This event will explore the innovative ways Alberta's educational institutions have embraced XR technology. Register here!
The VRARA Alberta Chapter is excited to welcome speakers from SAIT and Bow Vally College to share the ways that they are utilizing virtual and augmented reality. The event will include a series of speakers followed by a structured Q&A and networking.
Our speakers for the evening include:
Pablo Pina, Academic Chair, Sustainability — SAIT
Pablo has over fifteen years of experience in sustainability, engagement, leadership, teaching, consulting, and post-secondary practice. His work has been presented, and acknowledged, in Canada, the United States, Latin America, and Europe. In 2017, Pablo joined the MacPhail School of Energy at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) as the Endowed Academic Chair of Water Sustainability. In 2020, his role was expanded as the Academic Chair of Sustainability. As the Academic Chair of Sustainability, Pablo leads applied learning and innovation through four academic programs and the development of an Enrichment & Collaboration Space called the Water Integrator.
Rebekka Bais, Student — SAIT
Rebekka is an MRU Environmental Science student fulfilling a Work Term at SAIT. She is interested in developing a career around water management, sustainability, research and education. And is grateful to be in a role at SAIT that checks off these boxes. Before university Rebekka worked as a Doula and volunteered with Alberta Health Services in the Caring Hands program to assist families with multiple newborns.
Rebekka and Pablo are working at SAIT to create an experience of the Bow River Basin. Technology can help us improve our understanding of our environment and its value (and beauty) in our day to day lives by allowing us to “see” and “experience” things not otherwise possible. In partnership with the Alberta Tomorrow Foundation, the Bow River Council and the Sustainability group at the MacPhail School of Energy at SAIT, this project aims to develop a 360 VR tour of the Bow River Basin from the headwaters to the eastern reaches. The interactive 360 VR tour will allow users to experience the different environments, land uses and issues throughout the basin. Hotspots embedded within the tour will allow students to learn more detail about specific topics and issues that describe the watershed. Hotspots can include interviews with experts, information of land uses such as logging or irrigation.
Patrena Mackie, Interim Associate Dean in Nursing — Bow Valley College
Patrena Mackie has over 15 years of experience in nursing education and practice from across Western Canada. In her professional experiences, she specialized in acute and nephrology nursing; experience which she heavily draws upon as an educator. After receiving her M.Ed. in Education Administration, she held various instructional and leadership roles, including provincial representative for Practical Nurse educators. Patrena is passionate about teaching and research, both at the post-secondary and community level, where she has collaborated on health education and promotion projects.
Patrena is working on the Virtual Reality Focused Assessment (VRFA) tool. This tool, developed by ICOM productions Inc and Bow Valley College, provides practical nursing students with experience in identifying various abnormal findings via three focused experiences: Respiratory, Cardiac, and Ear, Eyes, Nose, and Throat (EENT). By tracking students’ virtual experience, instructors receive objective evaluative feedback. The VRFA tool allows students to safely hone their focused assessment skills and develop confidence prior to entering clinical practice. This product has been integrated into NURS 1201 Adult Health Assessment, where approximately 200 students engage with the tool each semester.
