Today, I am going to show you how this tablet and this virtual-reality headset that I'm wearing are going to completely revolutionize science education. And I'm also going to show you how it can make any science teacher more than twice as effective. But before I show you how all of this is possible, let's talk briefly about why improving the quality of science education is so vitally important.
今天,我要给大家展示 这台平板电脑和 我戴的这个虚拟现实头盔 将如何彻底改革科学教育。 我还会给大家展示 它如何让所有科学教师的 教学效率翻倍。 但是在我向大家展示这些之前, 我们先来简要谈一谈为什么 提高科学教育质量 是如此的重要。
If you think about it, the world is growing incredibly fast. And with that growth comes a whole list of growing challenges, challenges such as dealing with global warming, solving starvation and water shortages and curing diseases, to name just a few.
你仔细想一想, 当今世界发展速度快得惊人。 但伴随着发展, 一系列的挑战也层出不穷 这些挑战包括应对全球变暖, 解决温饱和水资源短缺问题, 还要治疗疾病, 这些只是几个例子。
And who, exactly, is going to help us solve all of these great challenges? Well, to a very last degree, it is these young students. This is the next generation of young, bright scientists. And in many ways, we all rely on them for coming up with new, great innovations to help us solve all these challenges ahead of us. And so a couple of years back, my cofounder and I were teaching university students just like these, only the students we were teaching looked a little bit more like this here.
那么,究竟谁能帮助我们 应对这些巨大的挑战呢? 其实很大程度上, 这些人会是年轻的学生们。 这些人是下一代年轻聪慧的科学家。 在很多方面,我们都得靠他们 提出崭新的、伟大的创新观点, 来帮助我们解决人类面临的种种挑战。 就在几年之前, 我和我的合伙人 正是这样教导着大学生们, 只是我们所教的这些学生 看上去更像是这样。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
And yes, this is really the reality out there in way too many universities around the world: students that are bored, disengaged and sometimes not even sure why they're learning about a topic in the first place.
是的,这真的是目前的现状, 在世界上太多的大学都是如此: 学生们很无聊,很散漫, 有时甚至不确定最初 为什么要去学某项东西。
So we started looking around for new, innovative teaching methods, but what we found was quite disappointing. We saw that books were being turned into e-books, blackboards were being turned into YouTube videos and lecture hall monologues were being turned into MOOCs -- massive online open courses. And if you think about it, all we're really doing here is taking the same content and the same format, and bringing it out to more students -- which is great, don't get me wrong, that is really great -- but the teaching method is still more or less the same, no real innovation there.
所以我们开始探索 新的创新性教学方式, 但是得到的结果却很令人失望。 只见纸质书慢慢转变为电子书, 黑板渐渐被YouTube视频替代, 讲堂里的讲座变成了慕课—— 大规模的网络公开课。 如果你仔细想一想, 我们所做的一切就是把 相同的内容, 还有相同的格式, 传递给更多的学生—— 其实这挺好的,别误会, 我觉得这非常好—— 但是教学方式或多或少都是相同的, 这一点没有真正的创新。
So we started looking elsewhere. What we found was that flight simulators had been proven over and over again to be far more effective when used in combination with real, in-flight training to train the pilots. And so we thought to ourselves: Why not just apply that to science? Why not build a virtual laboratory simulator?
所以我们开始探索新思路。 我们发现的是, 当与真正的飞行训练相结合时, 飞行模拟器在训练飞行员方面 一直以来都非常有效。 于是我们就思考: 何不将其应用到科学领域呢? 为什么不建一台 虚拟的实验室模拟器呢?
Well, we did it. We basically set out to create a fully simulated, one-to-one, virtual reality laboratory simulator, where the students could perform experiments with mathematical equations that would simulate what would happen in a real-world lab. But not just simple simulations -- we would also create advanced simulations with top universities like MIT, to bring out cutting-edge cancer research to these students. And suddenly, the universities could save millions of dollars by letting the students perform virtual experiments before they go into the real laboratory. And not only that; now, they could also understand -- even on a molecular level inside the machine -- what is happening to the machines. And then they could suddenly perform dangerous experiments in the labs as well. For instance also here, learning about salmonella bacteria, which is an important topic that many schools cannot teach for good safety reasons. And we, of course, quiz the students and then give the teachers a full dashboard, so they fully understand where the students are at.
