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| David Gagnon - Program Director of Field Day Lab and Director of the ARIS program |
Disclaimer: The following transcribed
interview with David Gagnon is derived from research conducted on the
ARIS program through a variety of online resources. Liberties have been taken
to give a voice to the interviewee, however, researched-based facts and inferences
comprise the majority of the content. The intent of this interview is to offer
the reader an informed analysis of the ARIS program in order to guide educators
deciding to implement ARIS into their learning spaces.
David: Thank you. It is a pleasure to have this opportunity and to take time to share my work with you.
Jessica: ARIS is your initial project that is now under the umbrella of the Field Day Lab. Can you describe the core mission of the Field Day Lab and how the ARIS project fits into it.
David: Yes, ARIS was out initial exploration into augmented reality and mobile technology. The acronym stands for Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling. It is sort of like our baby. The vision for ARIS in its conception and throughout its development, even to today, is to offer an opportunity for mainstream experimentation with the creative design and play of augmented reality games and activities within a learning context. These learning contexts range from the classroom, to museums, to outdoor spaces. The Field Day Lab has evolved from the research and experimentation invested into ARIS and is composed of an interdisciplinary team. Many of the developers who invested into ARIS are now a part of the Field Day Lab. At this time, we describe the mission of the Field Day Lab to be a source to bridge the gap between the university and the public, explaining big ideas in playful ways. Teachers and subject experts work with the researchers at the university to develop learning games, virtual reality apps, and citizen science apps. Our goal is to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity in the learner, through play.
Jessica: In a nutshell, what is your pitch for your learning technology and for educators who are sitting on the fence deciding whether or not to get involved?
David: Well, from the Field Day Lab website, we unashamedly admit that we seek to do what has never been down before. We constantly seek to innovate, play, take risks, and mess-make, so that may sound uncomfortable to some (laughs). But more than that, we are very much about experimentation, and not so much about a finished product, although more and more products are becoming available for users. We are on a quest to deepen and extend our repository. We seek to grow understanding of mobile technology and augmented learning so that we can knowledgeably make decisions in achieving learning goals.
My recommendation for educators who are sitting on the fence is to visit the Field Day Lab site and explore some of the games and apps. Our new app called Siftr focuses on place-based learning and can be designed within five minutes. It is a great "starting place" app for both educators and learners.
Jessica: That brings me to my next question. What types of products are you seeing being developed through the use of the ARIS program, and through the other Field Day apps as well?
David: ARIS software is intentionally designed to be easy to author and easy to deploy. ARIS design projects can be super simple, but the software also allows for them to be quite complex. Researchers and universities usually seek out a more complex game to achieve a specific goal. An example of this would be the game Ecopod, which is designed by a team at the University of Oregon. But teachers are also taking time to design games to take students on expeditions to foreign places and to travel back in time to historical places and time periods. Teachers are able to incorporate interactive storytelling with a hybrid world of physical space using the ARIS app.
At this time, the Field Day Lab is working on interactive science games that focus on a specific phenomenon. We are calling these "mini games". As well, the Siftr app have been developed that I mentioned earlier. Teachers can create a Siftr within five minutes and then have their students use it to complete outdoor fieldwork . Students can access the Siftr on their mobile device, collect and observe data, and then organize it and collaborate with other students.
One other point I should make is that youth are a significant portion of the ARIS authors, either through after school or summer programs, or sometimes from their own initiative. When young people engage with ARIS, they see the opportunity to create a favourite game or movie. We find that they enjoy becoming the storyteller and finding a venue to be expressive and to develop their identity.
Jessica: Fantastic! In regards to educators, and students, who are interested in getting involved with ARIS or other Field Day Lab designs, what types of supports are in place?
David: Foundational to the Field Day Lab is support for and support of teachers. On a surface level, teachers have access to all the games and apps to use with their own students. These are available on the Field Day website. We also make sure to use tools that will work with the technology and devices that students are using, and we choose to not require logins or downloads. We provide online courses to guide teachers in creating designs using ARIS or Siftr. As well, teachers can register with our online forum to access answers to questions that may emerge. Professional development also is offered by joining a teacher fellowship. These fellowships consist of a project design supported over a period of months with face-to-face workshops and online support.
Jessica: As both the Director of the ARIS program and the Program Director of the Field Day Lab, can you share some of the key people who make up your team and what expertise they bring to their roles.
David: Sure. The Field Day Lab consists of a team of educational researchers, software engineers, artists, and storytellers. It is an interdisciplinary team with the purpose to offer expertise throughout all facets of design. Specifically for the production of ARIS, I credit Phil Dougherty, Mike Tolly, Chris Holden, Eric Lang, Sarah Gagnon, and Jim Matthews. Again this is an interdisciplinary team, with expertise ranging from a software developer, to a gaming designer, to a educational director, to a creative communications director.
Jessica: What is the download rate for the ARIS app? And what sort of growth have you seen since its initial launch.
David: Growth has been slow, yet steady, but within the past decade, society's ideas and use of technology has changed and grown. I think the conceptualization of augmented reality is still quite ambiguous for much of the population, but this is advancing as well. We see this explicitly at workshops that we offer and at global conferences. At the workshops, families are beginning to attend and are becoming the creators rather than the users of our tools. Through my twitter account I often post highlights of the growth statistics, so posting them within this interview is welcomed.
Jessica: Thank you so much, David, for taking time to share about the innovations occurring at the Field Day Lab and with the ARIS app. If readers would like to follow you on Twitter I'll share your handles at the end of this interview. But before you go, do you have any last words for the readers and potential users of the Field Day Lab games and apps?
David: This is an exciting time in history for education, research, and technology. As society is exposed more and more to augmented reality through technology in accessible and meaningful ways, there is great potential for educators and learners. Taking small steps in exploration and experiences is one way to move towards this potential. The researchers at the Field Day Lab are working hard every day to make this easier for the public, so be brave, join us, and explore new technologies!
@djgagnon
@fielddaylab
@arisgames.