If you were to look ahead 10 or maybe 15 years from now, the education system will likely have undergone a series of seismic changes. As numerous technologies converge, education will be more interactive and hands-on, providing a more intelligent, entertaining way of learning. When I was in school I always had trouble concentrating for more than a couple of minutes. Most of my friends were in the same boat, and so are most children today. It’s not a medical condition like many doctors may tell you, but rather the way children have been for ages. It’s becoming especially difficult for children to sit still and direct their attention towards a lecture when they are so used to the stimulation provided at home by an array of TVs, tablets, computers and smartphones.
The boredom that children feel in school may be about fade in a big way if a new partnership between zSpace, an award-winning virtual reality company, and Leopoly, a 3D content provider and modeling platform, works as it’s intended.
Today the two companies announced an initiative to transform school makerspaces and STEAM labs into an educational environment based on virtual reality and 3D creation, via 3D printing. Through this new partnership students will gain a much more entertaining and interactive education experience.
“By partnering with Leopoly, we are now offering schools a way to transform their Makerspaces and 3D printer labs from places where students experience the novelty of printing chess pieces and jewelry to virtual reality learning environments,” said Paul Kellenberger, CEO of zSpace. “Our innovative platform for virtual reality learning, combined with Leopoly’s 3D creation app, provide schools with a curriculum-aligned approach to engaging students with endless opportunities for creating, testing and producing creative real-world projects and solutions.”
This is clearly the start of a major transition within the education space. Imagine students having the ability to not only walk into a virtual museum as their teacher or a computer program is able to fill them in on what they’re viewing, but also having the ability to 3D print and then examine the actual artifacts of those items they just saw within the virtual realm. This partnership eventually could lead to such a future, which seems to be coming upon us quite rapidly.
“The software and hardware platform is a great link between the process of 3D creation and 3D printing,” said Roland Manyai, CEO of Leopoly. “Thanks to zSpace’s virtual reality platform, including its precision VR stylus and head tracking, students can start designing immediately, engaging with content like it is real, and make 3D printable files in minutes.”
It’s certainly an exciting time to be a kid in today’s word, who may be lucky enough to experience these technologies in a more engaging, influential way. Let us know your thoughts on this partnership and what it may eventually mean for education in general. Discuss in the Leopoly & zSpace forum thread on 3DPB.com.
