SIGUCCS 2017

Augmented and virtual reality continue to be trending topics in educational technology. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a workflow for creating augmented or virtual reality projects on a college campus. It will highlight an augmented reality sandbox project that was a collaboration between the Geology department, Science equipment technicians, and Technology Services and provide a roadmap for future work involving these emerging technologies at Whitman College. The sandbox utilizes a gaming pc, short throw projector, Kinect camera, and a virtual reality toolkit developed by Oliver Kreylos at UC Davis to overlay dynamic topographic data onto a sand surface. We will discuss how this technology is currently being used in our Introduction to Geology labs and Science Outreach and how virtual and augmented reality can enhance instruction in the natural sciences.