Designing Future Urban Landscapes: Using open-source, multimodal and immersive methods, integrate critical and post-colonial perspectives in urban Geography education.

Project Title	Designing Future Urban Landscapes: Using open-source, multimodal and immersive methods, integrate critical and post-colonial perspectives in urban Geography education.
Principal Investigator	Siobhán Wittig McPhee
Co-Applicants	Steven Barnes Aaron Woods
Faculty	Arts
Funding Year	2024
Project Summary	The central objective for the project is to develop high-quality, multimedia and interactive open resources in the discipline of Geography that can mitigate barriers to affordability and accessibility for students at UBC and beyond. The proposed project will do so by developing resources that weave the latest evidence-supported pedagogical practices of the 21st century. This includes immersive storytelling pedagogies such as digital field trips with 360 images and audio pieces that mirror the complexity of actual life, where knowledge is often incomplete and problems are open-ended. The Department of Geography is experiencing a significant increase in enrollment for its urban major and minor degrees, and a heightened demand for flexible course delivery methods. To meet this demand, the department is transitioning two of its core courses, GEOG250 and 350, to online and blended formats, respectively. This transition necessitates the development of innovative course delivery methods and resources. One such resource is Tapestry, a tool developed by UBC faculty with a large TLEF. Tapestry has been successfully used in GEOG121, both in fully online and blended contexts. This OER application proposes to extend the use of Tapestry to GEOG 250 and 350. The content of these Tapestries will be modeled after existing successful modules and then expanding on them, aligning with UBC’s strategic focus on Transformative Learning. The developed resources embedded in Tapestry include immersive virtual field trips that utilize 360-degree images and embedded audio, allowing students to virtually explore spaces. Interactive videos featuring interviews with experts and individuals are also incorporated, alongside animated videos containing interactive questions that students must answer before proceeding. Audio pieces and segmented textual content are designed to facilitate retrieval practices. These resources aim to increase student engagement, and facilitate effective learning.
Grant type	OER Affordability
Funded Amount	$24,453