Will be used in college-level anatomy/physiology class
Bullock Creek High School teacher Emily Crambell recently had the chance to explore the inside of a skeleton, a heart, and a brain.
Soon, her students will have the same opportunity.
Crambell and three other teachers from high schools in this region gathered for two days of training at Central Michigan University, preparing to teach HSC 211: Anatomy and Physiology, a course for which their students will earn three credits at CMU.
Part of this training involved virtual reality through the use of Meta Quest 3 headsets, which allow one to look inside, and even step inside, various parts of the anatomy.
„Mixed reality is super cool,“ said Crambell, who will teach juniors and seniors in anatomy and physiology and will have 25 headsets available for them to use. She also hopes to use the headsets with her Advanced Placement biology and freshman biology classes if possible.
The headset batteries last one to two hours, after which the batteries are recharged and the headsets are sanitized before being used again.
Crambell comes from the unique perspective of having worked outside of teaching almost 10 years before returning to the profession a year ago.
„I never used anything like this,“ she said.
To get into the rhythm of using the headsets, the teachers – from Bullock Creek, Freeland, Beal City and Essexville Garber high schools – stood in a semi-circle and played a game of „Reverse Operation,“ in which they took turns placing organs in their proper places inside a virtual skeleton.
Greg Zimmerman, interim dean of CMU’s College of Health Professions, said this technology is funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that lasts from 2025-28. He hopes it can be renewed and even expanded beyond the four high schools.
„This is where young people live,“ Zimmerman said of using virtual reality and mixed reality. „This will really capture the attention of students. It’s a very unique opportunity. Every school system (we approached with this idea), without hesitation, said, ‚We’re in.'“
The headsets will be delivered to the four schools in the next few weeks so they will be ready for the start the 2025-26 school year.
The class is also part of CMU’s Fire Up! Forward program that provides Michigan high school students opportunities for dual enrollment at little to no cost.
„We want to get students excited about biology and the health sciences so they come back to their hometowns (and work in the health fields),“ said Kaleb Patrick, CMU interim vice president of Innovation and Online.
CMU Associate Professor Roop Jayaraman teaches the same course – HSC 211: Anatomy and Physiology – at the university, only his students complete it in 16 weeks while the high school students will take it over a whole school year.
Jayaraman will check in with each of the four teachers throughout the school year to make sure their curriculum is lining up with his.
Like Patrick, he looks forward to seeing this technology and college credit help inspire high school students to explore health careers.
„This allows them to experience a college-level course and consider a career in allied health,“ Roop said. „We need more people working in allied health. And anatomy and physiology is a foundational course.“
Quelle:
Foto: Bullock Creek High School science teacher Emily Crambell took part in two days of virtual reality training at Central Michigan University last week to prepare to teach HSC 211: Anatomy and Physiology, for which her students will earn CMU credits.Dan Chalk/Midland Daily News
https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/teachers-experience-virtual-reality-headsets-20387557.php
