First Year of zSpace Virtual Reality STEM Lab Prepares Students for STEM and Other Careers
ROSS, Calif. (PRWEB) June 25, 2015 -- The first time Chi Kim, superintendent of Ross School District in Ross, California, saw the students in her school try zSpace, she knew her district needed to find a way to get it into the classroom. zSpace is a virtual reality technology that allows users to create, test and experiment in an interactive, 3D world.
“They were hooked,” Kim said. “Their engagement and excitement were palpable.”
After a year of learning with zSpace, engagement levels are still high. The zSpace STEM Lab consists of a set of student virtual reality stations and a teacher station, each outfitted with an interactive stylus as well as a wide variety of educational software ranging from science and physics to engineering. Virtual-holographic images can be “lifted” from the screen and manipulated with the stylus, and the system optimizes the virtual reality experience by tracking students’ head movements.
Students use zSpace for everything from dissection to designing circuit boards. Staff and teachers at Ross said the zSpace platform is particularly suited to teaching students the skills required for advanced design thinking. They can build and test experiments in zSpace, create prototypes and make mistakes virtually before building something in the “real” world.
zSpace also allows students to conduct experiments that would have been difficult to do otherwise. A lesson on the lifecycle of a frog, including dissection, was conducted entirely virtually, without the ethical issues of using actual frogs. Students also examined owl pellets, then learned more about owl anatomy by putting together the skeleton of a virtual owl on zSpace. Click link to see the video of students dissecting owl pellets with zSpace, http://zspace.com/videos/ross-school-explores-owl-pellet.
Board of Trustees Sees Future in zSpace
Before zSpace, Ross School District had already integrated numerous technologies into daily instruction, from coding to 3D-design and printing. Nevertheless, the members of the district’s Board of Trustees were open to the opportunity to interact with zSpace.
“The board could see right away how different zSpace was,” said Kim. “It was clear that the technology was the future.”
The skills students learn through zSpace are key to future careers in STEM fields, or any field. Through zSpace, students have developed a discovery-based mentality. Students are willing to try things out without fear of failure, because they know they can continue to refine and experiment with their ideas.
“If you want students to have jobs, you need to keep pushing forward,” said Kim. “You need teachers and students who are willing to take chances.”
About zSpace
zSpace is a leading-edge technology provider that delivers a new way of learning with its flagship product, zSpace®. Focused on STEM education, medical instruction, and corporate training, zSpace inspires and accelerates understanding through real world virtual reality. zSpace was named “Cool Vendor” by Gartner, Inc. and awarded “Best New Product” by Tech and Learning Magazine. zSpace is a privately held, venture backed company located in Sunnyvale, California, and has filed more than 30 patents for its innovative technologies. For more information, visit http://www.zspace.com, or follow on Twitter @zSpace.
Amanda Austin, zSpace, Inc., http://www.zspace.com, +1 408-498-4130, [email protected]
Share this article