Civil engineer's innovative teaching in virtual reality
Monday 9 July 2018
CIVIL ENGINEERING lecturer Gareth Whittleston collected an award this week for ‘thinking in 3D’!
Dr Whittleston, a Fellow of the HEA, picked up the innovative teaching award from the Institution of Structural Engineers for his use of the University’s ground-breaking virtual reality facilities.
The Octave, based in Newton is one of the world’s most advanced immersive labs, a sound-and-touch holographic environment used mostly for research.
“We realised this could be an exciting space too for engaging undergraduates in often complex construction scenarios,” explains Gareth.
“The idea was to use The Octave to make hazard awareness on construction sites more interactive. So, we were able to project a 360 video of a construction site where students could ‘point and shoot’ at hazards they see and get further legislative information.”
Collecting the Award was for Innovation in Engineering Education, at Westminster, Gareth added: “It was areal team effort in the School of Computing, Science & Engineering and I would like to thank John and Chloe in the Octave as well as Shirin for their help.”
He invited colleagues to get intouch if they want to find out more about innovative teaching in CivilEngineering.
Find out more
Gareth Hollyman, Senior Press & PR Officer (Science)
0161 295 6895 g.b.hollyman@salford.ac.uk
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