Monthly Archives: July 2021

The Bath fire and rescue department is one of four emergency medical service departments in the state that will participate in a pilot virtual reality training program to hone first responders skills in recognizing and treating severe illnesses in kids.

During the training, first responders wear virtual reality goggles that lead them through scenarios in which a child is in distress. Its the medical professionals job to assess the patients symptoms and determine whats wrong by observing whats in front of them and select the appropriate treatment. The virtual childs condition, such as their coloring or respiratory rate, could change based on the paramedics assessment.

Bath Fire and Rescue Chief Lawrence Renaud said the program is a step above in-person training because the virtual children can mimic the symptoms of various health issues and respond to treatment whereas live children or mannequins couldnt.

This virtual reality simulates the appearance of the child and allows us to examine and assess them in ways we never could, said Renaud. Its hard to train on real pediatrics because not many parents are willing to volunteer their children for us to train on. I think this is going to be the future and were very excited to be part of this process.

Renaud said it also allows paramedics to train by experiencing realistic situations rather than sitting in a classroom or watching a video.

Children cry, thats their universal language, and paramedics have to stay calm in those high-stress situations, said Renaud. We dont want to make someone elses crisis our crisis. We want to improve any situation we walk into.

York Hospital, Rockland Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, and Wells Emergency Medical Services are also participating in the pilot training program, offered by Maine Emergency Medical Services, a division of the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Maine EMS developed the program through federal funding making it free for the departments that choose to participate. Maine is also the first state in the nation to deploy emergency medical services training using virtual reality, according to Maine EMS Director Sam Hurley.

The training simulations focus on pediatric patients because emergency calls for children are so infrequent, meaning first responders can fall out of practice on how to respond when it counts.

Renaud estimated the departments 12 paramedics and 12 advanced emergency medical service officers responded to about 2,500 calls in 2020, but fewer than five involved children.

Statewide, about 5% of emergency calls are for pediatric patients, meaning theyre considered low frequency, high risk, said Hurley.

Statewide, about 10% of services didnt see a pediatric patient at all last year, said Maine EMS for Children Program Director Marc Minkler. That leaves an entire year when a clinician didnt assess a child. We want people to stay fresh so theyre ready to respond when a child needs help. No parent wants to hear This is the first child Ive treated in a while. Parents want someone whos ready to offer their best care.

When the Bath fire and rescue department does get pediatric calls, Renaud said theyre most commonly an allergic reaction to a bee sting, or a child mistakenly ingested chemicals or prescription medications.

Statewide, Minkler said the most common 911 calls for children stem from respiratory distress, seizures and psychiatric calls, which can be anything from anxiety to attempted suicide.

Renaud said the virtual training works especially well for Baths small personnel high volume department, because it gives them flexibility to train when they can, respond to calls when needed, and resume training later.

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics in Bath will be evaluated by Maine EMS quarterly to evaluate whether the virtual reality training is improving a clinicians ability to identify and manage critically ill pediatric patients, said Hurley.

While the training program only simulates pediatric patients now, Hurley said the department hopes to offer an adult version of the program within the next three months.

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Bath first responders to get virtual reality training to better care for kids in emergencies - pressherald.com

Adept XR, a Glimpse subsidiary company, partners with Edstutia to Launch Immersive VR Campus for Higher Education

NEW YORK, NY, July 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Adept XR, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Glimpse Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRAR; Glimpse), and a provider of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) corporate learning and training software & services solutions, today announced a multiyear, six figure software license and services relationship with online modular higher education alternative company, Edstutia.

By leveraging Adept XRs (https://adeptxr.com/) VR software platform - Elevate - Edstutia plans to build a unique, first of its kind, immersive VR campus to enhance learning experiences, presentations, classroom discussions, as well as immersive video road trips and simulations. The first VR campus is scheduled to launch in Edstutias Fall semester on October 2021.

I believe VR and AR will completely reshape how people learn, said Edstutia Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Christine Janssen, PhD. The immersive experiences that Adept XR creates revolutionize traditional learning in a classroom, which typically rely on passive and remote learning.

