A Virtual Reality Training Program to Bring Immersive Agricultural Experiences into the Classroom!
Faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are excited to offer the Agriscience Metaverse Academy (AMA) in the summer of 2024. If you or someone you know is a current agriculture teacher in Tennessee or Nebraska with at least one year of teaching experience and an interest in incorporating virtual reality (VR) into your classes, this program is for you!
Be one of up to 14 teachers in your state to participate in this year-long program which will provide curricular support, up to $700 in stipends, and more than $7,000 in teaching equipment.
The program will kick-off with an in-person professional development (travel and lodging covered in July 2024). Dates are below:
- Tennessee
- Dates: July 15th – July 19th
- Location: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Nebraska:
- Dates: July 20th – August 2nd
- Location: University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Keep reading to learn more about this program and apply today! Review of applications will begin February 15th!
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Tyler Granberry (tgranber@utk.edu) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, or Dr. Nathan Conner (nconner2@unl.edu) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
What is the AMA?
- A one-year, USDA NIFA funded professional development program designed to:
- Improve teachers’ knowledge of virtual reality (VR) technology for educational settings.
- Improve teachers’ knowledge of Metaverse applications and uses
- Increase teachers’ ability to use virtual reality, specifically Immersive Metaverse Experiences (IME), as a context for teaching food and agriculture concepts
- Initiate virtual reality collaboration between teachers
Who is eligible to participate?
- Agriculture teachers in Nebraska and Tennessee with at least one year of teaching experience prior to June 2024 who will be teaching agriculture courses at the middle school or high school levels during the 2024-2025 school year.
- Participating teachers must have suitable Wi-Fi access in their classrooms (at least 25 Mbps download speed). An online speed test can be found here.
How will agriculture teachers engage in the AMA?
- Participating teachers will attend a five-day in-person professional development workshop focused on implementing Immersive Agricultural Experiences into the classes they teach.
- Additionally, three Metaverse-based training and support meetings will be hosted for participants throughout the year, which will be accessed via virtual reality headsets provided as part of the program.
What are additional expectations of participating teachers?
- Participants will be invited to participate in an ongoing research project as part of this program. All responses will be kept anonymous and used only for the purpose of evaluation and research with the participant’s consent.
- Throughout the course of the year, participating teachers will complete three surveys (less than 15 minutes each) and participate in three focus group interviews (less than 45 minutes each). Additionally, participating teachers will be asked to submit at least three brief reflective journal entries while they implement what they have learned from the workshop. The total active time commitment to providing evaluation and research data is expected to be less than four hours over the course of the year.
- For additional details about the research component, please contact Dr. Tyler Granberry (tgranber@utk.edu).
What is the value of the AMA for the time invested?
- Participating teachers can receive up to $700 in stipends to support time and active participation.
- Each teacher will receive a Virtual Reality Lab Kit for their school consisting of 11 MetaQuest 2 headsets and a 360º GoPro camera.
- The project will cover travel expenses for the five-day professional development.
How do I apply?
- To apply for participation in the professional development and research study, complete the application at this link: https://forms.gle/o1zWKpkPSnk6Gjhy8
- Participants must be full-time school-based agricultural education teachers in Tennessee or Nebraska.
- Participants must have at least one year of full-time teaching experience by June 2024.
- Review of applications begins February 15th.
- Completing the application does not guarantee you will be selected for participation. Those selected to participate will be notified by March 1, 2024.
This work is supported by the Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy Program, [grant no. 2023-67037-39937], from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
