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Show Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 StatesmanCampus News Page 3 USTAR funds research to develop technology for education By J.P. RODRIGUEZ staff writer A new USTAR funded team, Interactive Design for Instructional Applications and Simulations (IDIAS) Institute, will further develop simulations and GPS-based platforms that focus on learning and instruction. The team received $2.35 million in funds over six years from the Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, said Brett Shelton, IDIAS team lead and assistant professor for the instructive technology and learning science department of the College of Education. The team is also led by Carolyn Cardenas, department head of the art department; and Alan Hashimoto, associate professor of graphic arts. Shelton said they will use much of the funding for student employment – both graduate and undergraduate students – to help develop intellectual propriety within the realm of instructional media and technologies. “The students will be involved with the design and development of the technology applications themselves,” Shelton said. IDIAS is working on two projects at this time. One of the projects is a multiplayer, virtual 3D environment, to support training, Shelton said. It is uniquely specialized as a learning tool. “It’s a game engine that holds unique instructional features that other game engines don’t support,” Shelton said. “It has a specific nature set of tools to support learning rather than just strictly entertainment.” The goal for the project is to improve the Hazardous Emergency Accident Training (HEAT) engine previously created by Shelton and Hashimoto, who first began working together about five years ago. Shelton said the HEAT engine, which is comparable to those found in today’s video game and military training simulators, can be used to build various applications for training and certification purposes. While the technology is as advanced as the latest commercial engines available, HEAT was developed at a lower cost, making it a cheaper, yet advanced, alternative. The other project for the team is GeoBOB, a handheld GPS-based platform that will allow for the creation of GPS-oriented applications for smart phones and GPS-capable devices, Shelton said. Hashimoto said the idea behind GeoBOB is to build a platform on which applications for smart phones, PDAs and GPS devices will be built. The applications will use GPS coordinates to trigger events – media-oriented text messages, images, audio, video recordings – on smart phones and GPS devices as they near the specific geographical points. The applications can have both an educational use – as in walking historical tours – and a commercial use to advertise for business, Hashimoto said. Shelton said a similar hand-held unit was built by Hashimoto and himself for the American West Heritage Center, based on a Garmin GPS device. The device had a gametype application that allow people to Briefs Campus & Community Next HASS Hour guest speakers announced USTAR IS FUNDING a team called Interactive Design for Instructional Applications and Simulations. The team is working on developing simulations and GPS-based platforms that will be used for educational purposes. PETE SMITHSUTH photo participate on a game – one can take the persona of a person living about 150 years ago – as they walk through the various displays in the center. The device was created by students in his game development class. While there are no samples of GeoBOB now, Shelton said it will be a more robust platform used for the development of similar applications. Hashimoto said what both the projects have in common is that they are working with existing technology in which both he and Shelton have worked together on for several years. “(The team) provides this crossdisciplinary effort between colleges and departments,” Hashimoto said. “As far as I know, this is the first project that actually includes team members and key personnel not only from across departments, but across colleges.” He refers to the partnership between the graphic arts department, and the instructional technology and learning sciences department. Hashimoto said while this is rare at the university level, it is common in private industries. It will give students involved the chance to see what each discipline has to offer when they work together. “It is all cutting-edge stuff,” - See USTAR, page 4 Living it up, and letting it go Fall signals two things: the beginning of school and the launch of the football season, both much anticipated activities by many on university campuses. In the first HASS Hour gathering at Utah State University, Charles S. Prebish, head of USU’s Religious Studies Program, will use his unique insights to look at “Religion and Sport: The Meeting of Sacred and Profane,” his topic for the Sept. 17 HASS Hour. HASS Hour is a social and intellectual gathering sponsored by USU’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. HASS Hour begins at 5:15 p.m., with the TimePiece beginning at approximately 6 p.m. HASS