NORTHERN TODAY 5 FALL 2021 NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSI TY | News Education students practice for the classroom through virtual reality HAT STARTED as a small community event has grown into an annual fundraising gala that has raised millions of dollars for Northern State University and its students. The 23rd annual Northern Night was hosted by the NSU Foundation on Nov. 13 in the Dakota Event Center. Hundreds of people attended the event, which has been capped at 570 participants for several years and has sold out numerous times. The very first Northern Night, held in 1998, was a community wine tasting event featuring a small number of auction items, said NSU Foundation Marketing and Development Coordinator Lauren Bittner. Early Northern Night events featured a wine sommelier, postevent entertainment and auctioning off the president’s tie. Although a lot has changed over the years, Northern Night has always been about helping NSU students. “The one constant in the theme has always been Northern State University and supporting our students,” Bittner said. “The primary focus for the funds raised from Northern Night has always been student scholarships.” Today, more than $2 million has been raised for scholarships, plus additional funds for the Educational Impact Campaign and other special projects. To learn more about Northern Night or how to give in support of NSU students, contact the Foundation at 605-626-2550 or nsualumni@northern.edu. A NEW LEARNING tool offers Northern State University education students the chance to experience the classroom using virtual reality. The Mursion Virtual Reality Simulation offers an innovative approach for teacher candidates to acquire and practice new skills, said NSU Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Anna Schwan. Schwan brought the technology to Northern after trying it out at a conference in Maryland. “As a former secondary classroom teacher, I would have given anything to be able to practice before I stepped into the classroom,” Schwan explained. “I knew right then that I had to do whatever I could to offer this simulation technology to our students at Northern State University. We are ‘the’ teaching university in the area; it’s only right that we give our students everything we can think of to help them be successful as teachers.” To help implement the technology, Schwan wrote and received the NSU Extended Realities Grant. Now, teacher candidates in her Classroom Management Course are trying out the Mursion Virtual Reality Simulation, which allows them to enter a world where students are virtual (avatars) but the teaching is real. They can practice privately or in group settings, and teaching avatars ranging from elementary through high school age. Schwan said students were nervous at first, but handled the avatars very well. “They are very receptive to anything that will help foster their self-efficacy as confident classroom managers and effective teachers,” she said. “They are excited to be able to use the technology on an individual basis in the safety and security of their own environments.” To learn more about how Northern State University enhances teacher education, visit the NSU Millicent Atkins School of Education online, northern.edu/academics/school-education. Northern Night has supported NSU students for more than 20 years W Dr. Anna Schwan Assistant Professor of Education Photograph credit: Lily Tobin, NSU Student
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