EAST Initiative 2012 Conference Winners

 

Congratulations 2012 Conference Winners

Virtual Reality Competition VRDL

Visualize the classroom of the future, where students from around the world learn by sharing and creating a virtual educational environment. Utilizing techonology, students will explore places that they have only imagined, communicating and interacting with other students to support their journey and exploration. Prior to the Virtual Reality Development Lab (VRDL), the virtual experience has been unobtainable and unsynchronized with modern educational initiatives. With the release of the VRDL, not only is the virtual experience available to students - but they can create it themselves! VRDL is the fusion of cutting-edge virtual technology with the commitment to exceptional and thought-provoking education. Winner:  Mountain View High School- Blanchard Springs Caverns Virtual Reality Tour – Allyn Irvin, Hennelly Irvin, Alexis Waters, Jamey Ragland, Bryan Davis, Kyle Buenrostro, Aaron White, Andrew Wilson From the Students, "We want to explore the adventures and knowledge that Blanchard Springs Caverns offers to everyone, regardless of handicap or fear.  Through the making of this tour, the project team members have become considerably knowledgeable about the cave."           Malvern High School - Virtual Reality Yearbook – Brandon Crow, Dalton Hyde, Chase Norwood "We want to see how people change over the years. By completing a Virtual Yearbook for our entire Senior class, we can see how people have changed on class reunions or simply by looking over the yearbook."           Roberts Elementary School -Tour of Dr. Don R. Roberts Elemtary School – Rebecca Brogdon, Emma Choate, Benjamin Brandt, Jacob Collins, Evan Hankins, EmilyDavault, Evelyn Perez, Dawson Cloud, Bryson Decker, Greyson Froberg, Jenny Zhang "We want to explore giving the outside world a view of our new school. This is the second year our school has been in existence and many people have not seen what is available to the students. Families moving into the area can look at our tour and see what we have to offer. "  

Augmented Reality Competition ARDL

The students used our Simple Module Builder that allows them to actually create their own Augmented Reality module.  A user can use a 3D rendering program such as SketchUp, 3D Max, Lightwave, or any other program of their choice, and import models into the Simple Module Builder to create a brand new module that can be shared by other students and faculty.  The builder allows you to assign different assets, animations, music, and models to develope anything in Augmented Reality that you would like.  It creates limitless opportunities for students and teachers to both learn and have fun at the same time.  Students like Ania, Amber, and Maddy are our inspiration for developing the software in the first place. Winner:  Valley View High School - 7 Wonders of the Ancient World – Ania Welman "I wanted to allow students to see and learn about the seven wonders of the world in a fun, new way by utilizing this software."             Sylvan Hills High School - Chemisty Elements  – Amber Wagner, Maddy White "We created elements from the periodic table for students to have the ability to see a 3D model of the element.  The Chemistry teacher is aware that not all students are auditory learners and wanted the opportunity to provide a visual context for the element he is teaching."             Highlights from the Environmental and Spatial Technology Initiative Conference, which was held March 14-16, 2012 at the Hot Springs Convention Center, can be viewed here. Included in the video clip are interviews with Matt Dozier, the president and CEO of EAST, students from around the state, and Dr. David Rainey, the superintendent of the Dumas School District.

What is the EAST Conference?

Annually, thousands of EAST students from across the country attend the National EAST Conference to share their stories, celebrate their work over the past year and experience a formal banquet and a trade show-like environment. The conference is also the EAST Initiative’s largest training venue of the year. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to meet other students from around the country and share ideas.

The EAST Conference is an annual gathering of over 2,000 EAST students, teachers, parents, and community and business leaders from more than 100 communities across America. The Conference spanned  3 days and includes an exhibition hall showcasing student service projects, breakout sessions on the latest in technology, an awards banquet, and much more! This year’s EAST conference was absolutely amazing with a large, turnout, amazing student presentation, excellent sponsor exhibitions and demonstrations.

How is Digital Tech Frontier involved with EAST?

Digital Tech Frontier (DTF) founder Scott Jochim was approached by the Arkansas Department of Education to test the integration of virtual reality in the classroom and its effect on the student learning curve.  Thus the Virtual Reality Development Lab (VRDL) was born that seamlessly integrated VR technology that allowed students and teachers to not only develop their own VR environments, but share them with anybody they wanted.

With the immense success of the VRDL throughout the entire EAST program, and Digital Tech Frontier’s passion for innovative technology, the Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) was created and released in 2010.  The ARDL is the fusion of cutting edge technology with the commitment to thought provoking and interactive education.  It allows students to virtually put curriculum in the palm of their hand.  They can separate a molecule, launch a space shuttle, or pull apart the solar system. The ARDL uses  standard boring curriculum and makes it immersive and engaging that allows the students, specifically visual learners the opportunity to fully grasp the material.

Digital Tech Frontier played a large role in this year’s EAST conference.  Their highly engaging demonstration and presentation really got the students and faculty involved. They showcased and awarded students whose projects utilizing the technology went above and beyond the expected.  DTF’s technology has provided students with a creative outlet that lets them dive in head first to immersive technology that keeps them interested and drives them to excel and the want to succeed.

Congratulations to the students of EAST  for being absolutely amazing and consistently exceeding our expectations.  Keep up the amazing work! It is amazing to see the brilliant and creative ideas that students can come up with that teach and entertain other students, faculty, and the community.  We look forward to seeing what other amazing things our student and teachers will develop  next year using the Augmented Reality Development Lab.

 

Digital Tech Frontier Introduces Augmented Reality Development Lab to Phoenix College

Scott Jochim, owner of Digital Tech Frontier and creator of the Augmented Reality Development Lab and Popar™ Books, will be attending the Faculty Technology Fair at Phoenix College on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. During the fair, the faculty will be able to get a glimpse into how Augmented Reality works and how it is currently used in education, both [...]

EAST Awards Grants for Augmented Reality Development Lab

Recently EAST Initiative* awarded 8 schools After Hours and Upgrade Grants for the Augmented Reality Development Lab from Digital Tech Frontier worth over $20,000.  Each school will be receiving all the necessary hardware and software to create, build and share the latest in Augmented Reality. EAST Students from West Fork High School are working on their virtual reality environment. Congratulations to each school and we look forward to all your amazing projects from EAST.

• Genoa Central High School
• Mena Middle School
• Oark High School
• Dunbar Magnet Middle School
• Conway High School
• Malvern High School
• Prairie Grove Middle School
• MLK High School

*EAST Initiative is a nonprofit organization that provides new ways of learning for modern students. The EAST model of education features student-driven service projects accomplished with the latest in technology. EAST classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art workstations, servers, software, and accessories, including GPS/GIS mapping tools, architectural and CAD design software, 3D animation suites, and much more. Students find problems in their local communities, and then use these tools to solve them. For more information, please go to http://www.eastinitiative.org.

Research: 3D Content Can Help Improve Learning

According to staff reports by the the eSchool News Staff, Boulder Valley School District sees benefits to 3D lessons, including stronger student engagement and better retention. Check out the article! In a survey of high school students involved in the pilot, 76 percent said they preferred learning in 3D over traditional methods.In one [...]

Augmented Reality Mixed Media Brochure

  The Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) Module Creation Tool lets users actually develop and create their own Augmented Reality modules. Utilizing programs like Google SketchUp, Lightwave, 3D Max, Ogre, and Maya, users can make their models and then import them into the Module Creation Tool that then allows them to convert their model into [...]