The Future of 3D Education
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An eBook from Sensavis Education The Future of 3D Education What every educator should know about using 3D in the Classroom Editorial Review Copy NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION Copyright © 2013 Sensavis Education AB. All rights reserved. Editorial Review Copy 2 NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION Table of Contents Introduction: Why 3D is the future of education Chapter 1: How does 3D improve learning? Chapter 2: How does 3D work? Chapter 3: What is needed to make 3D education successful? Chapter 4: Dispelling myths about 3D in education Chapter 5: Implementing 3D in schools Closing: About The 3D Classroom References & more information “Over the last several years, the use of educational 3D has gone from being seen as a ‘fad’ to becoming a powerful and proven instructional technology.” - Nancye Blair Black, educator and author: InDepthEducation.com Copyright © 2013 Sensavis Education AB. All rights reserved. 3 INTRODUCTION Why 3D is the Future of Education The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 4 INTRODUCTION Why 3D is the future of education It’s well known among educators that complex and abstract topics can be understood more easily (especially by younger students) when concepts are introduced visually. Visuals not only improve a student’s ability to understand how something works, but Seeing in 3D is the closest also help with retention. Furthermore, thing to actually being there. by seeing the “whole” of something, children are better able to understand the parts. Research findings: Even more importantly, research shows The majority of children are that 3D-animated models are able to visual or tactile learners, represent information in the most whereas the majority of efficient manner to speed learning and instruction is auditory. comprehension. Students learn more by seeing Advances make 3D affordable and experiencing than by Recent advances in 3D animation listening. technology and viewing equipment have made it possible to bring high-quality 3D Students said they learn better learning solutions into the K-12 when they can see a 3D image. classroom more affordably. The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 5 INTRODUCTION This is not your childhood 3D. Today’s technology can even provide an interactive 3D (depth perspective) experience that is nearly like looking at a live object, while allowing students to control … or even create … the visuals interactively. Yet, the adoption of 3D technology as an effective, affordable and even essential component of education in the 21st century classroom is only just starting. Content availability increasing 3D content focused on science, mathematics, history and more is readily Is 3D something that could work available today and more is continually in your school? Let us know what being developed. With 3D elements you think. added to lessons, teachers can engage students at a whole new level and Join our Discussion > capture the interest of even the most reluctant students. Linked In Group: This ebook takes a look at the current The 3D Classroom research, findings and examples of successful implementation of 3D Take our Survey > technology in the classroom the3dclassroom.com/survey Read on to learn more. 6 CHAPTER 1 How does 3D improve learning? The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 7 Teaching methods that work more CHAPTER 1 closely with how the human brain is designed to work are the most effective. How does 3D technology Research shows that: improve learning? 85% of school-aged children are visual and kinesthetic learners and 3D animations make it possible for only 15% are auditory learners. students to move rapidly from viewing a Experts say that most school-age whole structure to various parts of the children learn best through kinesthetic structure, even zooming in to means: touching, feeling, and microscopic and cellular levels. This experiencing the material first-hand. process of amplification and simplification can be an especially According to Stafford and Dunn in effective aide to understanding. Teaching Secondary Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles (1993): “With 3D visuals, educators are able to "Children enter kindergarten as simplify complex, abstract and even kinesthetic and tactual learners, moving impossibly large amounts of information and touching everything as they learn. into a coherent form,” said Professor By second or third grade, some students Anne Bamford, director of the have become visual learners.” International Research Agency, who led The “Learning in Future Education” or “LiFE” project. “By rendering the world visually, 3D helps children understand greater levels of complexity, and animations allow students to see structures and how things work in a real-life way.” The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 8 CHAPTER 1 "During the late elementary years some students, primarily females, become auditory learners. Yet, many adults, especially males, maintain kinesthetic and tactual strengths throughout their lives.” The human brain is designed to learn through experience. 3D is how we experience the world around us. “The closer we can get to a life-like experience of a message, the closer we get to an understanding of that message (and in shorter time), ” said Magnus Arfors, Founder/CEO of Sensavis Education. 85% of students prefer visual and The impact of 3D kinesthetic learning while only on academic results 15% prefer hearing about a topic as a way to learn about it. Research shows that 3D animations have a significant positive effect on The study report concluded that 3D learning, recall and test performance. animations supported learning and In a seven-country European LiFE study, allowed more material to be covered researchers found that 3D improved in less time. The 3D images promoted understanding and retention. greater pupil engagement and communication. A study of the impact of 3D in the classroom has found that it improves test results by an average of 17%. The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 9 CHAPTER 1 About the LiFE study of 3D in education The “Learning in Future Education” (or LiFE) project by Professor Anne Bamford Anne Bamford, was the first international study of 3D Educator/Researcher use in education, and showed very positive results. 86 percent of pupils improved from In fact, Bamford said she was surprised the pre-test to the post-test in the by the results and didn’t expect to see 3D classes, compared to only 52 such dramatic increases in student percent in the 2D classes. learning and positive responses from all Within the group that improved, the schools. the rate of improvement was also much greater in the classes with 3D. The study included 15 schools in seven European countries: England, Sweden, Test scores improved an average of Italy, France, Germany, The Netherlands 17 percent in the 3D classes, and Turkey. The schools represented a compared to only an 8 percent broad spectrum of types of schools improvement in the 2D classes including public and private, wealthy between pre-test and post-test. and less affluent. The focus was on pupils between 10-13 years old. The effects of the 3D learning were so strong and impressive that students in Results the non-3D groups in LiFE study trials who heard what their peers were The results of the study showed learning demanded the same access to consistent improvement in test scores. the technology. The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 10 CHAPTER 1 Qualitative Data In addition to test score improvement, qualitative data showed that 100% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed Other case studies that 3D animations in the classroom helped students understand things School districts in Colorado and North better. Carolina in the U.S.A. have also The teachers commented that the reported outstanding results from pupils in the 3D groups had deeper trials of 3D education programs. understanding, increased attention In one of the first significant studies span, more motivation and higher level of the effects of three-dimensional of engagement. The 3D group also content on K-12 instruction in the showed behavioral and communication U.S.A., Colorado’s Boulder Valley changes and improved classroom School District (BVSD) found that the interaction. use of 3D content helped increase For example 92% of pupils on average student engagement and improve were attentive during the 3D part of achievement—with the lowest- the lesson while only 46% were performing students seeing the actively paying attention during the greatest benefits. non-3D part of the lessons. Through a pilot project called Lesson speeds also can be impacted “BVS3D,” Boulder Valley teachers positively with 3D content. For example, used stereoscopic 3D content in eight a lesson that normally required two to classrooms within four schools during three class periods to complete was the 2010-11 school year. taught in just one class period. The Future of 3D Education | The 3D Classroom by Sensavis 11 CHAPTER 1 The BVS3D Study According to digital learning architect Len Scrogan, past director of Instructional Technology for the Boulder Valley School Len Scrogan, Kristin Donley, Future-Talk 3D BVSD Teacher District and current professor at the University of Colorado-Denver, key Improved Test Scores findings from the study included: Test results were also positive: The Better student engagement. control group (2D) test scores This was evidenced in three significant increased 9.7 percent, whereas the 3D ways: Increased attention (focus), longer group scores increased 35 percent. focus (attention span), and fewer “Besides helping students better disruptions (better classroom behavior). understand abstract concepts, 3D has engaged our students and the use of it Positive feedback from students. has encouraged them to pursue In a survey of high school students projects in making 3D animations involved in the pilot, 76 percent said they themselves,” said Kristin Donley, preferred learning in 3D over traditional science and STEM instructor at methods.