Abstract:

This paper presents a case study detailing collaborative design interaction between pediatric patients at a world class pediatric hospital, and undergraduate media design students studying digital animation and immersive media (augmented reality) production. These collaborations also engaged arts and sciences students and faculty, along with hospital staff and care providers, resulting in a hybrid learning experience for students that transcends traditional learning silos.

Through the collaborations described, pediatric patients were offered the opportunity to create their own characters, locations and stories, which were then entrusted to university students to bring to life through computer animation and augmented reality applications, which were shared with patients, their families and caregivers, as well as the medical and academic communities at large.

For patients, the collaborations offer a novel, entertaining and enjoyable escape from the routine of ongoing, long-term medical treatment, as well as an opportunity to have direct creative control over the design and direction of an animated short film, or augmented reality experience. For students, these collaborations motivated an exceptional degree of engagement and enthusiasm relative to traditional learning exercises, while proving to be a deeply rewarding application of skills learned in their area of study. Students also reported that the collaborations generated unique and challenging learning opportunities related to bringing the visions of wildly creative pediatric patients to life.

This paper details the formation, design and execution of several iterations of this collaborative educational process, in the hopes that other educators and medical care providers will be inspired and encouraged to design and implement their own creative collaborations for the benefit of their students and patients, and further refine the framework presented.

Keywords:

Collaborative, community base learning, undergraduate learning, industry experiences, augmented reality, digital animation.