Shaw-IAU Workshops by the OAE

Technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) offer both promise and pitfalls when used in education settings. The visualisations can be awe-inspiring and provide users with a sense of scale of objects usually difficult to comprehend or visualise. However, VR can be logistically difficult to implement. In this case study, we will share how we are using VR-based programs for astronomy classroom lessons and highlight the choices we made in content and hardware to ensure the experience is engaging, relevant for participants, and cost-effective. Specifically, we will share Mission Gravity and Gravity Explorer, classroom programs in which students collaborate to create models of stellar evolution and gravitation by collecting and analysing data from virtual trips to stars and planets.

Biography:

Jackie Bondell is a science education and outreach specialist. She is the Senior Education and Outreach Manager for both the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and is based in Melbourne, Australia. She develops educational content for public outreach programs and curriculum for school engagement, focusing on incorporating innovative technology and science content into in-depth and curriculum-aligned education opportunities for students and teachers. Prior to 2018, Jackie spent 15 years as a Physics instructor in the US. During her teaching career, she was the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the National Science Teachers Association Technology Award for Innovative Use of Technology in Science Teaching. She has led multiple workshops related to incorporating visualisation technology and current Physics research into the science classroom and has recently authored a chapter in a textbook on teaching contemporary Physics to secondary students. Jackie is the Chair of the Education and Outreach Chapter Steering Committee for the Astronomical Society of Australia, a National Astronomy Education Coordinator representing Australia to the Office of Astronomy for Education with the International Astronomy Union, and the Australian representative to the International Particle Physics Outreach Group.

Watch a video for this poster (external link)