Learning through Educational Innovation

Arizona State University is a firm believer in the benefits of promoting creativity and making sure anyone in the community can have access to the same technology. Many companies have partnered with ASU Next Lab to help students pursue creative projects, and through collaboration, are committed to the advancement of innovation. These businesses collaborate closely with Next Lab to assist young kids to develop their minds and give them access to the technology they need, in hopes of transforming their communities. 

In 2022, Verizon established a 5G Innovation Hub at the ASU Next Lab Studio in an effort to facilitate immersive educational experiences and revolutionize the way that learning is done. At the Hub, educators, business partners, and students collaborate to test and develop 5G-powered learning opportunities that are accessible, egalitarian, and inclusive.

The inaugural initiative, "The Digital Equity Jam," debuted in February 2022. This project consisted of competing teams creating use cases that demonstrated how mobile edge computing and Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband may be utilized to close the digital divide. Following "The Digital Equity Jam," ASU carried on testing and implementing a range of immersive learning environments that were supported by mobile edge computing and Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband.

As part of their long-standing partnership, Verizon and ASU collaborate on and support Verizon Innovative Learning, the company's award-winning educational program that removes obstacles to digital inclusion. Through the project, immersive learning environments, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, and 5G were introduced to schools.

The inclusion of the younger generations in technological advancements to improve their educational experience and workforce readiness is key in the efforts to expand broadband access across Arizona.

In 2023, Next Lab hosted a two-day intensive workshop with ASU Preparatory Academy that focused on career research and development through Roblox Games. More than sixty junior high school students participated in the event, expressing their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) jobs by being immersed in the principles of game creation and narrative. The program used a Roblox Studio template made by Studio Associates to represent career pathways as obstacle courses. Students collaborated in small groups to finish game design documents. The last step was playtesting and rating each other's games according to Roblox design, career relevance, and the level of detail in each game design document.

Before the event, Educational Outreach and Student Services staff led a series of workshops where participants were encouraged to consider how a character in a game could attain various aspects of career readiness and were encouraged to think deeply about their career interests. Several students demonstrated that they learned how to collaborate, organize, and most significantly, come to consensus on differing viewpoints. Thanks to a partnership with Verizon, a Cradlepoint router was provided to connect each student to the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network. This ensured that everyone could depend on a quick and reliable network to finish their Roblox tasks. 

Have you ever tried singing happy birthday on Zoom to a coworker? Or maybe you’ve tried playing an instrument with someone together and realized the difficulty of getting sound to sync up when using Zoom. 

“Latency” is the name for this, and can be used to describe the interval of time between a musician playing a note and the audience hearing it. The interplay and rhythm that may make live music so compelling are hampered by this time gap in environments like Zoom that have virtual audiences and performers.

To approach this issue head-on, in May 2023, ASU Next Lab,Zoom and Verizon coordinated a Battle of the Bands concert as the first ever live-streamed performance via Zoom, and they would do it with no latency. 

While fixing latency issues is typical for technicians working with live performance transmission, the ASU Next Lab team pooled their ideas and worked together to find a fresh solution. The group created a portable tech kit called a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) with technology from Verizon, which they call an "Espresso Kit." This setup proved to be ideal. To incorporate the technology kit's display monitor and a mini Mac computer, the Next Lab team worked with the Verizon and Espresso Displays tech teams to optimize the DAW's configuration. This allowed the Zoom live-streaming component to be powered by Verizon 5G technology, which reduced latency. The tech package gives performers precise instructions on how to set up their equipment for maximum performance in a straightforward and user-friendly manner. Artists can perform with a touch-screen digital mixer and live-stream via Zoom to both live and virtual audiences in a low latency, real-time environment. A new era of virtual cooperation for musicians and artists worldwide is being ushered in by the Next Lab team through innovative improvement of existing technologies to develop user-friendly solutions.

EquiBraille is a student-led project that uses technology to aid the visually impaired. The project uses artificial intelligence to transcribe written classroom material into a readable format via braille board.

“EquiBraille is actively working to bridge the accessibility gap for individuals with disabilities, empowering them to pursue competitive degrees in STEM fields by providing real-time Braille transcription of classroom content. This innovative solution ensures that visually impaired students can engage with course materials at the same pace as their peers, fostering a more inclusive learning environment that supports their academic and professional aspirations in highly demanding fields.”

Because EquiBraille is based on a very low latency connection, online communication is almost instantaneous. In-class cameras scan whiteboards or chalkboards and use artificial intelligence to translate and transcribe written text. A real-time transmission of this data is subsequently made to a physical braille board. When a transcription is delivered to the board, which is flat by default, mechanical components activate and raise and lower the characters so that visually-impaired students may read braille written on the whiteboard in front of them. The group interviewed stakeholders, including disability centers, visually impaired groups and students, and the educators who work with them, in order to create a business plan for EquiBraille. EquiBraille's solution will use AI and the speed of 5G networks to provide braille translation in almost real-time. The team, which currently consists of Keval Shah, and Ananya Yadav, stated that for their initial trial, they intend to use ASU classrooms that are already equipped with cameras. The group will compare the performance of visually impaired students before and after the launch of EquiBraille by concentrating on beginning Math and English courses.

Continue your journey by interacting with our Arizona Broadband Map, where you can toggle layer visibility, zoom into tract-level data, and explore resources related to broadband and digital equity.