subject: Technological Advances: 3-d Comes To School [print this page] We've all heard of 3-D movies and the newly announced 3-D television technologies, but do these emerging technologies carry any learning potential for K-12 classrooms? Partnering with Texas Instruments and other pioneering technology companies, schools in five districts are about to find out through a careful rollout and study of 3-D in the classroom. The Boulder Valley School District (Colo.), the Poway Unified School District (Calif.), the Dickinson Independent School District and Hamilton Park Elementary School (Tex.), and Ocoee Middle School (Fla.) are ready to launch their efforts this spring in several classrooms and grade levels. Similar pilots are planned in countries around the world.
WHAT IS 3-D?
Educators and noneducators alike are significantly confused about 3-D. That's because several technologies in schools and the consumer marketplace use the 3-D moniker. For our purposes, there are two chief types of three-dimensional experience that are often mistaken for each other:
Stereoscopic 3-D: This involves images or experiences that visually seem to extend forward and backward away from the screen into the audience, or "audience space," and deep into the background of the screen, or the "screen space." Examples include the film Avatar, other 3-D Hollywood and IMAX movies, the newly announced 3-D television, and the 3-D educational-content providers mentioned in this article.
Virtual 3-D: This involves images or experiences that are two-dimensional yet 3-D - like but that do not perceptibly extend away from the plane of the screen. Examples include Google Earth; 3-D CAD, or design software; 3-D visualization tools; and the Winter Olympics' 3-D tour. These are all examples of virtual or pseudo 3-D.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RUN 3-D IN MY CLASSROOM?
Creating a 3-D educational experience in the classroom requires some specific resources. Although the requirements for the 3-D classroom are constantly evolving because of rapid technological advancements, the basic building blocks - for now - include the following:
A DLP, or digital light processing, 3-D - enabled projector (available now across all markets). Three-dimensional televisions are also recently available, but the cost differential favors the projector - for now.
A high-end laptop with a 3-Dcapable graphics card able to run OpenGL and/or DirectX stereo applications (specs differ according to the requirements of each content provider and the richness of its content). Again, standards are changing rapidly, so it is best to check with each provider early and often.
3-D glasses (active glasses are required, although this may change to passive glasses as this technology continues to innovate)
3-D stereoscopic content Incidentally, it's important to understand that any 3-D projector or system can also run ordinary two-dimensional classroom resources.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Working with 3-D can be complicated at first, so it makes sense to plan thoughtfully. Almost any provider of 3-D educational content can assist educators in identifying the hardware tools it takes to create an exciting 3-D classroom experience. The right solution can enable schoolwide portability and greater flexibility in content choices. Any company in the following sample, however, can simplify the entire process by providing effective turnkey solutions for the K-12 classroom:
AV Rover www.avrover.com/100.html
NeoTek www.neotek.com/
Viz-Tek http://Viz-Tek.com
XpandD www.xpandcinema.com/
In thinking deeply about the types of 3-D content that make the most sense for our classrooms in the Boulder Valley School District, we have seen at least five categories appear thus far. We have placed these five content categories in a taxonomy that models increasing degree of potential classroom effectiveness, engagement, and sophistication.
The most promising content hopefuls will most likely emerge from the supporting structure provided by 3-D learning objects, microsimulations, more complex interactive simulations, and student-constructed content. And judging from the 3-D content collections we've seen recently,"let's call them the screenplays for 3-D in education" prospects look good.
Len Scrogan is the director of instructional technology for the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado.
