Faculty and Staff

• Assistant Professor

Education

• Ph.D. in Information Science from University of Pittsburgh (2008)
• M.S. in Information Science from University of Pittsburgh (1990)
• B.S. in Economics and Art from Carnegie Mellon University (1988)

Selected Publications

Articles/Essays

• Harrington, Maria C. R., Tatzgern, M. Langer T., Wenzel, J. W. (2019). Augmented Reality Brings the Real World into Natural History Dioramas with Data Visualizations and Bioacoustics at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Curator: The Museum Journal, First published in Wiley Online Library (April 19, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12308
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2011). Empirical Evidence of Priming, Transfer, Reinforcement, and Learning in the Real and Virtual Trillium Trails. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 2011 vol.4 Issue No.02 – April-June pp: 175-186 [DOI: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TLT.2010.20 | Research Gate | PDF ]
• Harrington, M.C.R. (June 2012). The Virtual Trillium Trail and the empirical effects of Freedom and Fidelity on discovery-based learning. Virtual Reality, Volume 16, Number 2, Pages 105-120. Original Article published in OnlineFirst™ Springer London. 1-15.  (March 3, 2011) [DOI: 10.1007/s10055-011-0189-7 | Research Gate| PDF ]
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2009). An ethnographic comparison of real and virtual reality field trips to Trillium Trail: The salamander find as a Salient Event. In Freier, N.G. & Kahn, P.H. (Eds.), Children, Youth and Environments: Special Issue on Children in Technological Environments, Volume 19 Number 1: Published by: The Board of Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate, for the benefit of the Children, Youth and Environments Center at the University of Colorado Boulder
  [Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.19.1.0074 | HTML | PDF]
• Dissertation: Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2008).  Simulated Ecological Environments for Education (SEEE): A Tripartite Model Framework of HCI Design Parameters for Situational Learning in Virtual Environments. Dissertation Abstracts International. July 17, 2008. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. [PDF]

Creative Publications

• Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Tatzgern, M., Langer T., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C.  and Dinic, R. (2017-2018). The AR Perpetual Garden Apps. Published on Google Play Android Store (Version 6.6.6) Launched November 30, 2018. Available from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carnegie.garden
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016-2018).  The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (Version 1.0). VR complete November 2018. Available from STEAM.com. (Launch 2019).
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Tatzgern, M., Langer T., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Dinic, R., and Tiefengrabner, M. (2017-2018). The AR Perpetual Garden Apps. Published on Apple iTunes App Store (Version 1.2) Launched October 25, 2018. Available from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ar-perpetual-garden/id1438086490?mt=8
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016- 2018). The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project Website (Version 1.0) Launched October 2018. Available from UCF:  https://arboretum.ucf.edu/virtual/ and Published on PBS Learning Media https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/virtual-ucf-arboretum/virtual-ucf-arboretum/?fbclid=IwAR3Sur3GVnALQadQY1SLAOCrIIvxdMGBceGPcEOWG5nKjz8BzBI_Txa1oW4
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016-2018).  The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (Version 1.0). Unreal Game engine level complete October 2018.  Available from STEAM.com. (Launch 2019).
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z. and Jones, C. (2015-2017). The Virtual Garden Timeline Website. (Launch 2017. https://virtualgarden.powdermill.org/ )

