Who is Dredwards?
Dredwards – a compound of Dr and Edwards – is my comic-book-evil-villain name. It was given to me by a friend when I completed my PhD, and while it delighted me, I had precious little opportunity to use it. A decade later, I found myself newly trained as a high-school chemistry teacher, manipulating my students into selecting it as my nickname (insert Dred-ful laugh here). And, having achieved the delicate alchemy of (slightly mad) scientist, (occasional) adventurer, and (classroom) performer, I finally felt ready to embrace the Dredwards persona. And now, what better name for my new venture into educational VR design and development.
Louise Edwards
I grew up in central England, the child of a geography teacher and a physics teacher. A hybrid of both parents, I became obsessed with volcanoes at an early age and this obsession led me all the way to obtaining my PhD in igneous geochemistry (the chemistry of volcanic rocks). Yet, despite my youthful dreams, my experience in academia left me broken and looking for new ideas. Ending up in Calgary, Canada (having met a Canadian chap while at grad school in Australia), I spent several years working in the private sector, living comfortably but always yearning for something more. Eventually, I left Calgary for St. John’s, Newfoundland to study for my Bachelor of Education and to become a high school science teacher.
Why Education?
Growing up, I never wanted to be a teacher. Thanks to my parents I had firsthand experience of how hard a career in teaching is, and I was well aware when I was younger that I lacked the required patience and empathy to guide those who didn’t find it as easy as I had; my parents also threatened to disown me if I followed in their footsteps, so there was that, too.
However, also thanks to my parents, I have spent most of my life either passively or actively thinking about the role of education in society. Yes, statistics paint a compelling picture of the relationship between education and economic outcome and the tools we need to unlock opportunities. But, it is when education is about helping someone learn how to respond to new information, how to question and challenge preconceptions in themselves and others, how to relate to and care for other people, and how to become independent, creative and deliberate thinkers, that it shows its true power. Education like this has the potential to drive BIG societal change and this is why (despite my parents’ concerns) I became an educator – to empower people not only to thrive in the world they find, but to strive to build the world they want to live in.
Why Virtual Reality?
My husband was an early adopter of modern virtual reality (VR), purchasing an HTC Vive way back in 2016. I was immediately struck by how immersive and engrossing even the lowest-of-poly graphics could be when experienced through a VR headset. As a result, I found myself constantly seeing opportunities for VR in my science classroom, especially in those areas where teachers feel less comfortable, or where concepts are more abstract (especially earth sciences and nature of science). However, convinced that I wouldn’t be able to build such things myself, I put it to the back of my mind, resigned myself to finding someone else to do the developing, moved back to Calgary (just as it stopped hiring teachers) and focused on finding some honest employment.
Then, in early 2021, after a year of free evenings and growing pandemic ennui, a random meeting with a local VR training company called Circuit Stream suddenly set me on the road to becoming a VR developer in my own right. My focus is on developing interactive experiences that help people (particularly K-12 students) develop a relationship with the earth and build the scientific literacy required to engage with the complexities of the modern world. I am also learning and experimenting with different ways of implementing XR in the classroom so I can help educators to incorporate this technology in ways that truly enhance the learning experience.
In October 2022 I made the decision to leave my full-time job as a competency-based education and assessment consultant to start my own business as a freelance curriculum designer, educational consultant and VR developer. Since then, I have made anti-racism VR training courses, created high school physics courses for an innovative online school, been on two polar expeditions (the first of which led to the Award-Winning orca VR experience, Found in the Fjords, and the creation of a pseudo VR studio, Three Otters Media, with two spectacular humans), and continued to learn and grow my network as I try to keep up with this rapidly changing field. I will not deny that it has been hard going it alone, and I am not sure I am a natural entrepreneur, but I still can’t remember a time when I was so motivated and excited by something, so that’s got to count for something!
Why This Website?
I originally set up this website as a place to share my work and experiences as I began to forge a path in this new, exciting, and slightly terrifying direction. The plan was to use the portfolio section for finished (or almost finished) projects; my blog “New Adventures in VR” for sharing my day-to-day experiences as I started to take two steps forward and at least one step back on my way to making this dream a reality. And while this is still the case, since making the move to freelancing, my website has evolved too, and is now a place to share my business services with all the potential clients out there! I look forward to working with you.
What Else?
Since beginning this new journey, my husband and I got the incredible opportunity to move from Calgary to the beautiful mountain town of Canmore, Alberta, just outside Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies – it is truly the perfect place to inspire creativity and I wake up each day amazed that I get to call it home. When I am not sitting in front of a computer screen, I can be found enjoying my mountain sanctuary: trail running, mountain and road biking, xc skiing, open-water swimming and whatever else I can fit in.