Photogrammetry, Coral Reefs for Authentic Research and Education

 

Spent an amazing time in the Bahamas this past summer and met a marine biologist who is currently involved in the monitoring and support of the coral reefs in that area.  After a wonderful snorkeling adventure with her husband and great conversation, I learned about his and her involvement in the effort to monitor the coral in the Bahamas. I managed to have a great 'nerdy' conversation with her about her efforts and research and offered my limited expertise in photogrammetry and VR development. I offered my time and will create a simple VR experience to showcase the possibilities. I am currently testing 3DF Zephyr, AliceVision Meshroom, and Unreal's Reality Capture to determine best approaches to convert images into 3D. 

I am convinced that this type of authentic research and application of technology is something that students would love to explore and serve as a creative approach to encouraging more students into STEM. 

I currently feel that the FREE version of 3DFZephyr and the free/open-source Meshroom may be the best options for low or no-cost option for educators. There is also a free version of RC, but involves having an Unreal account to download and install. To avoid this, the earlier mentioned Zephyr and Meshroom may be the best options.  

Below is an image of a 3D model created using multiple underwater photos of actual coral reef. The Texture and mesh is extrapolated by using the high resolution images. 

The Design Process is as important as the final product... in the classroom.

 After having observed a couple of decades of students in the classroom, I have finally become more process considerate than the final product. In recent years, I find helping our students steer through the obstacles of the process is just as important as what the student finally submits. The lack of adequate resources, the less-than-predictable time I have with my students, and their many other commitments make it difficult to ask many of the students to submit a product/project that I may showcase as an exemplar. I will make adjustments to my teaching philosophy to concentrate on key objectives, but not place such high standards for the final product. 

With that, I am also determined to help students complete a polished, well-designed final product or two. In my advanced engineering course, I have decided to emphasize on two projects, one each quarter, but may be worked on simultaneously. The projects will focus on depth of understanding of the subject. This will help provide the students with more time to complete each project and with the craftmanship desired.

Creating an authentic space for creation/development...

One of my goals as an educator has been to help students tap into their creative energy and depart from their consumer-only instincts.  I love developing STE[A]M programs that guide students towards authentic learning and skills acquisition.

Here,a student development group, engages in VR development. Students use their C# coding skills to further develop their experiences. 

 

An important driving force to my commitment to education is the creative liberty that administrators have given me as an educator and developer of STEM curricula and content over the years. At this current school, the students and eventually interested teachers and staff, are (will) able to develop their own virtual reality experiences and engineer designs. These are some of the new opportunities that I have proudly established for the technology department at the high school level. Some of the courses also help to bridge the middle school with the high school.  I love being able to create learning experiences for future creators! Let’s go!

VR Curriculum Design and Dreamscape Learn

I had to make some changes to the course over the weeks to better support the students. Due to time lost, I lowered the project requirements but feel it will better accommodate the students. Future classes will have a streamlined course in place which will provide much of the resources needed to successfully complete their virtual reality projects. All of the resources are created by me.

1. A basic, independent, project will be completed by each student. This project provides the necessary skills to create a basic VR experience. This is important so when team or group projects are assigned, each member will have the necessary skills to contribute to the project.

2. A VR development module (in Canvas) has been created and modified. This module provides a step-by-step development outline and flow to help each student and groups successfully reach the point where, at least, a primitive experience can be had. 

3. Additional add-ons, or more advanced tutorials are included in the above-mentioned module to help students include additional functionality to their projects. 

4. Virtual Reality development will also include developing for the Dreamscape Learn sit-down modules we have obtained. I will or have developed a protocol for students who have either finished the projects for the intro class or a planned advanced class, to continue their development journey by developing for a commercial system. The general VR development does not change, but some integration considerations are required based on the DSL SDK used. 

 

VR Development

The end of the first quarter of the new VR development course is well on its way. The current space is wonderful and the school has invested nicely in the space which will prove to be a center of innovation for the school for the near and distant future. Developing the new program and curriculum has been both challenging and exciting. 

After a few technical snags, the students are now seeing the fruits of their labour. Here is the current design process in a nutshell:

1. Create Meta/Oculus and personal Unity accounts. I find that it is easier for students to maintain their own accounts.

2. Teach students how to use a 3D modeling application such as Blender, Cinema 4D, or OnShape.

3. I have created custom, original tutorials demonstrating how to use the applications and execute the principles/practices required to help complete projects. These tutorials also illustrate possibilities and permit creativity. 

4. Time to iterate. Students must have enough intentional time to work on their projects. The goal is for students to be able to succeed in developing a working project. Placing less demand on aesthetics may be necessary from time to time and allow students to simply demonstrate that they understand the process by creating something less intricate. 

Some observations:

1. Starting the course with asset creation is important. 

2. It is also important to allow students to collaborate so that they can support each other during the new experience. Less intimidating. Groups of three need to be revisited. Pairs are ideal. 

3. Having reinforcing resources such as teacher-designed tutorials is very important. When students can see/hear that the teacher of instruction is the one creating the resources, it builds confidence in the legitimacy of the course and the teacher/student relationship.

4. Having a 'working' but not fully fleshed out project to show the students is vital. The project should be made by the teacher. Goes back to #3.

5. Encourage the completion of the project and later the enhancements. 

6. Encourage students to bring their own laptops for multi-tasking. 

7. Get students to use the VR headsets sooner rather than later. 

8. Serve more as a facilitator but constantly ask if students need help. If so, use the time to clarify to demonstrate a student's or students' concerns to the whole class.

9. Carefully observe and make notes of modifications, and improvements needed as students interact with the curriculum and materials.  

10. When developing a curriculum, use personal/original artwork (images, videos, animations, audio). This helps to illustrate design expectations by showing examples in addition to what is written. Having an exemplar is crucial. Again goes back to #3. This helps students SEE the possibilities and eventual success. 

3D Modeling & Asset creation using Cinema 4D

Introduced my Virtual Reality students to asset creation using the amazing 3D modeling and animation application Maxon Cinema 4D.  I have been using C4D for about 15 years now and it does not stop amazing me. I feel that it is very user-friendly and certainly very powerful. I am teaching 3D modeling, side-by-side (SBS), and anaglyph imagery. The models the students create will be imported into Unity for VR development. Students are assigned the Apple project. I provide them with a demonstration of what I am capable of and ask them to use it as a reference if desired. I find that showing students that you are capable of creating what you ask of them, motivates them. 

Architectural Design from students...

 Here are some examples of student projects. The image that is in grayscale is my exemplar. The others are student projects. I am very pleased with the overall quality, but careful observations and reflection leads me to believe that attention to detail (creatively and with instructions) is important. As some students failed to follow some of the instructions. But, I am pleased with the quality of the architectural designs submitted by those who were especially determined to take ownership of their tiny house designs. 

I will be modifying this design module. I will include additional material that includes more detailed construction information. For the future classes, they will be required to frame and insulate the houses in addition to placing walls. This will forward the module and provide students a more accurate process involved. Once again, scale modeling will be required.