我们就这么做了。 我们开始创造 一个完全模拟的,一对一的 虚拟现实的实验室模拟器, 在这里学生们可以做实验, 让数学公式来模拟 现实实验室中会发生的事情。 但是又不只是简单的模拟, 我们也可以与 麻省理工这样的顶尖大学合作 创造更高级的模拟效果, 把顶尖的癌症治疗成果分享给学生。 这样,大学就可以一下子省下上百万美金, 只需让学生们在进真正实验室之前 先做一遍虚拟的实验。 不仅如此; 现在他们同样可以搞懂 机器内部正在发生着什么, 即使小至分子水平。 他们也可以一下子 就能在实验室里做更危险的实验了。 比如说这里, 我们可以教授一个重要内容: 沙门氏菌, 目前很多学校基于安全考虑是 不开设这门课程的。 我们当然也可以给学生小测, 然后给老师们一个完整的反馈, 这样他们可以清晰地了解 学生们学得如何。
But we didn't stop there, because we had seen just how important meaning is for the students' engagement in the class. So we brought in game designers to create fun and engaging stories. For instance, here in this case, where the students have to solve a mysterious CSI murder case using their core science skills.
但是我们没有就此停止, 因为我们才刚看到 学生在课程中的投入度 有多么深远的意义。 于是我们找来游戏设计师, 写一些有趣、有吸引力的故事。 比如在这个例子中, 学生们需要运用核心科学知识 解决神秘的犯罪现场谋杀案。
And the feedback we got when we launched all of this was quite overwhelmingly positive. Here we have 300 students, all passionately solving CSI murder cases while learning core science skills. And what I love the most about this is really when the students come up to me sometimes afterwards, all surprised and a little confused, and say, "I just spent two hours in this virtual lab, and ... and I didn't check Facebook."
我们在发布这些之后 所得到的反馈, 简直是铺天盖地的好评。 这里的300名学生, 都无比投入地解决谋杀案件, 与此同时还学习了核心科学技能。 我对此最爱的一点 就是有时候学生们 在玩过这些之后找到我, 很惊讶、很疑惑地看着我说: “我刚刚在虚拟实验室里 待了两个钟头, 而且……我一直都没刷Facebook。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
That's how engaging and immersive this really is for the students.
对于学生来说, 它就是如此迷人、令人沉浸其中。
And so, to investigate whether this really worked, a learning psychologist did a study with 160 students -- that was from Stanford University and Technical University of Denmark. And what they did is split the students into two groups. One group would only use the virtual laboratory simulations, the other group would only use traditional teaching methods, and they had the same amount of time. Then, interestingly, they gave the students a test before and after the experiment, so they could clearly measure the learning impact of the students. And what they found was a surprisingly high 76 percent increase in the learning effectiveness when using virtual laboratories over traditional teaching methods.
于是为了探究这是否有实效, 一个教育心理学家 对160名学生做了研究—— 这些学生们来自斯坦福大学 和丹麦技术大学。 他们所做的是, 把学生们分成两个小组。 一个小组只使用 虚拟的模拟实验室, 另外一组只使用 传统的教学方式, 然后给他们相同的时间。 十分有趣的是, 他们在实验之前和之后 都对学生进行测试, 这样他们就可以量化 教学过程对学生的影响。 他们发现, 虚拟实验室方法相比传统教学方法, 教学有效性提高了惊人的76%!
But even more interestingly, the second part of this study investigated what the teacher's impact was on the learning. And what they found was that when you combined the virtual laboratories with teacher-led coaching and mentoring, then we saw a total 101 percent increase in the learning effectiveness, which effectively doubles the science teacher's impact with the same amount of time spent. So a couple of months back, we started asking ourselves -- we have a wonderful team now of learning psychologists and teachers and scientists and game developers -- and we started asking ourselves: How can we keep ourselves to our promise of constantly reimagining education?
