ECT Brownbag: Al Olsen
SoundCheck: Audio and Emotions for Learning
When: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 12:00 pm– 1:00 pm EST
Click Here: Recording Link
This work is aligned with the research of Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VRLEs), Emotional design, Audio and Emotions, Emotion Sensing and Emotions for Learning.
SoundCheck focuses on audio designs and their effects on learners’ emotions. SoundCheck aims to mediate affect via audio designs with the goal to enhance cognition. A catalogue of audio designs was composed from the ground up following strict heuristics found in the literature of sound, emotion and cognition.
To study these audio designs in VR, two innovations have been put forth: First, the Multilayered Affect-Audio Research System, MAARS, a taxonomy for VRLEs’ audio research and design. And second, a bio-sensing VR research platform, DreamVR, featuring calibrations rooms used to expose participants to auditory stimuli presentations.
The audio designs corresponding to the Feedback and Experiential layers will be tested using MAARS and DreamVR.
Al Olsen
Al Olsen is a digital media designer and senior software developer. He works as an assistant research scientist at CREATE Lab, and in his spare time he produces music and spends time with his family.
As an ECT PhD Candidate at NYU, Al’s research focuses on the question: how does audio affect emotions in learners in a learning context? And moreover, can positive emotions be mediated to improve cognition using audio designs in a virtual reality learning environment?