BEE-Tech

Building Environmental and Educational Technology Competence and Leadership Among

Educators: An Exploration in Virtual Reality Professional Development (BEE-Tech)

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2010563. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This project leverages the Virtual Reality projects preparing to launch across multiple courses in the Department of Agricultural Sciences to bring locally relevant Virtual Reality experiences to middle and high school teachers and students in our local area. These VR experiences will allow those students in rural and urban schools lacking resources for field trips to be immersed into simulated field experiences.

The Louisiana wetlands is an example of one of our nation's most vulnerable ecosystems that exist near communities where there are little to no STEM training opportunities for teachers and students in K-12 schools. Focusing on these threatened natural environments and their connection to flooding will put STEM concepts in a real-world context that is relatable to students living in these areas, while integrating innovative virtual reality technology into their learning.

Dr. Nastassia Jones, an Associate Professor in the Department of Science and Mathematics Education (SMED), is the lead PI of this interdisciplinary, 3-year collaboration across the College of Sciences and Engineering, the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, and the School of Education. The Co-PIs include Dr. Christopher Chappell (Urban Forestry), Dr. Christopher Guillory (SMED), Dr. Emily Jackson-Osagie (Curriculum and Instruction), and Dr. Harold Mellieon (Agricultural Sciences).

Cohort Application