Dr. Janssen continued, I have worked with Glimpse in different professional capacities over the last two years and experienced first-hand the power of Adept XRs Elevate VR platform for classroom engagement. The capabilities and possibilities that VR opens to improving the student experience and educational impact are incredible.

Lyron Bentovim, Chief Executive Officer of The Glimpse Group, commented, Edstutia is at the forefront leveraging technology and experiential learning to disrupt traditional antiquated learning methods in higher education. We are excited to partner with Christine and Edstutia to help them achieve their goal of building a next generation, first-of-its-kind, virtual campus for higher learning. Glimpse continues to work with several other universities on the application of VR and AR to improve the learning experience.

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About Adept XR

Adept Reality, LLC (dba Adept XR), a subsidiary company of the AR/VR company The Glimpse Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAR) combines learning science, cutting edge technology, and a unique position in the VR industry to bring amazing solutions to todays toughest learning challenges. Adept XR offers immersive learning solutions for both higher education, and corporate training; http://www.adeptxr.com

About Edstutia:

Edstutia is a learning platform for the 21st century, disrupting the antiquated status quo of higher education. Edstutia is an online, modular education alternative positioned at the intersection of business and technology, and was designed to make higher education more relevant, affordable, and accessible. Experiential learning is at the heart of Edstutia from engaging, hands-on projects to a contemporary apprenticeship program to immersive experiences in the worlds first campus in virtual reality. Edstutia promotes skills over scores and was developed to address the skills gap in the U.S. by bringing value to students, employees and employers alike.

Edstutia was founded in December 2020 in New York City by Christine Janssen, PhD, who has nearly two decades of relevant experience and has earned various awards for her future-forward vision of Higher Education. For more information, visit http://edstutia.com

About The Glimpse Group, Inc.

The Glimpse Group (NASDAQ: VRAR) is a diversified Virtual and Augmented Reality platform company, comprised of multiple VR and AR software & services companies, and designed with the specific purpose of cultivating companies in the emerging VR/AR industry. Glimpse's unique business model simplifies challenges faced by VR/AR companies and creates a robust ecosystem, while simultaneously providing investors an opportunity to invest directly into the emerging VR/AR industry via a diversified platform. For more information on The Glimpse Group, please visit http://www.theglimpsegroup.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, should, and would or similar words. All forecasts are provided by management in this release are based on information available at this time and management expects that internal projections and expectations may change over time. In addition, the forecasts are entirely on managements best estimate of our future financial performance given our current contracts, current backlog of opportunities and conversations with new and existing customers about our products and services. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Company Contact:Maydan RothblumCFO & COOThe Glimpse Group, Inc.(917) 292-2685maydan@theglimpsegroup.com

Investor Relations:Mark Schwalenberg, CFADirectorMZ Group North America312-261-6430Glimpse@mzgroup.uswww.mzgroup.us

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The Glimpse Group Announces Multiyear Virtual Reality Software License and Services Partnership with Edstutia - Yahoo Finance

Um, so I'm Lucianne and I'm an astronomer and I'm here to answer any questions you might have. We can talk about, uh, really whatever you want to talk about.

Cool, youre an astronomer??

Astrophysicist Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz, before COVID time, would spend an occasional hour at the Space Visualization Lab at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The lab is filled with displays of space images, videos, and interactive displays, all connected to a tablet that the presenting scientist can change easily. Think of it as a dynamic exhibit.

In this lab, every day, different scientists come and engage in Astronomy Conversations. Audiences ask questions and can sometimes determine the path of the conversation. The lab is designed to work for different interests and needs. Some attendees walk around the lab while the scientist is speaking, watch a 3D display of a galaxy; others touch a 3D printed model of a nebula, and some listen to the sound, played from a speaker, of two black holes merging.

