AVRover & ONfinity Portable Interactive Whiteboards

Education and the American “Decline”

With a stagnant economy and falling test scores it’s no wonder that print and broadcast media is inundating us with pieces on the American Decline.   And while these two troublesome potential symptoms might seem unrelated at first glance, they might be more intrinsically connected than you think.

A Three year study by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report released last December ranked the US 14^th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17^th for their command of the sciences and 25^th (below-average) for their knowledge of mathematics.  Our neighbors to the north’s 15 yr old Math students tested more than a full school year ahead than their American counterparts. 

Even more startling is “the latest data on “mathematical literacy” reveals that the gap between the world leaders- the students of Shanghai and Singapore—and their American counterparts is now as big as the gap between US kinds and teenagers in Albania and Tunisa”

Additionally the OECD found there is a direct correlation between higher ranking students and America’s future GDP.  “Boosting US scores for reading, math and science by 25 points over the next 20 years would result in a gain of 41 trillion dollars for the United States economy over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010, the OECD said”.  

What we are in desperate need of are inventive solutions to engage and excite our students and 3D is perfectly poised to help save the day.    With immediate results such as increased retension (by 33% when compared to traditional teaching aids and even interactive classroom technology) employing 3D technology is a great way to help students excel and catch up with the rest of the educational world.

Our World in 3D: 3D Printing poised to revolutionize the classroom

Everything’s going 3D!  There’s been a lot of buzz recently about a new revolutionary 3D device and it’s poised to enter the classroom.  Gone are the days of 2D paper printing.  3D Printing and its potential educational applications are currently being discussed and piloted by public schools and universities alike.   The technology that was formerly only been being employed as a means to manufacture prototypes for industry has become streamlined opening up the world of 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) to educators and consumers alike. 

3D printing uses various kinds of materials from plastics to powders, even chocolate to create, layer by layer, 3D physical models of virtually anything you can think of.  In the past the methods for creating and using this technology were patented and heavily controlled by a few companies, so they remained an industrial tool only, used by few for creating prototypes and models.
However, now with companies like Makerbot Industries, 3D printing has become affordable for schools looking to have students create physical representations of 3D rendered objects.  MakerBot Industries has even developed 3D student curriculums as part of a pilot project with NYC Schools.  With 3D printing students can have an idea, design it, print it and test their theory.  Once potential problems are identified with let’s say the structure of their design for a model electric vehicle, they can adjust their design accordingly and “re-print” their model and see their changes come to life.  Makerbot also has also developed an online portal where students and consumers can share their designs. 

"It has 90% of the functionality of professional printers, but at 1% of the price," says Pettis. These prices aren't just democratising 3D printing; they're democratising manufacturing. "We make 3D printers to offer an alternative to consumerism," Pettis continues. "Nearly three years after we began, there are now 6,000 folks with Makerbots and they get to make a choice between buying something and 3D designing and printing it." Mr.  Pettis of Makerbot Industries.

The potential for this technology can be coupled with benefits of 3D learning for added educational benefits.  Learn about a concept in 3D, then make your own 3D design, print out the model and share it with your classmates.  For example:  Students can first watch a 3D video on photosynthesis in plants.  Then the teacher can pull up a 3D model (such as a cyberscience interactive 3D object) of a plant cell where students could identify the structure of a plant cell,  Then students can be tasked with replicating the structure of a plant cell in a 3D rendering program such as Google Sketchup!, (free) and then print their model for a hands on look at how their design compares to what was taught in class.