| Title | UBC is Entering the Metaverse: Gamifying Forestry |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Forestry |
| Status | Completed |
| Duration | 1 Year |
| Initiation | 04/01/2022 |
| Completion | 08/31/2023 |
| Project Summary | The metaverse is a proposed next evolution of the internet, involving the creation of "digital twin" virtual representations of the real world where people can interact in virtual reality. There are a wide-range of unexplored applications for an educational metaverse in Forestry such as virtual field trips, creative sandbox play, and exploration-based learning. In the Faculty of Forestry, field schools and outdoor exercises are critical learning experiences common to all undergraduate programs, yet it is challenging to provide these experiences from an urban campus. Game engines are a logical entry point into an educational metaverse because they provide the basis for simulating real-world environments including processes such as Sun position, lighting, shading, atmosphere, clouds, weather, gravity, and vegetation growth. This project will produce purpose-built mods for the open source Minetest game engine and develop Open Educational Resources for gamifying Forestry classrooms. |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2022/2023 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Paul Pickell |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 41,558 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Paul Pickell, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry |
| Year 1: TLEF Showcase |  |
| Project Report | 2022-TLEF-SP-Final-Report-Pickell-WEB.pdf |