The conversations can build a relationship between the scientist and the audience. Dr. Walkowiczs audience asks about the difference between black holes and dark matter or Dr. Walkowiczs opinion about the movie Interstellar. Audiences also get to talk about how they used to come to the planetarium when they were kids. Engaging the public beyond one-way lectures is a science communication strategy that many scientists like Dr. Walkowicz are deploying more and more.

However, the state of science communication has not always focused on engaging people. Instead, imagine walking in museum halls filled with displays of labeled artifacts, where the most engagement you have is, reading the labels or opening drawers to see what is inside! In the 1960s museums began developing more engaging and interactive environments to elicit more critical thinking and encourage the joy of discovery.

A class in mathematical geography studying earth's rotation around the sun, Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, 1899

Via Library of Congress

Sputnik changed things. The launch of the small, beeping satellite by the USSR in 1957 was one of of the main events that garnered more attention to the public education of science. This led to scientists demanding education reform to help train the next generation of scientists, in response to the public demand for more awareness of the space race. So, in 1958 a movement for that reform began to move from more everyday science topic education to more focus on hard sciences, says Dr. Ingrid Ockert, historian of science in media.

One of the most important milestones in science communication post WWII, says Dr. Ockert, was that of John Hopkins Science Review (1948-1955). It was the first science show broadcasted nationally. The show was written, co-written, and hosted by Lynn Poole. Originally an artist and a dancer, Poole became a journalist and eventually Johns Hopkinss director of PR. He not only brought different guests such as doctors, chemists, and engineers for interviews, hed also invited non-scientists such as medical illustrators or animal trainers to talk about scientific topics. This format, and Pooles background, made the show very different from the dry lectures that most people saw science in.

This is particularly important, considering what research tells us about effective communication. For the longest time, scientists thought if they just teach people about science and provide information, audiences are going to be on board. In other words, teaching facts equals changing attitudes and behavior. But if there is one thing we have all learned during the time of COVID is that, facts are not enough.

This model, implying that things will be better after a knowledge gap is fixed is called the deficit model of communication. But facts on their own might fail to change minds, and in some cases, they might even backfire and get the audiences to disagree even more. Engaging an audience, building a relationship and trust with them, telling good stories, and immersing them in a world filled with the appropriate emotions go so much further than just facts can.

Pooles show not only focused on information, but also engaging the audience with science and himself. Later, Watch Mr Wizard (1951) became a hit as a science show in the US aimed at kids. Dr. Ockert notes, this show is specifically aimed at kids becoming excited about science.

In 1962 Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring describing the effect of pesticides on nature and bringing to the public topics on environmental concerns. The book, also inspiring a whole episode on CBS, inspired environmental movements and a fight to protect the environment. The Silent Spring, referring to the silencing of more and more birds due to environmental pollution, is one of the factors that lead to the establishment of EPA in 1970.

In 1974 NSF created their first science show, NOVA, a program that highlighted the connection between science and society. NOVA produced a range of videos including interviews with researchers, and explainers of scientific phenomena and discoveries. Today NOVA is the longest-running science series in the US, and has expanded to include short digital videos, a podcast, digital publication, game labs and initiatives to train the next generation of science communicators.

The Launchpad exhibit at the Science Museum, London, 1986-1989

The Science Museum

Around the same time (1973) the 13-part British documentary series Ascent of Man debuted. It provided a new, narrative style used by many other shows to come (like Carl Sagans Cosmos). In the Ascent series, Jacob Bronowski used a personal, more storytelling-approach to take the audience on a journey, answer questions, and get a visual experience on the way. Similarly, Carl Sagan becomes a charismatic scientists that seem to build a relationship with his audience. What makes a scientist trustworthy, in addition to their competence, is their warmth: showing their honesty, friendliness, their ability to respect others, listen to others, and care for them. Sagan, with his genial, neighborly manner, built a trusting relationship with the audience, inspiring generations of scientists to come.