但是更有趣的是, 这个研究的第二部分调查了 教师对教学过程的影响。 他们发现, 当你把虚拟实验室方法 与教师的教学辅导相结合, 我们可以看到101%的 教学有效性增长, 这从效率上相当于 在相同的一段时间里 把科学教师的影响翻了一番。 几个月前, 我们开始问自己—— 我们有一个超棒的团队, 有教育心理学家, 有教师和科学家, 还有游戏设计师—— 我们就在扪心自问: 我们怎么才能信守承诺, 不断地重构教育方式?
And today, I am really excited to be presenting what we came up with and have been working incredibly hard to create. I will explain briefly what this is. Basically, I take my mobile phone -- most students already have these, smartphones -- and I plug it into this virtual-reality headset, a low-cost headset. And now what I can effectively do is, I can literally step into this virtual world. We'll have some of you in the audience also get to try this, because it is really something that you have to try to fully feel how immersive it really is. It literally feels like I just stepped inside this virtual lab. Do you see me up on the screen?
而今天,能向大家展示我们的研究成果, 我感到非常兴奋, 这是我们花了很大的努力创造出来的。 我简单介绍一下这个是什么。 基本上,我只用我的手机—— 大多数学生都有这种智能手机, 然后把它接到这个 低成本的虚拟现实头盔上。 那么现在我完全可以做到的就是, 我可以直接走进这个虚拟世界里。 我们等下会让一些观众来尝试, 因为这个东西你们必须得尝试过, 才能体会到沉浸式体验的强大。 这感觉上就好像 我直接踏进了这个虚拟实验室! 你们在屏幕上看到我了吗?
Audience: Yes.
观众:看到了。
Michael Bodekaer: Great! Awesome.
Michael Bodekaer: 好的!棒极了!
So basically, I have just turned my mobile phone into a fully simulated, million-dollar Ivy League laboratory with all this amazing equipment that I can interact with. I can, for instance, pick up the pipette and do experiments with it. I have my E-Ggel, my PCR and -- oh, look there, I have my next-generation sequencing machine, and there I even have my electron microscope. I mean, who's carrying around an electron microscope in their pocket? And here I have my machine, I can do different experiments on the machine. And over here I have the door, I can go into other experiments, I can perform in the laboratories. And here, I have my learning tablet. This is an intelligent tablet that allows me to read about relevant theory. As you can see, I can interact with it. I can watch videos and see content that is relevant to the experiment that I'm performing right now. Then over here, I have Marie. She is my teacher -- my lab assistant -- and what she does is guides me through this whole laboratory. And very soon, the teachers will be able to literally teleport themselves into this virtual world that I'm in right now and help me, guide me, through this whole experiment.
那么,我刚刚把我的手机变成了 一个全模拟的, 百万美元级的常青藤大学实验室, 里面满是我可以操作的神奇仪器。 比如说,我可以用移液管来做实验, 还有有电泳仪、 PCR仪······哦,看那边, 那是下一代的基因测序仪, 这里还有一台电子显微镜。 我在想,谁会在裤子口袋里 放一台电子显微镜呢? 这里有一台电脑, 我可以在电脑上做各种实验。 这里还有扇门, 我可以到其它的实验室, 去做其它的实验。 在这里我有一台学习电脑。 这是一台智能的平板电脑, 可以让我阅读相关的理论知识。 你们可以看到,我可以与之互动。 我可以看视频,学习一些 跟我正在做的实验 密切相关的东西。 然后来到这儿,这位是玛丽。 她是我的老师, 也是我在实验室的助手—— 她所做的就是引导我 使用整个实验室的仪器。 很快地, 老师们就真正可以传送到 我所在的这个虚拟世界里, 然后帮助我,引导我 完成整个实验。
And now before I finalize this, I want to show you an even cooler thing, I think -- something you cannot even do in real laboratories. This is a PCR machine. I'm now going to start this experiment. And what I just did is literally shrunk myself a million times into the size of a molecule -- and it really feels like it, you have to try this. So now it feels like I'm standing inside the machine and I'm seeing all the DNA, and I see the molecules. I see the polymerase and the enzymes and so forth. And I can see how in this case, DNA is being replicated millions of times, just like it's happening inside your body right now. And I can really feel and understand how all of this works.
