Page 31 - Campus Technology, March/April 2018

2017 CT IMPACT AWARDS IN DEPTH
cost-effective way to enhance the functionality of its 3D printing tools such that local middle school students could 3D scan museum artifacts, 3D print them and explore the printed items “hands-on” in ways that could not be allowed with the original objects in a museum setting.
After more than a year in service, the IE space is being used creatively by a wide cross section of colleges and faculty are incorporating assignments that use the space
in ways that extend the reach of campus and departmen- tal learning resources. While libraries are traditionally thought of as a place of books and serials that contain information, the IE space demonstrates that information can also expressed as 3D prints, virtual reality models, research data and/or visualizations of that data, micro- controllers that can be easily built and rebuilt by others to duplicate research results, and software carpentry to
program those microcontrollers. All these and more are valid forms of creating and expressing information.
Many technologies have been used in the development and operation of the IE space over time. Initially, to create the facility’s first virtual reality area, named OVAL, the IE team acquired some early Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, Leap Motion detectors, Unity software, PCs assembled by students, and a sliding chair workstation designed by a team member and built by the physics department.
A variety of related technologies and products — Google Cardboard and HTC Vive among them — were explored and employed over time in order to extend the reach and add other functionalities provided
by those products. The team started out with MakerBot for 3D printing but ultimately moved on to Lulzbot to support the “open” approach preferred by OU Libraries. A few products, like Nvidia graphics cards (to support virtual reality), the Hatchbox 3D printer filament, Raspberry Pi microcontrollers and Sparkfun electronics kits, were particularly noted by the team for their usefulness in supporting the goals of the IE. Innovation @ the Edge continues to expand into the use of new and interesting tools, reflecting a broadening of its scope as the technology landscape continually changes over time.
It’s “business as usual” for the Knowledge Services librarians to look forward to change. Innovation @ the Edge is one of several University of Oklahoma initiatives that put the library at the heart of the university — a central place where the work of the institution is accomplished and where the ideas from the various colleges are combined, refined and extended as a result of collaboration and cooperation. The librarians seek to further OU’s larger strategic goals by continuing to scan the horizon for emerging technologies that may represent the next level of technology change in support of the pedagogical and research goals of the university.
Meg Lloyd is a freelance writer based in Northern California.
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | March/April 2018
OU’s Innovation @ the EDGE space exposes students to virtual reality and other emerging technologies in a hands-on environment.