814-865-1818 tlt@psu.edu

Immersive Technology in Veterinary and Animal Sciences

Justin Brown

Assistant Teaching Professor
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
College of Agriculture

Adrian Barragan

Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
College of Agriculture

Jaime Garcia Prudencio

Assistant Teaching Professor
Spanish in Agriculture
College of Agriculture

a collage of head shots featuring justin brown on the left, adrian barragan on the top right, and juan garcia prudencio on the bottom right

Description

Brown, Barragan and Garcia Prudencio intend to apply immersive technology to veterinary and animal sciences education materials to create engaging coursework. The three instructors have outlined a series of 360-degree videos that aim to give students in Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (VBSC 421) access to course content they would not otherwise receive.

“The lab component of VBSC 421 trains students to identify anatomic structures and how they relate to function,” said Brown. “They’re exposed to a wide diversity of animal taxa at various stages of the lab; however, most of the dissections focus on the lamprey, shark and domestic cat. Immersive technology can help provide a more engaging level of exposure to large animal anatomy like horses, pigs, cows and deer.”

Along with their course-specific immersive content, Barragan, Brown, Garcia Prudencio, and the rest of their team will develop a step-by-step protocol for including 360-degree video in coursework. The instruction document, including photos and short videos, will be available to faculty across Penn State upon request. They will also survey students to assess their perceptions of, and satisfaction with, the immersive content.

The Team

Dan Getz – Project Lead
Patrick Mitchell

Cohort

2020-2022

Focus Area

Immersive Experiences
Theme: 360º Video