Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Bubo Learning Design, LLC (Bubo) aims to build a library of virtual reality (VR) modules to train the next generation of agricultural workers. The agricultural workforce shortage is cripling small farms across the country and the economic prosperity of their rural communities. New approaches are needed to train workers on complex skills and expose youth to agricultural vocations without the cost and logistics of providing on-site experiences. This project directly aligns with USDA Strategic Goals 2, 4, and 7. Bolstering the agricultural workforce will assure the economic stability of American farms and their rural communities while securing access to our food supply. In this Phase I SBIR, Bubo will build and assess the impact of a prototype VR module focused on key beekeeping skills. VR will build participants' confidence in risky tasks, like identifying the queen and checking mite infestation, while reducing the cost and logistics of on-farm training.Project objectives are to determine the best skill characteristics for VR training and the best VR techniques for agricultural skills and assets that convey real-life situations, and to assess VR's impact on learners - focusing on at-risk urban youth and on rural youth seeking career paths. Assessment metrics will include skill proficiency as well as evaluating the acceptance of VR by diverse trainees. Bubo will incorporate findings into a prototype that can be used as a model for subsequent training modules on other subjects. Results will establish Bubo's "American VR Farms" brand as a subscription-based training website.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
25%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
Technical Objective A: Identify tasks appropriate for VR training goals.What skills' characteristics are appropriate for traditional eLearning or Facilitated training - and what content is most enhanced through a 3D immersive experience?For the beekeeping prototype module, what skills meet the identified characteristics?Technical Objective B: Determine what VR techniques and assets best convey the real-life situation cost-effectively to the trainees.What assets need to be developed to complete the training scenario?Is the user experience most effective using 360° video, 360° static images, or immersive 3-D computer generated graphic image (CGI) assets?What 3D wireframes exist for purchase that will speed development and increase quality?Technical Objective C: Measure the Impact of VR training on beekeeping skills mastery and retention. Does VR training increase the proficiency with which trainees are able to accomplish specific tasks?Does VR training improve their ability to replicate tasks successfully over time, increasing their confidence?Does VR training serve a diverse group of potential agricultural workers better than traditional training and does it increase their interest in agricultural vocations?Is the instruction user-friendly to potential adopters?Does the program fit the delivery system constraints, and should the delivery system be adjusted to allow for improved execution of onboarding and ongoing customer service performance training?Based on our findings, what additional content is most likely to yield positive interest and results in a Phase II build?What assets will be required to scale AmericanVRFarms™ to reach a broader audience?
Project Methods
Task 1: Kick-off Meeting and Project PlanningThe PI will hold a kick-off meeting with the instructional design team, Creative Director, Learning Director, AMP Media's subject matter expert, and project advisors. We will outline content, application, assets, and set content review cycles based on team availability. We will develop a set of metrics with which to evaluate the impact of the virtual reality course and set aside days for testing and quality assurance before application. We will also define goals for surveys to be conducted on testing days to understand learner impact and measure our success of Phase I prototype. Bubo is experienced in using the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate) model for instructional design, as well as utilizing an Agile project management approach with frequent standup meetings and sprints.Task 2: Prepare Paper PrototypeThis task will encompass the design work needed to prepare for building the VR beekeeping module, including the following activities:Establish instructional goals. Subjects will be selected based on the impact VR training would have on the skill.Conduct instructional analysis. We will conduct an analysis to determine the instructional techniques necessary to impart the appropriate knowledge, skills, and behavior to achieve the stated goals.Assess the characteristics of the anticipated target learners that are pertinent to the development of the instruction. Develop learner personas for the experience - fictional profiles that represents the target group of learners.Complete a task analysis to identify all steps required in accomplishing the instructional goals.Develop assessment instruments to be used in Task 4 based on the learning outcomes and the performance objectives to select and develop instructional strategies.Develop performance objectives for all skills that have been identified in the instructional analysis, including the conditions under which the skill will be performed, the skill to be performed, and the criteria to be used to assess learner performance.Develop instructional strategies. The Bubo team will work together to develop the instruments based on