PlayScope
Cate LaPlante, Matthew Nolin, Tobi Saulnier · 2017
The PlayScope is an interactive, smartphone-based microscope that combines phone based gaming with traditional microscopy via augmented reality technology. The PlayScope provides instruction and project-based learning opportunities that address the developmental needs and media consumption preferences of middle-through high-school students, connecting students to fundamental biotechnology concepts in an engaging way. By transforming microscopy into an interactive process the PlayScope puts the student in the role of the scientist, allowing them to interact directly with simple organisms and actively engage in an experience that provokes curiosity and creativity. The PlayScope has the potential to increase student understanding of living systems that are currently taught through abstract textbooks, static models, and directive hands on materials that have remained unchanged for decades, with a long term objective of increasing the number of young people who choose science related career paths.