From hologram lectures to the gamification of pure maths, technology is transforming teaching at Imperial.
Field trips to Mars. Hologram lectures and virtual anatomy lessons. Fluid dynamics experienced in real time, from within the flow. It sounds like science fiction, but for Imperial 天美传媒 it is becoming their everyday reality, as the College leads the way in blending the classroom and the digital world.
鈥淗ologram technology has a very long history at Imperial,鈥� says Dr David Lefevre (MSc Computing 2002, PhD Management 2011), Director of the Edtech Lab at Imperial College Business School, 鈥渟o when I read about a Canadian startup enabling holographic speakers, I immediately thought we could use that for education.
"We developed it and held our first event 鈥� a Women in Tech conference 鈥� in 2018 with holographic speakers, including Marily Nika (MSc Computing 2008, PhD 2014), Google鈥檚 Computer Programming Manager. The new technology means the speaker can maintain eye contact with the audience 鈥� wherever they are 鈥� and respond directly to questions.鈥�
Blending teaching between digital and the classroom is all about finding the right medium for the right subject, says Dr Lefevre. 鈥淚 never really liked the lecture theatre,鈥� he says. 鈥淭alking to a wall of 天美传媒, there鈥檚 very little interaction 鈥� it鈥檚 quite a passive experience for the 天美传媒. I used to think, I might as well show a video of myself.
"In a lab, or in the discussions we have around business case studies, it鈥檚 different 鈥� it depends what you鈥檙e trying to teach. But when I started teaching online, I found I was having very meaningful interaction with the 天美传媒 鈥� I would set a problem and they鈥檇 work through it and ask questions. My job became to guide them through the material."
This approach has worked particularly well for mathematics. 鈥淭o do an MBA you need at least A-level maths, but our 天美传媒 come from a wide range of backgrounds, with vastly differing experiences.
"We used to bring them in early for a week of intensive maths, face-to-face, nine-to-five. It didn鈥檛 work. Now it鈥檚 online, they go at their own pace. They have to study 15 hours of material over three months. We employ teaching assistants to answer their questions and they can book in for a tutorial.
"From the data, we get a strong sense of who鈥檚 struggling, and we work with them one-to-one if we need to. We now have a 100 per cent pass rate 鈥� it鈥檚 solved a significant problem for the Business School. I got an email from a father saying, 鈥楾hat is the first maths test my son has ever passed!鈥欌��
If there鈥檚 a bubble rising you can travel around it, look at the flow field, hear the pressure, experience the liquid move
Omar Matar (MEng Chemical Engineering 1993), Vice-Dean of Education in the Faculty of Engineering and a Professor of Fluid Mechanics, is developing a deeper understanding of fluid mechanics and maths by using virtual reality. 鈥淗ave you ever dived into a swimming pool?鈥� he asks.
鈥淲e know how it feels and sounds, so watching someone else dive in just doesn鈥檛 compare.鈥� Matar worked with a postdoctoral computer scientist to create 3D animations from equations and import them into a virtual environment.
鈥淲e then created a platform where you could load different flows and then dive right in! If there鈥檚 a bubble rising you can travel around it, look at the flow field, hear the pressure, experience how the liquid moves.鈥�
Students were, understandably, very excited. 鈥淚t takes a few sessions to get used to it 鈥� some people get motion sickness! But we soon had people from all over the College hanging around the lab wanting to try it. There was a feeling of disbelief. Students said it didn鈥檛 feel like 鈥榚ducation鈥�, it felt like a games arcade.鈥�
Matar and his team learned the gaming software language, , to link the programme to learning outcomes.
鈥淪o, you get points to unlock levels, and there is positive competition between players. You get sucked into the game and then find yourself doing more and more pure maths and equations. We鈥檙e squeezing in the learning.鈥�
As New Media and Innovation Lead at the Digital Learning Hub, Thomas Hurkxkens tests immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality and supports teachers in using these technologies for teaching and learning. Using smartglasses such as a , for example, means medical 天美传媒 can study the anatomy of the human body in 3D and in motion, including carrying out a virtual biopsy.
Using the real and virtual needle together, the 天美传媒 can perform a biopsy, without the need for a CT scanner
鈥淎 HoloLens is a good example of the strength of immersive technologies,鈥� says Hurkxkens. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a mixed reality, where 天美传媒 can work with the digital object and the real-world object at the same time.
