Virtual Reality for Service Learning Zach Martin

Introduction Throughout my experience in Virtual Reality, I have been able to complete projects that not only taught me about various fields of study, but provided service to others as well. My classmates and I used our work to help school teachers, businesses, and community organizations. Virtual Reality was an excellent platform for us to do this, because it allowed us to visually analyze problems, and come up with solutions that would practically fit our client’s wishes. In this presentation, I will show some of the work that I did as service learning, and how I benefited from it as well.

Science Projects Some of the first animations I made were for my school’s science teachers. I used the free open-source program Blender to model both an algae colony and a neuron cell sending an impulse. I sent the video files to science teachers at Boone Middle and High School, and they are used for demonstrations.

Volvox Colony The first science-related animation I made shows a Volvox colony swimming through water. Biology has always been one of my interests, so I thought it would be fun to model this fascinating organism. My teacher also encouraged me to work on a project that the school could use. I remembered learning about algae in the sixth grade, so I sent the movie file to my old science instructor. He like the video, and now uses it for the unit dealing with microbes.

Volvox Colony, cont. Using the program Blender, I first modeled the individual algae cells that compose the volvox colony. After finishing this model, I modified a spherical object, and set each vertice of the sphere to appear as the cell model. Next, I duplicated the volvox colony to give it a few “offspring” colonies. To finish my stills, I gave the whole image a background of a microscope image and adjusted the lighting.

Volvox Colony, cont. To finalize my volvox colony project, I wanted to create an animation of the colony swimming across the imaginary microscope slide. I used Blender’s key-frame feature to animate the colony both moving horizontally and spinning. This is the final video product that I sent to science teachers:

Neuron Cell I also took Advanced Placement Biology, and one of my favorite subjects from that class was learning about the process that neurons use to fire. This was something that I thought would make a good challenge to try to model. Again, I used Blender for this animation. I used the particle generator to simulate the groups of ions that trigger the impulse. After finishing this video, I shared it with science teachers at the middle school and high school.

Neuron Cell, cont. I again used Blender to animate the neuron cell transmitting a signal. To make the cell, I applied a modifier to a cube and extruded some of its surfaces. I used modified spheres for the axial cells. After completing the cell designs, I used Blender’s particle system feature to model the ion transfer which drives the impulse. Lastly, I included an illuminated sphere and keyframes to represent the movement of electric potential.

Business Projects My class was also fortunate in that we had the opportunity to do work for several businesses in the state of Iowa. My freshman year, a group of upperclassmen used Solidworks to model a new stabilizing system for kayaks that a local entrepreneur had developed. Last year, I was able to be apart of huge undertaking where my classmates and I made an animation for a new type of heart surgery. A doctor from Iowa City developed a new way to perform surgery to fix heart arrhythmias, and approached us to make a short video that would demonstrate the process to potential investors to his company. We managed to complete this animation, and the business was able to use the video for presentations.

The Heart Project Many of my classmates were involved in the creation of the new procedure’s animation. I was personally responsible for working on the respiratory system. My friend and I modeled the trachea and lungs. We also designed the tissue envelope that surrounds the heart.

Heart Project, cont. For my role in this undertaking, I modeled the human trachea, and one of my classmates designed a set of lungs. We both started by applying subdivision surface modifiers to cubes and then extruding additional faces. After finishing the models of the organ, we spent a substantial amount of time adding realistic textures to the faces of the cubes.

Heart Project, cont. After everyone completed their individual models, we worked as a class to assemble the final video that demonstrated the entire surgery. In this frame, the trachea and lungs can be seen alongside the heart.

Community Projects Lastly, I have been able to use my experience in Virtual Reality to serve members and organizations in my community. This year, I am part of a project that is helping the Iowa Arboretum design micro-lodging as a method for expanding revenue.

The Arboretum Project As part of the project to design micro-cabins for the Iowa Arboretum, my classmates and I visit the proposed installation sites and took pictures of the different environments. Using Solidworks, I modeled a few ideas for a wetland site, and a design for a wooded area. The other Virtual Reality students also used Solidworks or Chief Architect for their cabin plans.

Arboretum Project, cont. I used Solidworks to make a few rough sketches of micro-cabins for the Iowa Arboretum. The first design is an A-frame and raised above ground level; I envisioned this cabin as part of a wetland environment. The other cabin’s architecture was inspired by Native American longhouses, and I thought that would fit in the woodland area well.

Conclusion Virtual Reality is a class that provides students limitless opportunities to explore their interests and use imagination. It also is an excellent way for students to gain real-world experience by doing service-learning projects. As a VR student, I have also had the privilege of getting to participate in several service projects, as well as using my own work to benefit others. By working with teachers, businesses, and community members, I learned how to deliver a product to a customer in a timely fashion. As younger VR students ponder what projects they want to try, they should considering using this valuable resource for service learning.