We all know how nice it is to receive compliments after giving a presentation. Jonathan Dorn, a doctoral student in the department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, has experienced this kind of positive feedback first hand.

Jonathan attributes some of the positive feedback to the hard work of the LTC’s head of Graphic Design, Mike Martelle and Gary Mackender, manager of the Virtual Reality Annex for the Office of Student Computing Resources (OSCR).  Jonathan feels that his collaboration with them was definitely a big success. Having been introduced to the LTC by Professor James Riley, Jonathan decided to enlist the Center to help him create a unique way to illustrate his research to others. The result was a PowerPoint presentation with a "twist" — literally.

In his academic research — developing a new way to study how bacteria interact with pollutants in soil environments — Jonathan has a number of complex concepts to convey. As an experienced PowerPoint user, he knew it was the vehicle he wanted to use for his presentations, but he had no experience in digital graphic design or digital videos.

 

With the help of Mike and Gary, he achieved his goal by integrating basic PowerPoint presentation techniques with additional custom graphics and QTVR (Quick Time Virtual Reality) animation. The custom graphics needed for the presentation required modeling a virtual soil column into a 3D format. For the uninitiated, a soil column is a stainless steel or glass cylinder filled with soil. The column simulates underground environments and can be used to study microbial activity and liquid transport.

Once the soil column was created in a graphic form, the model was manipulated into various cross-sectional views exposing the bacterial reaction occurring inside the soil column. The addition of virtual reality (QTVR) in the slides also allows the audience to see the soil column from a 360 degree perspective. These graphics along with the virtual reality videos were critical for demonstrating what would have otherwise been seen in a static, one-dimensional graphic.

View QTVR 1 | View QTVR 2 (Requires Quicktime)

Regarding the general role of technology in academic instruction, Jonathan believes that in today’s technological era, “traditional methods of delivery are obsolete and high quality digital images are imperative to bolster presentations and research proposals."

Here at the LTC we're pleased he holds this belief, as it will no doubt provide us with additional opportunities to collaborate on future projects. The positive feedback he has received on his recent PowerPoint presentations is making us feel pretty good, too, as he shares his thoughts on the LTC's role in his success.

"The personnel at the Learning Technologies Center are easy to work with and extremely knowledgeable,” Jonathan said. “I am still amazed by the quality of work the Learning Technologies Center produces, especially since the services are free!"

While we pat ourselves on the back and feel good about the positive vibes, what's most important to remember, however, is what Jonathan says about the bottom-line results of his unique presentations. Improved understanding in the overall issues and concerns facing his field of science research will, according to Jonathan, "enable the development and implementation of more efficient, cost-effective technologies to clean up polluted groundwater in Arizona."

It appears that the creative expertise he's received from the LTC is going a long way in promoting this understanding and we're pleased to share in his success.

You may not be involved in cleaning up polluted water but if you need help adding some pizzazz to your presentations or in other areas of instructional technology, contact us and we'll be happy to discuss a collaboration.