Dream Flight Adventures Building Simulators in Pittsburgh Schools

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/13/14

Two Pittsburgh schools will be adding simulation classrooms this year to provide students with creative ways to develop skills in teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving while also studying several subjects, including science, technology, engineering, social studies, humanities and the arts. A new elementary school, set to open in June 2014 in the Penn Hills School District, and Harrison Middle School in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District are following the lead of Shaler Area Elementary in working with education technology company Dream Flight Adventures to set up the simulated worlds.

The simulators mix digital and real-world activities to create immersive, interactive learning environments. They support groups of four to 16 "players" at a time; each person maintains a different role on the team — captain, first officer, physicist, communications, security guard, hacker, and so on.

  Dream Flight Adventures uses tolls such as iPads, computers and lights to create simulation rooms for schools.
Dream Flight Adventures uses tolls such as iPads, computers and lights to create simulation rooms for schools.		  

The basic concept, according to company Director Gary Gardiner, is to "throw students into the middle of epic stories and create lasting memories." The learners enter a themed simulator and work together as a team to operate their technology controls and apply their knowledge in pursuit of cross-disciplinary missions.

According to the company site, the simulators are built with "everyday stuff like iPads, computers, lights and wood."

"We are committed to developing a comprehensive K-12 STEM initiative,” said Darlene DeFilippo, director of programs at the Baldwin-Whitehall district. "Dream Flight Adventures will engage students mentally, physically and emotionally in immersive learning experiences that will build student motivation, excitement and participation while aligning STEM connections to a variety of subject areas."

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located in the same city, will be adding its own Dream Flight simulator this year as well and expects to collaborate with the two schools.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • A young person sitting on a couch in a bright living room during the daytime, holding a tablet, with sunlight streaming through large windows and pastel-toned furniture.

    Balancing Screen Time and Student Wellness

    Student mental health is in crisis, and excessive screen time is a significant factor. Here are four ways to help students find and maintain a healthy balance with technology.

  • abstract circuit patterns, featuring small icons of coins and dollar symbols in blue, green, and gold tones

    Report: 90% of Schools Depend on E-rate Funding Every Year

    A new report from Funds for Learning highlights the critical role of the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program in funding essential technologies and services for K-12 schools.

  • interconnected geometric human figures forming a network

    CoSN: School Staffing Is the Top Hurdle to K-12 Innovation

    Hiring and keeping educators and IT staff remains the top challenge for K-12 education in 2025, according to the latest Driving K-12 Innovation Report from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

  • computer with a red warning icon on its screen, surrounded by digital grids, glowing neural network patterns, and a holographic brain

    Report Highlights Security Concerns of Open Source AI

    In these days of rampant ransomware and other cybersecurity exploits, security is paramount to both proprietary and open source AI approaches — and here the open source movement might be susceptible to some inherent drawbacks, such as use of possibly insecure code from unknown sources.