The "Visual
Realization"™ (VR) Program is a practice-based
professional development program integrated
with digital imagery, digital imagery toolsets and curricula models. The VR program centers on a learning technology model called Digital
Imagery as an Instructional Mode for Student
Achievement (DIIMSA®). The DIIMSA® Model, developed by VR Program educational leaders, provides teachers with unlimited opportunities to engage learners in activities for long-term learning of science concepts, while instilling scientific processes. The DIIMSA® Model integrates conceptual teaching, collaborative learning with enabling technologies in classroom teaching which can be demonstrated as students perform campus-based, case study, field excursion and laboratory experiences.
The National Science Education Standards state that "learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them." From the atom to the cosmos, the petri dish to the rain forest, and everywhere in between, students and teachers can embark on a road of wonderment and discovery. "The sky is the limit again" is a phrase that captures the very essence of the VR Program. With the use of the program, teachers and their students are revitalized and science concepts come alive. Students do not simply read about science; they become a part of the scientific process.