Janine Aussem
Program Manager, Fire Prevention Officer Program
The Fire Investigation Sim game provides an opportunity for students to move through the process of investigating the cause and origin of a fire in a mock online simulation. It includes notebook, camera and photo log tools that encourage students to capture evidentiary notes and photos as permanent records for review and evidence.
AUTHORING TOOL(S) USED
WHY WAS THIS PROJECT NEEDED?
The game provides students with an opportunity to put themselves into a mock situation that pushes them to think about and follow the steps of a real fire investigation. The game tests a student’s knowledge of the process and ability to create a fire cause and origin report. It provides the learner a practice opportunity before they are required to produce a report that compromises their final assignment based on a real fire investigation activity in the Fire Investigation 2 course.
HOW DOES THIS DEMONSTRATE INNOVATION?
This simulation allows students to participate in fire investigation practice without the expensive set up of a live fire simulation.
PROBLEMS OR CHALLENGES FACED?
Technology issues included slow loading and response speeds depending on what browser and internet is used.
Variations in user awareness of keyboard tools and options result in different levels of comfort and interest in the simulation tool.
Overall, only a few users find it easy to change viewing perspective, whereas most users find it challenging for a few reasons:
– There is a lot of information and users don’t know how to pivot viewpoint.
– Lagging tends to cause multiple attempts or too much dragging which shifts the screen drastically and suddenly.
– Some users reported that it felt like they are dragging to the opposite (Note: this is more of a user issue.)
-Wayfinding – Most first-time users reported that it was difficult to identify the path to the burned room; moving into the burned room can also be challenging
LESSONS LEARNED
Through a pilot, we learned that accessibility is critical and therefore we transformed the application into a web-based simulation; secondly, through testing, we are continuously improving its UI/UX.
Join Join Janine Aussem and the rest of the Fire Investigation Team virtually for DEMOFEST Day 1 on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 from 10:00am to 11:30am in Teams.
Or you can visit Fire Prevention Officer Program Team’s table for DEMOFEST Day 2 on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 from 10:30am to 12:00pm happening at JIBC’S New Westminster’s Main Campus.