North
Carolina college partners with Dreamscape Learn to
incorporate proven immersive learning experiences
SALISBURY, N.C. , June 27,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Catawba College, a private liberal arts college in
North Carolina, announced a new
partnership with Dreamscape Learn to bring immersive learning
experiences that combine innovative teaching with the emotional
power of cinematic storytelling to campus this fall. The college is
the first institution in the Southeast U.S. to collaborate with
Dreamscape Learn, which partners with educators to develop virtual
reality-enabled courseware to powerfully engage students in their
learning.
"At Catawba, we are committed to the liberal arts tradition that
continually weaves teaching and learning with the latest advances
in knowledge and application," said Catawba
College President David P.
Nelson. "This innovative partnership with Dreamscape Learn
brings advances in technology to the classroom to empower our
students to explore, create, and learn in ways never before
possible."
Dreamscape Learn has developed courseware for introductory STEM
courses that enable faculty to send students on virtual scientific
"missions," where they collaborate with peers to develop the
analytical and quantitative skills needed to solve complex problems
while mastering core facts and knowledge. Students actively play
the role of field biologists in a virtual world wherein they
discover, analyze, and solve novel, multifaceted problems in life
science.
"Our collaboration with Dreamscape Learn represents a
significant step forward in advancing our mission to foster
academic excellence and student engagement," said Executive Vice
President and Provost Monica Cowart. "By integrating immersive
technology into our curriculum, we are not only enhancing the
learning experience but also preparing our students for the future
of work, where creativity, adaptability, and digital literacy are
paramount."
In their first year, Catawba expects
80-100 students to participate in courses that integrate Dreamscape
Learn. As new content is developed, additional students will be
impacted across academic disciplines, allowing every Catawba student to engage in learning in the Dreamscape
environment. While STEM courses will be the initial area of focus,
faculty at Catawba College will explore
opportunities to leverage Dreamscape Learn's immersive classroom
platform, which makes it possible for faculty across multiple
fields of study to conduct class from significant places in
history, world-famous galleries, or outer space. As the first
certified institution in the Southeast to reach full carbon
neutrality seven years ahead of its 2030 climate commitment,
Catawba hopes to develop original
immersive learning content focused on climate change and
sustainability, among other topics.
"It is one thing to tell my students about a biological or
biochemical phenomenon through figures and models, but it is
completely different to have them fully immersed in that phenomenon
with me," shared Dr. Carmony
Hartwig, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of
Undergraduate Research and Creativity. "This shared experience
connects students to the story behind the skills and expertise they
will be gaining once they enter the physical laboratory or field
space, and that it provides purpose and an emotional connection for
what they will be working with in the laboratory in a new way."
"We've long known the powerful connection between storytelling
and learning. Our early research is proving out that leveraging
short amounts of VR-enabled experiences can powerfully drive
student motivation and understanding, setting students up for
success," said Josh Reibel, CEO of
Dreamscape Learn "The unique immersive technology not only allows
students to immerse themselves in the very fabric of the subject
matter they s, dy, but to do so along their peers, building
collaboration along the the way. We're very excited to be
partnering with Catawba and supporting
their commitment to an excellent education that prepares students
for success far beyond the classroom."
Since launching in 2022 in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU), Dreamscape Learn's
immersive 'Biology in the Alien Zoo' course has been used in
introductory biology classes reaching over 20,000 ASU students.
Research at ASU found that students performed better in
courses that integrated this new approach to teaching and learning
—with participants nearly 2 times more likely to achieve an A
grade. This success has led ASU to fully transition its
introductory biology labs to the Dreamscape Learn platform.
Dr. Joe Poston, Professor of
Biology, added "When I teach about physiology, students sometimes
struggle to understand the internal events in an animal's body.
Dreamscape Learn allows students to experience physiology
firsthand. It's one thing to learn about how blood flow and heart
function respond to blood chemistry by looking at numbers or even
animations. With Dreamscape Learn, students will travel inside the
blood vessels and heart to see how they function. We are excited to
leverage this technology with our students to help them learn more
effectively."
About Catawba
College:
Founded in 1851, Catawba College is a four-year, private, liberal
arts college located in Salisbury,
N.C. Ranked as one of the best regional colleges in the
South, Catawba is known for its
intellectual rigor, dedicated faculty, beautiful campus, and strong
commitment to sustainability and the environment. The College
offers more than 70 undergraduate and four graduate programs
allowing students to explore diverse interests and create their own
academic pathway. Additional information is available
at catawba.edu.
About Dreamscape Learn
Dreamscape Learn is a
collaborative venture between Dreamscape Immersive and Arizona State University, merging the most advanced
pedagogy with the entertainment industry's best emotional
storytelling. Dreamscape Learn redefines how we teach and learn in
the 21st century, while aiming to eliminate student learning gaps.
Learn more at DreamscapeLearn.com
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SOURCE Dreamscape Learn