"In the case of the biopsy application, 天美传媒 see a virtual torso and needle, projected over a real-world body-phantom. Using the real and virtual needle together, they can perform a biopsy without the need of a CT scanner. This gives 天美传媒 and trainees more time to practise when and where they want, and we expect that this gives a deeper, embodied understanding of the procedure. It鈥檚 learning by doing.鈥�
Students can also use the HoloLens to project skin conditions on to each other鈥檚 bodies, he says, which means they can examine each other, bringing social interaction into the learning experience. Medical and Chemistry 天美传媒 alike can get a 3D view of a molecule. And Earth Science and Engineering 天美传媒 can go on field trips鈥� to Mars!
鈥淭ogether with Professor Sanjeev Gupta and team, we are designing a project where we use data from the Mars Rover,鈥� Hurkxkens says, 鈥渟o 天美传媒 can explore the planet鈥檚 surface together.鈥�
The use of these technologies in education is growing, but there are still many areas that need further exploration. At the Digital Learning Hub, for instance, the aim is to bring 天美传媒, researchers and partners together to build on each other鈥檚 expertise through things such as the Immersive Technologies Initiative, a web portal for 天美传媒 and teachers and partners to connect, learn and exchange ideas.
These technological possibilities mean there鈥檚 a learning curve for teachers, of course, and even a change in the nature of teaching.
鈥淭eaching becomes less of an individual activity and more about co-creation, where teachers work with developers and even 天美传媒 to develop courses,鈥� says Gideon Shimshon, Director of Imperial鈥檚 Digital Learning Hub.
鈥淥ne teacher said that she was surprised that, in the experimental classroom, there is no screen or lectern, so instead of using a PowerPoint presentation she had told a story and asked 天美传媒 to draw it 鈥� with better results than the traditional approach. It can lead to different kinds of teaching.鈥�
Digital tools can also scale up learning and make it available far beyond the physical classroom. 鈥淥nline, we can give a lecture to 10,000, instead of 500,鈥� says Shimshon. 鈥淎nd with open content, we have hundreds of thousands of people taking our online courses.
"We are mission-driven at Imperial: we want to contribute to the global challenges of lack of access to education and healthcare. We have an online A-level maths course that is free, so anyone can do it. On our online Public Health Master鈥檚 programme, 天美传媒 are in 24 different countries 鈥� we鈥檙e building a global public health community.鈥�
Shimshon says not everything is scalable, though, and his team is still exploring the limits. 鈥淎 book is scalable,鈥� he explains, 鈥渂ut the classroom experience of guiding you through the book, giving feedback and assessing, isn鈥檛. With tech, we are merging the classroom and the book. Continuous assessment is the best kind, and tools for this would free up teachers for better teaching and research.
鈥淧eople like Dr Amir Sam, Head of the Undergraduate School of Medicine, are developing multiple-choice questions to a state-of-the-art level that will really test learning in healthcare. But how you test learning is the subject of scholarly work itself. We do need to be able to prove these new techniques work 鈥� we鈥檙e training doctors here!鈥�
Matar has a plan to prove it, and to go a step further. He and his colleagues are beginning to collect data through specialised VR headsets equipped with eye-trackers and EEG electrode caps that could make teaching and learning a completely bespoke experience. 鈥淭hrough the headsets we can see what the 天美传媒 see,鈥� he explains.
鈥淲ith eye trackers, we see where they look, and we can track how they perform in VR. If we can link what they are seeing with their neural activity, through brain-computer interfaces such as EEGs, we can correlate behaviour with cognition. Then, with AI and machine learning, we can make content adjustments on the fly. So, the teaching would be tailored to the way the student learns.鈥� Matar and his team are going for a proof of concept this year.
Watch this space 鈥� through your headset.
Studying: MEng Chemical Engineering, third year.
What equipment: VR headset to explore fluid mechanics.
The experience: Incredible! I could experience the conditions of the fluid, such as pressure and speed, by being in the fluid virtually and not just seeing it in 2D. It's learning on another level.
Studying: Medicine, fifth year.
What equipment: Augmented reality smartglasses to explore a segment of a human spine model.
The experience: Once you really get into it you can easily get lost in the awesomeness of it all. Being able to view the model from all the different planes was very, very cool, and I definitely wish I had had access to it in my earlier years of medical school.
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Imperial is the magazine for the Imperial community. It delivers expert comment, insight and context from 鈥� and on 鈥� the College鈥檚 engineers, mathematicians, scientists, medics, coders and leaders, as well as stories about student life and alumni experiences.
This story was published originally in Imperial 48/Summer 2020.