarily a key to survival, but is still done by millions in the US alone.  One of the prerequisites one must have prior to becoming a hunter is he or she must pass a hunter’s safety course.  This course consists of sitting in a class and merely listening to an instructor preach the “do’s and don’ts” of hunting.  As someone who has been through the class, I can testify that most f the information is forgotten after the conclusion of those three, six hour classes.

So, recently I have been thinking, “How can we make a hunter’s safety course better and help prospective hunters make sure they know what must be done to actually ethically hunt?”   The answer is exposure, and because actual, physical exposure is dangerous and illegal, Virtual Reality can give the prospective hunter the exposure they need.

After searching the web far and wide, it was clear that a V.R. hunter’s safety course is not available n the market. The closest device that tries to emulate what a hunter must do in the woods is a gaming console with a screen; that’s not exactly superb immersion.  I propose an application that puts the hunter in the shoes of a hunter.  From choosing which tool and ammunition, to sitting in a stand or blind, to have to field dress the animal, this application will give the prospective hunter the full immersive effect.

Not only will this application give the hunter the knowledge of what it takes to be a hunter, but also allows him or her to empathize with the animals he or she is hunting.  Empathy with animals is a concept brushed upon in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,by Philip K. Dick.  Before someone should be able to kill an animal, they must first become familiar with its environment, familiar with its lifestyle, and knowledgeable about its habits.  Through V.R. technology, it is possible to create safer, more ethical, and smarter hunters.

English 281 elevator pitch (1)

“Reliving History” is an interactive experience where users are immersed in a simulation of history.​ Users will see actors reenacting historical events or a hypothetical historical events. Users will be able to experience this in the first person point of view.​ Users will have the ability to answer questions asked by actors by selecting responses with haptic controls.

The goal of “Reliving History” is to get users engaged in historical events and connect with past, or even present, groups of people they would otherwise not understand. ​ It is intended to improve user’s knowledge of historical events by immersing them directly into the historical scene. It promotes empathy in users because they are able to experience how people lived and were treated.​ Users will evaluate what they’ve learned by taking a short quiz before they exit that reviews the scenario they’ve been through.

The HTC Live VR headset will allow users to experience firsthand what it was like to live in a certain time period as a certain demographic, social caste or role. ​It will totally immerse users into the scene. They will be able to hear the voices of the actors in the scene, see a full 360 degrees around them, walk in a confined space, and even select and touch objects with haptic controls.

“Reliving History” targets museums as the consumers (the ones who would actually purchase the product) and museum goers as a secondary audience because they would be the ones experiencing it. ​ We could possibly first release a demo set containing short clips of a few historical events and continue by releasing new time periods, roles, and demographics.

Only VR tech that already exists would be used (HTC Live).​ We would work with museum’s budget so they can get exactly what they want.​ They could possibly have the new VR technology be part of a grand opening and charge an entry fee for opening night and have people try the technology. More people may come to the museum to try it.​ Challenges may arise as this simulation cannot reproduce history perfectly (Allison), but we should only go so far in depth with the simulation as we know we can still be accurate.

 

 

Proposal

The idea I have for my proposal is a virtual reality experience that puts users on outdoor adventures with different personalities that will guide them and teach them about the different areas that they are in. Users will be able to choose from an array of videos with unique personalities who will walk through outdoor/terrain areas of the world as if they are with them through the entire journey. Using the GoPro OMNI, these personalities will record themselves walking through nature and other areas of the world. These areas include but are not limited to: nature walks, historical landmark adventures, natural phenomena that happens in many areas of the world, monument sites, and other areas of significance. This app will make a profit primarily on subscriptions, advertisements, and generous donations that will be apparent on the app’s homepage. Users will be able to pay for a premium service that gives them all-access to all of the app’s content.

Target Audience

This app can be used by anyone. However, the main target audience will be children with bed-ridden illnesses and other patients who suffer from similar illnesses. Many of these individuals don’t get to explore the greatness that is nature. Due to their illnesses, many children will never get to know what it’s like to camp, go on nature-walks, and see other landmarks with great significance. These videos will not only be educational but will also help these individuals explore beyond what their bed has to offer.

How it will teach empathy?

These videos are meant to give users the deep understanding of how important our Earth is to human survival. The main goal of these videos is to shine lights on natural phenomena that take place around the world. These videos will go into the importance of the area they are covering, and how protecting these environments is not only beneficial for humanity, but for the greater good of our Earth. This app will also promote an agenda to help raise money for cancer patients and other sicknesses that keep children from being children.