SageTech as Guest Speakers on NASDAQ Trade Talks

On October 13th, SageTech (a student startup with the guidance of IDEA), was featured as a guest speaker on the NASDAQ Trade Talks in order to expand on their research and purpose as a team. Co-founders Oliver Kisza, Claudia Santacruz, and Brianna Lischy spoke about the goals alongside the missions SageTech has for the future of education and accessible experiential learning. 

SageTech is a student startup focused on "revolutionizing the way education is delivered," according to Co-Founder Claudia Santacruz. They look to make a decentralized platform where educators and creators can host and share VR educational content. Their research is focused on the effectiveness of experiential learning and how VR technology can be used to increase its accessibility. Simply put, experiential learning is learning by doing. The team's model is guided by David Kolb’s work on experiential learning and Richard Mayer's theories on multimedia learning with VR.

The current model of experiential learning is backed by research suggesting a "promotion of effective engagement through experience, as well as increased attention among students," according to the team. However, “this method of learning has not been implemented to a high degree within the education system either because it is too costly, resources are scarce, or there is a huge time commitment on teachers and staff” according to Santacruz. With this in mind, SageTech aims to increase access to immersive experiences in the classroom otherwise not feasible. This is where they work with Virtual Reality. 

The team explains that Virtual Reality or VR is identified as "computer-generated simulation of a digital three-dimensional environment that can facilitate interaction via equipment such as digital goggles or gloves fitted with sensors." Students have the ability to see and interact with concepts learned in class with this technology, giving them the opportunity to work "hands-on". 

The platform is beneficial for teachers who work to make their students more engaged in the material being taught in class. Teachers will receive performance metrics about their students' experience that will help them assess comprehension and allow them to refine their VR content. 

Going even further, SageTech adds on personalization. The technology is equipped with numerous ways to track performance metrics and student attention that will be useful in providing more enriching experience tailored to student comprehension. For those who want to use the platform outside of the classroom, their profile is always updated with new recommended content based on their learning interests. They look to make the platform accessible to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. They would even like to partner with other educational networks in the future to promote an ecosystem of immersive educational experiences. 

Currently, SageTech is working on compiling their research into a literature review through the Interdisciplinary Research Team (IRT) at Rutgers. They look to begin a whitepaper for their student model of attention in head-mounted VR displays with the guidance of Rutgers University’s Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) and staff.