New Kensington-Arnold introducing NoRILLA mixed-reality system to elementary schools

A mixed-reality system is promising to shake up STEM education for New Kensington-Arnold elementary students.

Through a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, the district has obtained four NoRILLA tables. Two will be kept at H.D. Berkey Elementary, while Martin and Roy A. Hunt will have one each.

The name stands for Novel Research-­based Intelligent Lifelong Learning Apparatus.

Described as an “intelligent science station,” NoRILLA consists of an “earthquake table” with a computer, camera and monitor. Students design and build towers, which are placed on the table.

The table shakes back and forth for five seconds, after which students can analyze and discuss why their towers stood or fell.

The table also can be equipped with a pair of ramps, on which students can place a variety of objects to see which rolls or moves the fastest to the other side.

In both setups, the camera tracks what is happening and displays it on the screen, and the system asks questions about what happened and provides feedback.

New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said the district agreed to partner with Carnegie Mellon after being contacted about its use of virtual reality systems.

“Our district lacks a true STEM initiative,” Sefcheck said. “We spend so much time talking about reading and math that we’re not addressing science the way we should.

“This was a great way to get kids more involved in hands-on activities to get them to enjoy and experience science rather than just reading about it.”

The district is licensing the technology for long-term use through Carnegie Mellon.

Four NoRILLA stations cost the district $77,000, with the money coming from covid-relief funds, Sefcheck said.

NoRILLA founder and CMU faculty member Nesra Yannier trained teachers from New Kensington-Arnold’s elementary schools in the system’s curriculum and lesson plans during an in-service day last week when schools were closed.

Yannier said NoRILLA was part of her doctorate research at Carnegie Mellon into human-computer interaction. Then she turned it into a product.

By combining the physical and the virtual, Yannier said, the university’s research has shown that NoRILLA improves children’s learning by a factor of five compared to screen-based tablet or computer-based learning, and that they enjoy it more.

“We continue to do a lot of research around it,” she said.

The name comes from her thinking what kind of animal — a gorilla — would be strong enough to shake a table. The screen features a gorilla character and Yannier’s voice.

“It asks you questions and helps you understand the science behind things as you do experiments,” she said.

Since first being deployed in the Montour School District in 2017, Yannier said, NoRILLA is now in 29 locations, including schools, museums, science centers and after-school and early childhood programs.

“We also started a long-term exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center last year with a grant from the National Science Foundation,” Yannier said. “We have started expanding nationally and internationally as well.”

The Deer Lakes School District introduced the program at Curtisville Primary in the 2018-19 school year.

“Our kindergarten through second grade students currently use the program as a station rotation when using the CoLABoratory,” said Curtisville Principal Jennifer Cavalancia. “The students enjoy having the opportunity to work collaboratively with a small group of peers while engaging with the program. The layout of the program encourages the students to strategize, problem-solve and work through a design process.”

NoRILLA’s lessons become more challenging as students progress from kindergarten to sixth grade, Yannier said. Lessons in math, geography and language can be built into them.

“The kids learn different things each year,” she said.

Amy Obriot, a second grade teacher at H.D. Berkey, saw NoRILLA for the first time during the in-service day.

“I think it’s great. The kids will be excited to use it,” she said. “Instead of just sitting at their desks, they can be engaged in working with their peers.”

Carrie Distilo teaches sixth grade science and social studies at Roy A. Hunt.

“It’s a lot of hands-on, and it’s a lot of critical thinking,” she said. “It gets them up and moving. It gives them a good idea of relationships and how things actually work.”