Using Blending Immersive Learning Environments To Teach Complex Causality

EcoMOBILE (Ecosystems Mobile Outdoor Blended Immersive Learning Environment) supports middle school students learning about the complex causality inherent in ecosystem dynamics through a combination of virtual and augmented reality experiences. EcoMUVE (ecomuve.gse.harvard.edu) is an inquiry-based curriculum in which students explore immersive, virtual representations of pond and forest ecosystems on computers in the classroom. EcoMOBILE (ecomobile.gse.harvard.edu) includes EcoMUVE and a complementary set of learning experiences using mobile broadband devices (MBDs) and probeware to access virtual information, and collect data during field trips in real-world ecosystems. MBDs allow students to collect and share data; access on-demand, on-site information about ecosystem components; visit geo-referenced locations to directly observe critical components of the ecosystem; and experience virtual simulations related to underlying causality. We are studying whether ecosystems instruction can be more engaging and effective by combining immersive virtual environments and field trips to real ecosystems infused with virtual resources.