the approved performance objectives. An assessment item will be created for each performance objective that was approved.Create the Design Document, including the elements developed in the first seven subtasks. The Design Document is our road map for content development in an outline form.Task 3: Build Asset PlansDevelop plan for video shoots necessary for build. Catalog video equipment and beehive access which will accommodate video shoot needs.Define overall Art Direction for CGI assets builds. Catalog potential existing assets and outline additional asset builds required for completing project.Plan for game engine prototype. The Unreal and Unity development engines will need to be determined based on project goals.Outline any script needs for voiceover and other audio support during learning experience.Task 4: Build Prototype VR Learning ModuleOnce the paper prototype and assets plans are completed, the instructional design team will decide upon the organization of materials, presentation guidance, and reference materials. Additionally, they will make decisions about the organization and inclusion of content in the simulated environment and pass on the plan to the development team.We will spend most of our time and resources on this aspect of the work. Effective training is an empirically derived solution to a performance-based problem. Developing and implementing a customized training program will serve to increase target audience engagement and learning retention. The instructional design team will collaborate with stakeholders to plan, design, develop and deliver products to meet the training outcome goals outlines in the design document, in accordance with our typical development process for content in digital format.Building upon the outline constructed by our team of instructional designers, a videographer will record various steps in the process of smoking a hive using 360-degree camera technologies. Then the development team will begin to create the interactive virtual reality environment, compliant with the steps laid out by the instructional designers and technical advisors.Task 5: Impact AssessmentBubo will work with two partners to engage a diverse group of potential trainees with the prototype beekeeping VR training module to assess its effectiveness. The City of Springtown, TX, located about an hour's drive northwest of Fort Worth, has a population of less than 3,000 residents with an economy largely based on agriculture and a long history of active Future Farmers of America and 4H organizations. Bubo will work with the City Administrator to identify a target audience from among students familiar with agricultural work. By contrast, the City of San Antonio, TX, located in Bexar County, is the seventh most populous city in the U.S. with over 1.4 million residents. The Bexar County Extension Service, in partnership with Prairie View A&M University, implements programs focused on benefitting underserved youth in the area. Less than 1% of the county population is engaged in agriculture, making the youth in these programs a good test case for understanding how to interest participants in agricultural vocations. Sayako Seymour, County Extension Agent, has provided a Letter of Support agreeing to help assess the effectiveness of the prototype.For each assessment, Bubo will engage at least 12 participants to experience the beekeeping VR simulation. The impact of the training will be measured both subjectively and quantitatively. Subjectively, Bubo will develop and administer pre-experience and post-experience questionnaires or surveys to assess the knowledge and skill gained directly from the experience. Some attributes of learning will also be measured quantitatively by the program during the experience, including how many attempts a learner takes to successfully complete a task and how long each of those attempts tests.These assessments will include data in the following three attributes of learning:Knowledge: identification of the correct took or component of the hive.Skills: lifting the honeycomb, using a smoker to calm the bees, harvesting bees to check for mites.Attitudinal Changes: more confidence in completing the task, more interest in the subject because of the VR experience.In addition to assessing beekeeping competency on the skills included in the experience, Bubo will also assess learners' attitudes toward VR in general as a learning took. We will consider everyone's previous experience to VR and how they perceived the experience as compared to classroom learning and field experiences.Task 6: Final Evaluation, Reporting, and Phase II Planning (Weeks 30-32)Bubo will compile evaluation findings and all project advancements into a Phase I final report. The team will assemble data from assessments, performance checklists, surveys, as well as all pertinent data. This evaluation will be conducted to objectively measure the effectiveness of the VR beekeeping training module on preparing learners for the real-world equivalent vocation, including evaluating the impact of the instruction on the learners, the VR performance, and the reliability of the operating software.Based on the results of this Phase I project, Bubo will assess whether any changes are needed to the VR learning course and determine the best way to implement them. The team will then determine what training modules will be developed in Phase II, considering factors such as the degree to which VR training minimizes risks of field training, which agricultural vocations are most in need of workers, and market demand for various agricultural vocations.