The National Science Foundation has provided funding through NSF-ISE# 0946691 to support the DISCUSS Colloquium, a seed initiative to nurture a shared Digital Immersive Giant Screen Specifications (DIGSS) for STEM learning film production at a scale and quality that is sustainable in the informal science education (ISE) community. It is anticipated that when such specifications are adopted and published, equipment manufacturers and show producers will be better able to raise capital based on the scale of the network and their need for replacement equipment and new films. Researchers from ILI
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserWhite Oak InstituteVictor YoccoSarah Gruber
The National Science Foundation provided funding through NSF-ISE# 0946691 to support the Digital Immersive Screen Colloquium for Unified Standards and Specifications (DISCUSS), a seed initiative to nurture a shared Digital Immersive Giant Screen Specifications (DIGSS) for STEM learning film production at a scale and quality that is sustainable in the informal science education (ISE) community. The DISCUSS initiative engaged technical experts from across the GS community in concert with the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) and developed a first draft specification that was presented to
The Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) conducted a study to examine the impact of an information campaign presented at the 2010 Giant-Screen Cinema Association Annual Conference and Trade Show in Chattanooga, TN. The purpose of the study was to determine if changes in Conference attendees' awareness and attitudes towards the Digital Immersive Giant-Screen Specifications (DIGSS) could be attributed to the information campaign. Data were collected using an online questionnaire containing 11 "post/retrospective-pre"" items exploring the level of knowledge and attitude Conference attendees
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserWhite Oak InstituteVictor Yocco
The Maryland Science Center, in partnership with SK Films, Inc. received NSF funding to produce a large format, 2D/3D film and multi-component educational materials and activities on the annual migration of monarch butterflies, their life cycle, the web of life at select sites where they land, and the citizen science efforts that led to the monarch migration discovery. Project goals are to 1) raise audience understanding of the nature of scientific investigation and the open-ended nature of the scientific process, 2) enhance and extend citizen science programs to new audiences, and 3) create better awareness of monarch biology, insect ecology and the importance of habitat. Innovation/Strategic Impact: The film has been released in both 3D and 2D 15/70 format. RMC Research Corporation has conducted evaluation of the project, both formatively and summatively, including a study of the comparable strengths of the 2D and 3D versions of the film. RMC has conducting formative evaluation and is currently conducting summative evaluation to assess the success of project materials in communicating science and achieving the project's learning goals. Collaboration: This project employs a collaborative model of partnerships between the project team and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the University of Minnesota's Monarchs in the Classroom and Monarch Watch. Project advisors represent world-renown monarch butterfly research scientists and educators, including Dr. Karen Oberhauser, named a "Champion of Change" by President Obama in June 2013, and Dr. Chip Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas.
The DISCUSS (NSF-ISE 0946691) project enabled the White Oak Institute to address a key problem facing the science museum field – the need for open-access specifications for digital technologies that can transform the capacities of museum giant screen (GS) theaters from analog to digital, as analog film becomes obsolete. DIGSS (the “Digital Immersive Giant Screen Specifications”) is an open-access, field-based set of specifications, modeled on the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) that converted commercial cinema from film to digital. DIGSS addresses the superior image, theater geometry and size needed for museum-quality immersive learning. Until DIGSS, there were no digital specs to address museums’ unique need for a truly immersive learning experience. As of April, 2012, DIGSS was officially transferred to the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA), whose Technical Committee took over its stewardship. At least one system supplier now offers 3D and 2D giant screen digital projection systems designed specifically for DIGSS. The Peoria Riverfront Museum (opened October, 2012) included the first new DIGSS-compliant digital GS Theater (3D flat, 70’ x 52’ screen). The DISCUSS Colloquium (June 14-16, 2010, Marblehead, MA) convened experts in digital technologies, theater geometry, network economics, learning evaluation and museum leadership to develop initial consensus, resulting in the first draft of DIGSS (DIGSS 1.0). The specifications were then refined by professional comment on the DISCUSS wiki. The White Oak Institute partnered with key professional associations (GSCA, ASTC, IPS and IMERSA) to communicate DIGSS to their professional members, inviting field-wide input and review. DISCUSS collateral outcomes include: a bibliography of articles and publications related to giant screen theaters and films; a literature review of GS learning outcomes; a snapshot of the global GS theater network as of May 2010; an economic survey reporting on attendance, revenues, expenses and more; several scenarios calculating the network size needed to support the desired number of annual films; and a logic rationale that can serve as a research framework. These and other outcomes are integrated into the DISCUSS Proceedings, available with DIGSS 1.0 at http://www.whiteoakassoc.com/white-oak-institute.html.