现在,在我结束之前, 我想给你们看一个更酷炫的东西, 在真实实验室里根本做不到的事。 这是一台PCR仪。 我要开始做实验了。 我刚刚做的就是 把自己缩小了一百万倍, 变成分子的大小—— 感觉就像是这样,你们必须得试试! 现在感觉像是我站在机器里, 我看到这里所有的DNA,还有分子, 我看到聚合酶还有生化酶等等。 在这种情况下, 我看到DNA是 如何被复制上百万次的, 就像现在你的身体里正在进行的那样。 我真的可以感受、理解这些原理了。
Now, I hope that gives you a little bit of a sense of the possibilities in these new teaching methods. And I want to also emphasize that everything you just saw also works on iPads and laptops without the headsets. I say that for a very important reason. In order for us to really empower and inspire the next generation of scientists, we really need teachers to drive the adoption of new technologies in the classroom. And so in many ways, I believe that the next big, quantum leap in science education lies no longer with the technology, but rather with the teachers' decision to push forward and adopt these technologies inside the classrooms. And so it is our hope that more universities and schools and teachers will collaborate with technology companies to realize this full potential.
我希望这些能够给你们一点概念, 就是这种全新教学方式的可能性。 此外我还想强调一下, 刚刚你们看到的一切 也可以在iPad和笔记本电脑上实现, 而完全不需要这个头盔。 我讲这个是有很重要原因的。 为了让我们真正地 激发、启迪下一代的科学家, 我们迫切需要教师们推动 这些课堂新科技的推广。 从很多角度来看, 我相信科学教育的 下一个伟大的、质的飞跃, 已不在于科技发展本身, 而在于教师们的作为, 将这些新科技推广及采用, 带到课堂上去。 我们的期望是让更多的 大学、学校和老师, 都与科技公司合作, 来实现它全部的潜能。
And so, lastly, I'd like to leave you with a little story that really inspires me. And that is the story of Jack Andraka. Some of you might already know him. Jack invented a new, groundbreaking low-cost test for pancreatic cancer at the age 15. And when Jack shares his story of how he did this huge breakthrough, he also explains that one thing almost prevented him from making this breakthrough. And that was that he did not have access to real laboratories, because he was too inexperienced to be allowed in.
讲到这里, 最后,我想告诉大家一个 特别鼓舞我的小故事。 是关于杰克·安德拉卡的故事。 你们有些人可能知道他。 杰克研究出了一种全新的、突破性的、 低成本的胰腺癌检测法, 那时他只有15岁。 当杰克分享自己 做出这个伟大突破的经历时, 他也讲述了一件 几乎阻止了他取得这项突破的事。 那就是他没办法进入 真正的实验室里, 因为他经验非常不足, 不被允许进入。
Now, imagine if we could bring Ivy League, million-dollar virtual laboratories out to all these students just like Jack, all over the world, and give them the latest, greatest, most fancy machines you can imagine that would quite literally make any scientist in here jump up and down out of pure excitement. And then imagine how that would empower and inspire a whole new generation of young and bright scientists, ready to innovate and change the world.
那么想象一下,如果我们能把 常青藤名校,百万美元级的虚拟实验室 带给像杰克一样的所有学生, 在全世界范围推广, 把你能想象到的 最新、最棒、最花哨的仪器都给他们, 那就真的会让这里的所有科学家 都兴奋得活蹦乱跳了。 再想象一下, 这样定会激励和启迪 全新一代的年轻聪慧的科学家, 准备好做出创新,改变世界。
Thank you very much.
非常感谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)