Author: Brandon Chapman

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069 Using Virtual Reality to combat health care patient anxiety

A phlebotomist is about to stick a needle in your arm. They’re going to draw blood. And you hate needles. And the site of blood. Some people tell you, it’s no big deal. But you know better! Well, now, you don’t necessarily need to feel the anxiety you normally do when seeing the doctor, or, in this example, get blood drawn. Why? Virtual Reality.

Don McMahon, an assistant professor of special education at Washington State University’s College of Education, as well as the director of a virtual and augmented reality lab on the Pullman campus, has a new technique. It was discovered because of a trip to the doctor’s office with his daughter. Virtual reality can actually help reduce anxiety among healthcare patients! The integration of this was obvious and Don explains how a local hospital saw it and has implemented it.

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068 Internship with ETS – Providing a different perspective

Chioma, her husband, and their 1 year old all looking at the camera, the adults smiling, the baby looking confused.

The Washington State University College of Education has a rich history of involvement with the Educational Testing Service, based in Princeton, NJ. We’ve had alumni work there, current students intern there, faculty members chair different groups or committees there. Our ties usually come   from the college’s Educational Psychology program. After all, it makes sense: these are individuals who are experts in psychometrics, measurement and evaluation, and much more. All things that would attract the attention of ETS and satisfy that organization’s needs. However, Chioma Ezeh bucks that trend. She’s a doctoral students in Language, Literacy, and Technology, not Ed Psych, and she just completed a two-month internship with ETS. We sat down with Chioma and talked about how ETS actually looks for other unique perspectives such as hers, plus, what it was like to be across the country doing this work with her family in tow.

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067 Contemporary Technologies in Education (new book)

Drs. Sola Adesope and A.G. Rud have compiled a new book called Contemporary Technologies in Education, a book that contains articles from educational technology leaders from around the country.

The book aims to maximize student engagement, motivation, and learning… just what we need right now.

We sat down this summer with both faculty members to talk about the positive expected results from this book.

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066 Herb Berg: A Lifetime of Ed Leadership

When an individual has been an educator for almost 50 years, has been a superintendent in six different school districts over three different states, you just listen.

It’s the season premiere of Education Eclipse’s FIFTH season, and we were able to sit down with Herb Berg. What a delight it was to get to know him, talk about his career path, and have him impart some of the wisdom he learned. Yes, he dined with presidents, no joke. But, perhaps even more importantly, he talks about the educational system of today, what it means to be a leader within that system, and breaking the mold of being able to predetermine what a child’s academic achievements will be simply because of the zip code in which they live.

Plus, he so graciously credits much of his career success to Washington State University and the College of Education.

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065 Textbook problems with learning Spanish, literally

Anne Marie Guerrettaz smiling at camera with blury background.

Anne Marie Guerrettaz is trying to figure something out: in Spanish foreign language classrooms, are the teaching or instructional materials helping or hindering students who are learning to speak Spanish? With the help of some recent recognition and grants, she plans to find an answer, along with potential solutions if things aren’t quite up to par. Plus, we learn that Anne Marie is a self-proclaimed “big dork.”

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064 Mindfulness and Body Image through Yoga

Negative body image has been associated with low self-esteem, eating disorders, and mental illness. Many young people, including young girls, are dissatisfied with their bodies, even at an early age, and this has been shown to continue and worsen over time.

As part of Washington State University’s Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, Sport Science major Veronica Garcia shares research on the effect of physical activity on body image, why it might be effective, and specifically, with her mentor, Associate Professor Anne Cox, a 16-week study examining the relationships of mindfulness and self-compassion to body appreciation and something called body surveillance, all with women participating in a yoga course.

Veronica talks about these essential relationships and strategies that will support more positive body image.

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063 Better support of student-athlete mental health (Hilinski’s Hope)

Just over a year ago, WSU quarterback Tyler Hilinski passed away and the Hilinski’s Hope foundation began. Focusing on mental health awareness in student athletics, Hilinski’s Hope is continuing to make a difference. We caught up with Kym Hilinski to learn more about the recent progress of the foundation and the importance of Hilinski’s Hope in student athletics.

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062 Increasing teachers and leaders of color

Roughly 45 percent of school children in Washington state are designated as people “of color.” But there’s only about 10 percent diversity among teachers and school administrators. This isn’t a new problem. And universities are certainly not just now working on solutions. But thanks to being the first recipient of the George Brain and Gay Selby Faculty Award in Educational Leadership, WSU Vancouver’s Katherine Rodela is working to bridge that diversity gap.

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061 Budding Moneyballers take on Phoenix

If you’ve ever watched the movie Moneyball, or read the book off of which it was based, you’ll know that the narrative goes something like this: everything we thought we knew about the game of baseball might be, at worst, just dead wrong, or, if we’re lucky, a little off. Either way, we’re wrong. The solution, of course, is to merely focus on great analytics and question the way things have been done. Problem solved, unbelievers be damned.

Well, a quartet of Washington State University students, led by team leader and sport management student Dante Ludlow, is soon taking their analytic prowess to a conference in Phoenix… a conference meant specifically for baseball analytics. While there, they’ll take part in a competition in front of baseball executives, with a dream of perhaps catching a few eyes and, even better, job offers.

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060 Aquatic Intervention for those with Cerebral Palsy

Individuals with Cerebral Palsy suffer from all kinds of effects such as issues with muscle tone, posture, bone growth, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and so on.

At Washington State University’s Bruya-Wood Undergraduate Research Conference, we spoke to Justin Harrer and Morgan Davis, two kinesiology students within the College of Education, about things that can be done to enhance quality of life for those with Cerebral Palsy. Specifically, using aquatic intervention for both physical and psychological benefits.

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