This is the last post. It’s going to be a long one, so buckle in. Yesterday we culminated our research with our poster presentation. It was incredible to share our research together as a team to so many people. Seeing people use our game was also fascinating; despite many people struggling with using the controls (which is a concern that we will or the team will hopefully address in the future) they still found the game engaging and fun. So at least we know that our environment is inviting and engaging for users. After the presentation, we went out to the Peterson Pits and roasted marshmallows while finding constellations. It was a very relaxing end to the busyness of the … Continue reading →

This morning we continued working on the paper, but we worked on it on the third floor as opposed to our usual corner because we wanted to watch the thunderstorm. Pretty much everyone else in the REU joined. It was fun to work sitting side by side with everyone since we haven’t all worked in the same area for a while. After two hours of working on the paper, we went to the luncheon lecture, which was arguably one of the most interesting one’s we’ve heard so far. The presenter was proficient in psychology and law, a fascinating combination, and she studied the criminal justice system and how it basically uses pleas for unfair negotiation. In other words, people with … Continue reading →

This morning we practiced our presentation, so I’m feeling pretty good about it. We also are waiting on the remaining feedback from our professors on our poster. So…we really only have the paper left to work on, which is a relief after all the work we’ve been doing the past eight weeks. If we finish the paper early we’re thinking of adding more details to the game, and we’re going to practice our poster speech once we’re done with the presentation. Overall, it’s getting easier and easier now that we’re finally able to check off the boxes on projects that seemed like they would never get done in time a couple weeks ago. Until next time 🙂

This morning we continued working on the presentation and poster. We met with our professors to show them the game and get more feedback, so we have a bit more of an idea of how to design and organize the poster and presentation. Hopefully we will finish both early this week so we have a good amount of time to practice. Until next time 🙂

Representativeness heuristic: People make assumptions about things based on how they perceive them and how those objects are presented Design principle: Emphasis, creating a focal point of a design and ordering the rest of the elements based on importance Application: The first thing the user will see is the circuit board, and then they will see the elements that go on it Affect: People make choices based on their emotions at that moment. Design principle: Learnability, how easy is it for people to learn how to use the product Application: Make it easy for a user to undo an action, keeping the signs with instructions easily accessible after they pass through a level, (works to prevent frustration, making the user … Continue reading →

Today we did our first run through of our project presentation. As always there were a lot of changes that we needed to implement, but I feel like I learned a lot not only from the critiques on our presentation but also from the other presentations everyone else gave. So it was a productive session. Afterward we had the lunch and lecture with Alex, and he told us about his journey to where he is now, and gave us advice on how to think about grad school and careers. I feel like a lot of this has to do with finding what you value in life and making your job align with that. I am definitely going to be more … Continue reading →

Today had a lot more visual progress than the past few days this week. We finally got a repository working, so we were all three working side by side on the project. We now have functional hands, teleportation, and continuous motion!!! Alee was able to import the scene, Rodney’s progressing the code…it’s been a good morning. This afternoon we’re continuing our progress, and hopefully Alee and I will move onto the coding portion. Until next time 🙂

Sorry for not posting yesterday; there were a lot of changes and updates to our game plan that we had to figure out. Today has been a little bit better, so *yay* Yesterday we had an ethics class with Elliot where we learned about the importance of being as objective as possible when working with ethical dilemmas. Ethics is definitely a strange concept. I enjoy discussing it but it sometimes feels like the discussion issues can’t be resolved since there is no true right answer. I am excited to talk about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes at the next meeting though; I learned about Theranos in high school and thought the scandal was fascinating, so I’m happy to have an excuse … Continue reading →

Today has been pretty productive so far. We’ve decided on our game design and have storyboarded the first scene. Now we just have to assign tasks and begin! It’s a little stressful now since we have to work on a paper, a poster, and a presentation at the same time as making the game, but I know that with enough planning this will all work out. It’s just crunch time now. This weekend was very relaxing. We went and saw inside out, we went to watch the fireworks, we played video games, and I went to the music building multiple times 😊. Until next time!