Conference Papers/Presentations

• Harrington, Maria. "Virtual Dioramas Inside and Outside Museums with the AR Perpetual Garden App." MW19: MW 2019. Published February 14, 2019. Consulted March 13, 2019.
  https://mw19.mwconf.org/paper/virtual-dioramas-inside-and-outside-of-museums-with-the-ar-perpetual-garden-app/
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2019). “A Virtual Nature Model: Experience Virtual Nature.” Presented to the Otronicon Speaker Series, Orlando Science Center; Orlando, FL.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2018). “Improving Psychophysical Well-being and Performance in Isolated, Confined, and Extreme Environments with Head Mounted Virtual Reality Photorealistic Simulations of Earth Based Natural Environments,” Abstract and poster presented at the 2018 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’’ Workshop  HRP RESEARCH: THE GATEWAY TO MARS, Galveston, TX.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2018). “Successful Emergent Team Formation Methods and Process at UCF Digital Media, using Webcourses Discussion Feature and Ideation Techniques,” Abstract and presentation presented at the 2018 Sunshine State Teaching and Learning Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2018). “The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project: An Educational Simulation of the Real UCF Arboretum using VR and Educational Website for STEM” Presented to the Otronicon Speaker Series, Orlando Science Center; Orlando, FL.
• Harrington, Maria C. R., (2017). “Ripples in a Pond: How Virtual Reality may be a Tool of Impact for the Humanities.” HASTAC 2017 Conference Abstract and poster, UCF, Orlando, Fl.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2017). “The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project: Work-in-progress Demonstration of a STEM Teaching Resource, the Website, and Virtual Reality Flowers and Plants,” Presented to the Plants Beyond Limits Conference, University of Central Florida, Department of Biology,  Orlando, FL, Nov.
• Portnoy F., Smith, L., Harrington, M.C.R., Kremer, K., Nichols, T., & Zammitto, V. (2011). Facing the Human Factors Challenges in Game Design: A Discussion Panel. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting September 19-23, 2011, Las Vegas, Nevada. 55(1). 520-524. [ DOI: 10.1177/1071181311551106 | PPT ]
• Harrington, M.C.R. (2011). The Virtual Trillium Trail — An Educational Simulation of the North American Forests. iED Summit IMMERSIVE EDUCATION INITIATIVE BOSTON SUMMIT 2011 May 13-15, 2011, Boston College, Boston, MA.
• Harrington, Maria C.R. (2009). Meta-ontologies for learning in virtual and augmented realities. Proceedings of the ACM-SIGCHI IDC09. The 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children Workshop on Children and Mobile Technology: Interface Development for Mobile Touch Devices. June3-5, 2009. Como, Italy. [Research Gate | PDF ]
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2006).  Situational learning in real and virtual space: Lessons learned and future directions. ACM SIGGRAPH’06. July 30-August 3, 2006 Boston, MA, USA. [DOI: 10.1145/1179295.1179344 | PDF | PPT ]
• Harrington, M.C.R. (2006). Trees of life: Models of children's creative processes. Proceedings of the ACM DIS’06 Doctoral Consortium. June 28, 2006 State College, PA, USA. [DOI: 10.1145/1142405.1142464 | PDF | PPT]
• Harrington, M. (2005). Virtual Beechwood: Simulated ecological environments for education. Proceedings of the Conference on Spatial Information Theory’05. Doctoral Consortium Abstracts. September 14-18, 2005 Ellicottville, New York, USA. [ Research Gate | PDF ]

Invited Lectures/Presentations

• “Virtual Nature in Augmented reality and Virtual reality for Informal Learning in Museums and Arboretums.” Presented to the University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences. Pittsburgh, PA. Dec. 2018.  https://pitt.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=4b0724b6-4309-4960-a27f-a9af01247fe8
• Harrington, Maria C. R.  (May 2018).  Virtual Nature Workshop. Game Development and Mixed Reality, MultiMediaTechnology program of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria
• “A New Paradigm for Virtual Reality & Simulations for Education, Learning & Creating: The Virtual Trillium Trail Project – Empirical Evidence on Design Factors in Simulated Ecological Environments for Education and Causal Impacts on Emotions, Learning, Priming, Transfer, and Reinforcement.,” Presented to the University of Central Florida, Institute for Simulation and Training, Modeling and Simulation Seminar; Orlando, FL, Nov. 2016.
• “Reality matters in virtual reality for learning sciences research: The Virtual Trillium Trail empirical data and future fMRI studies,” Presented to the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Pittsburgh, PA, April 2010.http://halley.exp.sis.pitt.edu/comet/presentColloquium.do?col_id=700

Miscellaneous Publications

• Levere, Jane, L. (March, 12, 2019). “Meeting Old Masters, Rowing With Vikings – in Augmented Reality.” The New York Times, Arts. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/arts/augmented-reality-app-exhibits.html
• Daly, Jill. (December 26, 2018). “New Carnegie Museum app shows threat to wildflower diversity in the woods.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved from https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2018/12/26/App-augmented-reality-carnegie-powdermill-woodland-diversity-deer-wildflowers/stories/201812130168?fbclid=IwAR3iO0_ZMy4tOXiayU-UPEUvZPEj9eNXB4OTSyiGMzFCpn-bs7oNCZYghEM
• Davis, Kathleen, J. (December 19, 2018). “Augmented Reality App Shows How Deer Overpopulation Affects Western PA’s Forests.”  90.5 WESA (Pittsburgh, PA, NPR). Retrieved from https://www.wesa.fm/post/augmented-reality-app-shows-how-deer-overpopulation-affects-western-pas-forests?fbclid=IwAR2Hhud6r0pN9GuFBR-Y8GmgSSxkKDlnC6ItO-ymIFhO8pesb4tArCWHQcU#stream/0
  

Courses

• Spring 2025
• Fall 2024
• Summer 2024
• Spring 2024
• Fall 2023
• Summer 2023