Hour is held in the Event Room at Hamilton’s Steak and Seafood, 2427 N. Main Street. Cost is $6.95 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and is billed on an individual basis. For planning purposes, please RSVP to Teri Guy in the HASS office, 797-4072. Next guest artist to speak on ‘Captivity’ Wednesday, Sept. 16, brings speaker for “Captivity”, the first of the four Tanner Project themes. Roger Shimomura, a Japanese American painter and MacArthur Fellow, will give a visiting artist lecture in the Performing Arts Hall, 7-9 p.m. Roger Shimomura’s paintings, prints and theatre pieces address sociopolitical issues of Asian America. Much of his work has been inspired by diaries kept by his late immigrant grandmother for 56 years of her life. A film screening of the Cats of Mirikitani, co-produced by Roger Shimomura, will be presented in Old Main, Room 12, on Friday, Sept. 18 from 6-8 p.m. The film tells the story of 80-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani, who survived the trauma of World War II internment camps, Hiroshima and being homeless by creating art. This documentary won the Audience Award at its premiere in the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Please join us for these events. Students are encouraged to participate in the events. The 2009-10 Tanner Project is an important year-long, community-wide discourse on diversity. Call the art department at 797-3460 or e-mail scott.foster@usu.edu for directions or any questions. USU student wins YouTube contest ALLRED SINGS TO A FULL HOUSE Tuesday in the TSC Auditorium. The concert, headlined by We Shot the Moon, also featured The Record Life and Mansions. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photo Integrity: Code violators’ history can now be tracked across colleges -continued from page 1 to make it easier for faculty and more understandable for students,” she said. Along with providing due process, Allgood said the policy has the advantage of giving everybody accountability for their actions. One of the unique parts of the new system is tracking repeat offenders. Where academic honesty violations were previously handled within the department, this tracks across time as well as across the college. Allgood said it tries to address situations like a plagiarized thesis or paper that is discovered weeks or years later. The language of the new code states that an offense can be reported and then followed through “when it’s discovered.” There is now the option to expel a repeat offender. However, Morales said the new code is not due to an ACADEMIC INTEGRITY CODE was changed in an effort to ensure students get treated “increase in problems. It’s just fairly. The 14th Constitutional Amendment was one of the motivators for changing the policy, the reality of it being a different said Jeri Brunson, who was a graduate senator when the code changes were made. STEVE world out there, than even five, SELLERS photo illustration 10 years ago. This section helps to clarify expectations, given the changes over the years.” Morales said Student Services regularly reviews student policies to make sure they are current. “Things change,” Morales said, “and you’re going to see this all the time, we listen to our students and ask for the issues, look for improvements. What students should feel good about is that Utah State has fleshed this area out. It protects your papers, your software, your rights.” Brunson said that although changing university-wide policy is challenging, the new code is something that will work for students and faculty. “One thing I took away from this is a real love of the Constitution and what it means. Everyone should get the chance to see its concepts in action and impact in real life,” she said. Allgood, however, cautioned, “Don’t cheat so you have to find out how it works.” –chelsey.gensel@aggiemail.usu.edu A YouTube competition for Glass Packaging Institute’s Recycle Glass Week has awarded Tyler Larson, USU senior in broadcast journalism, $2,000 for his 30-second video promoting the recycling of glass. The video informs its viewers on the positive effects that recycling one glass bottle or jar can have on the environment. Recycle Glass Week, scheduled from Sept. 21-27, is to encourage glass recycling throughout the country. The video will be viewed by all those who attend Recycle Glass Week from Oklahoma to New York. Larson said a friend of his told him about the competition a week before school started and decided to tackle the project Labor Day weekend. He said the filming and editing process took him five hours. On Tuesday, he received a call congratulating him on winning first place. The second place winner received $1,000 and third place $500. This is the second film he has submitted to a competition. The first one was for Student Travel Association, which, had he won, would have allowed him to travel to various countries. Larson said the $2,000 will be used “toward furthering my education, which means I’m getting a new camera setup.” –catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu. edu -Compiled from staff and media reports |