Ohio University

1. What’s up with the Dead Fish? The Virtual Boat for Environmental Education (VBEE): Teaching Sustainability Through Virtual Education Grant Number SU836012 Ohio University Nathan Andre, John Bentz, Andrew Copley, Yanhui Fang, Sertac Ozercan, Justin Wiseman, Xin Ye, Qing Zhu Purpose, Objectives, and Scope Background Data, Findings, and Results Conclusion Phase II Prosperity Using the existing pollution sources that have been constructed into the VBEE, phase II will continue the improvement of the existing levels. Phase II will also be devoted to adding additional levels and data collecting capabilities on the virtual boat. These levels will be designed using the Ohio Department of Education Standards and Indicators. We also plan on improving the ipad version by including additional features that utilize the tilt sensor and touch screen that makes the ipad unique and more engaging than the webplayer version. As the game improves, the game will be used in more class rooms for further beta testing. This will maximize the educational value of the game as well as the fun. People Planet Students from the economically depressed region of southeastern Ohio are given the opportunity to take a trip on the Boat of Knowledge along the Ohio River. The main focus of these trips are to teach the students about water quality and pollution issues and instilling a sense of research into their curriculum. Unfortunately, the boat is not large enough for all of the students to go on Beta testing was done to provide direction for the civil engineering team to identify key curriculum attributes that needed to be implemented into the game and design issues for the computer science students. • The people that this project will benefit includes: • Educators • Students • Future generations Increasing awareness and encouraging students to pursue STEM related careers will provide sustainable decision makers. The VBEE was developed for the economically depressed region of southeastern Ohio. Since the software is available for free, VBEE can be played anywhere. Beta Testing – High School Teachers • Improve game-play scenario • Improve usability • Fix bugs • Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Content Standards and Benchmarks Earth Sciences Benchmark C: Explain that humans are an integral part of the Earth's system and the choices humans make today impact natural systems in the future. Scientific Ways of Knowing Benchmark C: Explain how societal issues and considerations affect the progress of science and technology. Scientific Inquiry Benchmark A: Make appropriate choices when designing and participating in scientific investigations by using cognitive and manipulative skills when collecting data and formulating conclusions from the data. An image of the physical boat Fish Kill – A Lesson on Water Quality the boat trips. The VBEE was developed to allow every student an opportunity to experience the boat trips in a virtual, 3-D rendering of the Ohio River. The Virtual Boat for Environmental Education (VBEE) is an educational tool developed by students of civil engineering and computer science at Ohio University for environmental education. The video game design, integrated with environmental lesson plans, is highly sustainable based on the data taken during the bi-annual on-boat sampling trips to the Ohio River from Marietta to Gallipolis, Ohio by the participating fellows in the NSF GK-12 project, “The Boat of Knowledge in the Science Classroom (BooKS).” It is a simulated Boat of Knowledge that will support a large range of lesson plans for teachers to introduce topics such as calculating water quality index, introducing GPS to pinpoint study areas, and study diffusion rates of a chemical spill. The project aims to place the students into a real-life scenario of data collection and manipulation to determine how local river systems have been impacted by pollution. Objective Five Pollution Sources Associated with the VBEE A large number of dead fish have been found in the Ohio River. Bob the Scientist, who works for the United States EPA, has asked you to help him find the source of the fish kill. The goal for the Phase I portion of the VBEE project was to create a virtual learning environment and to establish the framework for developing inquiry-based learning modules. Beta Testing – Athens High School An image of the virtual boat from Fish Kill – Level 1 www.ohio.edu/books The class that was used for beta testing was an integrated chemistry and physics class which has a total of eight students and focuses on environmental sciences. This class has several students which have an individualized education program (IEP) and lack interest in pursuing a STEM career or degree. These potential pollution sources are common to southeast Ohio and have historically contributed to the pollution of the Ohio River and its tributaries. Top: Map of Testing Locations Bottom: Bar Graph with Testing Results Left:Actual map of BooKS testing locations • Showed interest in biological and environmental sciences • Asked engaging questions pertaining to STEM related careers Check Us Out! www.ohio.edu/books • References: • Ohio University logo obtained from http://woub.org/sites/ default/files/styles/large/public/OHIO_logo.text_.png • Athens High School Logo obtained from http://www.wix.com/athensbooks/aboutathenshigh • References: • Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Content Standards and Benchmarks. http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=1696 • Map shapefiles were obtained from ESRI.