Challenge

NASP is historically an in-person event, but project directors Drs. John Munsell and David Carter were forced to pivot to online training in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Munsell stated, “Dr. Carter and I faced a difficult situation. How do we host a two-week capstone module for a national silviculture program without going into the forest or even being in the same time zone? Fortunately, Virginia Tech has expertise in visual computing and we reached out to Dr. Nicholas Polys for help.” To enhance learning in a remote setting, Munsell and Carter worked with Polys, who is Director of Visual Computing at Virginia Tech, to develop immersive training exercises and video study tours using augmented and virtual reality X3D delivery technologies.

Solution

“We needed to bring the forest to the participants and keep them excited and engaged in an online meeting space, which isn’t easy for an afternoon, let alone two weeks,” said Carter. 

“By using these novel technologies to develop curriculum, we were able to assign applied web-based exercises that enhanced participant experience and learning by immersing them in the forest. It also helped work around time zone differences.” For this year (in person), the AR/VR program will be used to add multiple forest types, views from multiple seasons, and also repurposed to “prime” participants so they are better prepared before heading out underneath the canopy.