However, through all these years with all the progress, most science communication programming was limited to white male hosts and frequently stereotypical depiction of people of color. In the 1970s, the NSF tried to bring more diverse talent to the screen. One example is the 1980s television science series for children, 3-2-1 Contact! produced by the Childrens Television Workshop (CTW, the same organization behind Sesame Street). Hosted by Lisa (Liz Moses), Marc (Leon W. Grant), and Trini (Ginny Ortiz), Contact! had a different approach from many other shows before, aiming to coax audiences to think like a scientist, says Dr. Ockert.

Contact! has been important in many ways, not only in terms of representation, but also its use of science communication and audience research. CTW had dedicated research teams for each program it produced to conduct audience research. The research team for Contact! (Milton Chen, Hylda Clarke, and Barbara Myerson Katz) assessed childrens preexisting attitudes about science and how they were shaped by films and TV shows, and, childrens bias toward scientists. These assessments were later used when writing the show scripts as researchers had a seat at the production table. Their research went right into childrens homes, according to an an article by Dr. Ockert in Physics Today:

They even had at their disposal a new interactive technology called the Program Evaluation Analysis Computer, a system of individual remotes that children could use to register their likes and dislikes and send them to a central console.

Communication research and scicomm were now firmly linked. These efforts are also reflected in medical fields, where similarly funding is provided by NIH to research projects that examine the effect of science communication tools such as media programming on audiences, patients, or health care professionals.

The original cast of 3-2-1 Contact! From left, Marc (Leon W. Grant), Lisa (Liz Moses), and Trini (Ginny Ortiz)

Screenshot via YouTube

The medical field especially has been integrating science/health communication training in their programming as doctor-patient communication is a part of everyday health practice. Organizations such as The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Sciences provide training for scientists and health professionals through improv and empathy training and many universities offer courses in health communication to their students. Additionally, science communication researchers have also been collaborating with policy-makers to address public health issues, as lately also witnessed in the case of COVID.

In 2021, scicomm is using new technology to involve the audience in storytelling. Two such technologies are AR and VR. Augmented reality (AR), like an Instagram filter, is a more affordable way to help the audience engage with the world around them, because it uses a device they already have in their pocket, says Wes Della Volla, Founder & Connector-of-Dots at Meridian Treehouse. For example, National Geographics Spark AR allows you to see yourself as a climber on Mount Everest. On the other hand, virtual reality (VR) can take you out of your world, and to a place you have never been. That would need a headset and a deeper immersion in the new environment, such as The Hydrous IMMERSE VR .

A more participatory method of engagement in science are citizen science projects. One scientist cant catalog a million pictures on their own, but a million people can, says Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase, co-creator of the Milky Way Project (MWP). While computers are great at many things, they are not so great at recognizing patterns. In the MWP, scientists needed human eyes to look at their thousands of pictures and classify what they see. Over 20,000 volunteers completed more than 4 million classifications over the lifetime of the Milky Way Project. Papers coming out of these projects acknowledge the volunteers, and in some cases even include them as coauthors. Even though citizen science projects have been in place since the 1950s such as the 1956s Operation Moonwatch work to observe and document satellites these projects are now an integral part of modern day scientific research in fields from astronomy to cancer research.

If scicomm has been historically white, social media has been an important platform to go around gatekeepings and provide a more democratic space. One scicomm social media star is Dr. Raven the Science Maven (aka Dr. Raven Baxter), who uses different social media platforms from YouTube to Twitter to produce entertaining science content, discuss science and society, and even her every-day life. Dr. Baxters authenticity easily comes through her content, from her tweets on making an earth sandwich, or her experiences as a black woman in STEM, to her music video about antibodies. She funded and hosted initiatives such as BlackInSciComm and formed a community for more diverse science communicators to share their experiences and to establish a sense of belonging.

Its for good reason we call academia the ivory tower, it implies that its above others and cut off from the real world. This is a toxic notion that can only contribute to distrust for science and for science to become irrelevant in certain instances. By continuing to do things the way they have always been done, we also lose the attention of many, especially those who cant see themselves in science or dont have access to it.

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From Sputnik to virtual reality, the history of scicomm - Massive Science