Maryland Instructional Television, in conjunction with the National Science Teachers Association, will use the expertise of scientists and educators and the medium of television to create an exciting science video series for children ages four through seven. The activities of the project include the identification of content, design of instructional video and ancillary print materials, and formative evaluation. Fifteen video programs will be developed, each containing two or three separate sub-programs. These will be supplemented by teacher and parent guides which will suggest activities designed to expand upon the material covered in the program. The series content and materials will explore everyday events in the lives of young children and will integrate science and mathematics concepts, skills and application into a variety of curricular areas. The companion activities will make use of objects already in the child's world or easily accessible in the home. This project is funded jointly with the Instructional Materials Development Program.
9710718 Kleiman Cultural Research and Communications, Inc. is developing a project that will center around a one-hour documentary program entitled Promises to Keep. The film, now in its planning phase, will chronicle the day-to-day efforts of students, teachers, and parents at one inner city public high school as they work to implement standards-based math and science reform while maintaining their commitment to full educational equity. The goal is to inform viewers about a significant reform effort underway, heighten their awareness of the possibilities of high quality math and science education for all, and stimulate them to support or initiate similar efforts themselves. During the planning phase, the applicants will focus their efforts in several critical areas: 1. Develop a better definition of the target audience so that the next stage can be designed best to address the needs and interests of that audience. 2. Clarify the goals, structure, and content of the program. For example, is the proposed film to be primarily motivational or should it provide a "blueprint for change?" How, specifically, does the school achieve its goals of excellence and how will this be conveyed in the film? How can school around the country relate to the examples set by Thurgood Marshall High School? 3. Design a strong outreach, promotion, and distribution plans to assure that this will reach the intended audience. 4. Assess the location constraints that will be present during production. 5. Familiarize the advisors with the school where the film is to be made. The Co-Principal Investigators and film producers for the project are Vivian Kleiman, an award winning producer of such programs as Color Adjustment and My Bodies My Business, and Sharon Wood who has produced, directed, and or written programs for Portrait of America and Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren. Project advisors include Dennis Bartels, Yolanda George, Donna Gerardi, Nancy Kreinberg, and Tom Romberg.
Abstract: The Liberty Science Center will organize a one-day symposium linked to the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) International Conference and Trade show in September 2008. The symposium will focus on the greater potential of gian screen experiences to connect society with science, building on the GSTA's symposium "Giant Screen Films and Lifelong Learning held in 1999. The program will bring together science and education experts with filmakers to stimulate and enhance more effective approaches to science learning in future giant screen films. Symposium results will be disseminated through publication and the internet, as well prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals. An industry-specific listserv focused on lifelong learning will be created to serve as a new community-building tool for exchange among producers, distributors and exhibitors. Emlyn Koster (Liberty Science Center) and Mary Nucci (Rutgers University) will serve as aymposium chair/PI and symposium manager/Co-PI, respectively; in partnership with GSCA staff, they will be responsible for symposium management, evaluation, and dissemination of results.
This document contains a summary of notes from an Open Space session on Media, Technology, and Informal Learning from the 2014 AISL PI Meeting. It includes a list of active AISL projects related to media.
Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), with additional support from the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), GSCA hosted the Setting the Agenda for Giant Screen Research Workshop on October 18, 2013, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The one-day Workshop convened a group of 32 giant screen (GS) stakeholders, immersive practitioners, academic researchers and GS-industry affiliated experts to consider the key issues for a GS research roadmap. The Workshop goals, as outlined in the conference proposal submitted to the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA)Mary Nucci
This report is a product of the Setting the Agenda for Giant Screen Research Workshop held October 18, 2013 in Albuquerque, NM, which grew out of many years of discussions about the potential of the giant screen (GS) format to educate, engage and entertain, and in response to the multiple calls for research on GS films. Over the course of one day, invited participant thought leaders representing GS filmmakers, marketers, exhibitors and distributors joined with immersive practitioners and academic researchers to identify the key research questions for a GS research agenda. However, as the term
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA)Mary Nucci
Ocean GEMS is a multi-media series and outreach program that connects girls to women marine scientist role models to inspire investigation of ocean science adventures & careers.