Research question: Do people get less distracted while driving while using the hands-free setting to talk on the phone as opposed to holding their phone in their hand? Variables: Independent variable: Whether the person is using the hands-free setting or holding their phone in their hand Dependent variable: Number of cars people count as being around them on the road, speed of the car, and turn signal usage. What I’ll do: The plan is to use a driving simulation that will allow the user to be able to check their mirrors to see cars around them. The participant will need to count the number of cars that are on the road while answering a series of questions about themselves and … Continue reading →

This morning we worked more on the deeper dives. I am almost done perfecting the teleportation aspect of our game, which is exciting, because that means I can finally move on to the animal sounds and assets. Not much else has happened today. We finally had a little bit of a break last night on the STEM XR project, since the grad mentors told us to put a hold on our game idea development. It was nice to relax a little bit after working really hard to develop our ideas the past few weeks. We’re crossing our fingers so that the faculty end up choosing one of the topics we liked the most. Until next time 🙂

Yesterday we went to Storm Lake. We met some of the students that we are designing the application for, and we met with one teacher. Our interview with the teacher was incredible: she was a high school science teacher, but she had worked in the middle school as well at Storm Lake, so she knew about how teaching methods changed between the two levels and had many opinions about how to best engage students in the classroom. She also told us about the pros and cons of integrative learning, so we have a better idea of what kind of teaching style we should use in our game. Working with the students was also really helpful. We learned about their previous … Continue reading →

I cannot believe we are halfway through this program! It’s going by so fast. Today we did some more work on our deeper dives. We established our problem statement and are going to begin working on designing the application in Unity this afternoon. Coming up with a problem statement has been a bit difficult, since we originally just came up with the idea for fun, but an app can’t be created just because it seems fun. Right now we’re saying that our hiking simulator will allow for participants to be educated on what kinds of plants and animals the participants could expect to encounter while hiking, since the studies we have read don’t mention making a game to get participants … Continue reading →

Today we continued working with Unity. It’s a little bit more difficult now because we’re learning a lot quickly and I don’t feel like I understand all the coding commands for C#. We have our last unit today though, and I’m going to watch some tutorial videos, so I think it will eventually get easier. On a better note, our team presentation yesterday went well, and the dance workout we did yesterday evening was very fun. I hope we do another activity like that soon. Until next time 🙂

We started learning Unity today, and it’s a little bit easier than Blender. Either that or I’ve just gotten used to the trials and tribulations of modeling. I learned how to use the bloom function to add a glow to objects, but this afternoon I’m going to work on adding lighting, since I’m working on creating an in-ground pool. Side note: The Mongolian beef at the cafeteria was really good 😊 Until next time!

We’re blogging outside under the water tower today. This morning we worked more on our blender projects. Blender is a very fun software, but it’s a bit difficult to use. I learn something new every session though, so I think it just has a steep learning curve. It’s interesting to see what everyone else is designing for their projects; no two people are designing the same thing. Until next time 🙂

We learned Blender today, a 3D modeling software with a lot more freedom than Solid Works. This week we’re designing a virtual environment that will eventually work with Unity. It’s really exciting to finally be so close to learning the software we will be using in our actual applications. The STEMXR team also met with two students from Storm Lake today, so we got to receive a bit more of an inside look on what life at Storm Lake is like, some inside jokes, and what Storm Lake students want to see in the app. Overall, it was a good day 🙂 Until next time.

We went to an art festival yesterday, and I found a Spanish fan, a Spanish board game, and British custard! After the festival we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Today we learned our last lesson of C++ and ate lunch with Nick, our programming teacher. Tomorrow we’re going to a ropes course, which I’m excited about since I haven’t been to a ropes course in a while.

Today we studied more C++; it was a bit more difficult today, but overall it wasn’t too bad. The STEM XR team met yesterday and we’re going to be going on a “road trip” next week to see small rural communities and understand their social and cultural norms. This week and weekend I’m planning on looking over more of the materials from the previous work the team has done with the Storm Lake school and also looking for information on what the first subject we cover in our application should be. Until next time 🙂

After arriving to Iowa, a short, quick week of activities began. We learned the premise of each research project and received a more in depth description of our own projects. I’m really excited to begin working with the students at Storm Lake and learning more about what STEM careers might be most interesting to them. I’m also eager to begin working on developing a VR app for the project since I’ve never worked with Unity before and had never thought about creating a virtual application before. Aside from the projects, we went to an escape room on Saturday, which we managed to escape with technically only one real clue, and we also had our own pizza party. Today we worked on C++, … Continue reading →