When 3D Falls Short

In my previous posts in this series, I took time to translate many of the powerful creative thoughts of Clyde Dsouza into the context of classroom learning. In this sequel, I will draw upon Dsouza’s expertise to answer the countervailing question: “Why is some eS3D content so darn lackluster?”

3D falls short in classrooms when:

Clyde Dsouza,
author of Think in 3D

It’s too flat. In his book, Think in 3D, Dsouza proposes that [when viewing 3D] “the screen really is a stage for all purposes. It is no longer a flat wall.” Dsouza accurately understands that, whenever 3D educational content is so close in appearance to flat movies, it loses its appeal. Think about it. Why would schools pay for the extra costs of 3D if they are only a little bit better than a 2D classroom video? It’s so obvious! He concludes, “A subtle look 3D film may as well be 2D.” So, too, in classroom 3D. In education, depth ‘rules’ and flat ‘drools’. (Please excuse my use of middle school vernacular).

It’s too subtle. Dsouza believes that is a mistake to assume that "subtle 3D is good 3D." He warns that “subtle 3D at all times  creates safe – [and] boring 3D. I agree. Anyone who knows educations is well aware that ‘boring’ ushers in an“irreversible kiss of death.”

It moves too fast. According to Dsouza, “the familiar montage like style , made up of rapid cuts, frequently changing camera angles, or fast camera motion that is normally used to convey anticipation, excitement, or other emotions into 2D movies” just doesn’t work in 3D film. I can say the same for the classroom. The classroom is different than the movie theater or entertainment ride.

3D content still has a long way to go. Some companies—like zSpace, CubeDigiCo, and Sensavis—are leading the way. Hardware and software companies alike would be wise to pick up Dsouza's book, connect with his ideas, and start to really think in 3D.

When eS3D content is amazing

Think in 3D by Clyde Dsouza

Recently reading Think in 3D made me think about those moments when 3D content is absolutely amazing in the classroom. How does that work? According to Dsouza, 3D content becomes truly amazing when:

It tells a story. Dsouza  is never apologetic in his passion for “the art of 3D storytelling.” Great eS3D doesn’t just focus student attention, it tells a vital story, one which students need to learn about in a given subject area.

It offers dwell time. Dsouza explains: “By its very nature, stereo 3D invites the user to look around a panoramic vista when presented… Giving the eyes and brain time to sample and savor a scene in these establishing shots key to successfully telling a story in stereo 3D.” This is something I have noticed in using great eS3D in the classroom—it compels more dwell time.

It offers out-of-screen real estate. Dsouza agrees with most teachers when he offers the opinion that “true stereographers know that out of screen real estate is invaluable to immersive 3D ...”  I can confirm his view. Out-of-screen real estate really matters to students.

It leverages 3D. Dsouza teaches that using 3D well “means that the unfolding story should know when to leverage 3D to heighten, ebb, or even alienate the audiences from the protagonist at appropriate stages during the screenplay.” Great eS3D in schools works in much the same way. The right learning object or scene geography is found at exactly the right depth—and for the right reason.

It activates our reflexes. Dsouza has observed that 3D is “a powerful phenomenon that can even activate our physical reflexes.” He notes “this is why we flinch or duck when we see something ‘flying’ out of the screen in a 3D movie. We don't usually have the same reaction in a 2D movie.” Great eS3D has the same effect on students—time after time.

It serves as a powerful trigger. Dsouza wonders: “Can stereoscopic 3D imagery be a ‘trigger?’ Could a scene in a 3D movie of balloons at a kid’s party trigger an emotional response in the audience remembering his childhood?” In education, we know that the mental images of stereo 3D content do indeed work the other way: eliciting greater recall, triggering, in the “mind’s eye,” a picture of a difficult or abstract concept.

Think in 3D (1)

I have recently come to the conclusion that content developers who design 3D educational software can learn a lot from creative 3D stereographers and cinematographers. 

I took the time during a recent trip to picturesque Fajardo, Puerto Rico to finish my copy of Clyde Dsouza’s Think in 3D: Food for Thought for Directors, Cinematographers and Stereographers (2012). A stereographer and a 3D consultant, Dsouza is not an educator, yet his musings warmly resonate with my thinking as an educator in terms of what matters about great 3D educational content.

Think in 3D by Clyde Dsouza

Reading Think in 3D made me ask myself the obvious question: “Why are some 3D educational content pieces so very superlative, while others appear tired, tedious, and ho-hum?” Dsouza’s book holds many of the keys that will help answer this question.  

Based on the thinking of Dsouza, in the next few posts I intend to highlight some of the reasons why certain educational stereo 3D (eS3D) titles are great, while others are lacking. Understanding these principles can help anyone in this market (content developers, hardware manufacturers, resellers, writers, and consultants) do a better job of reaching and keeping their customers. And understanding these ideas can help educators know what to ask for in 3D, what will work the best with students.

The Tablet Context (4)

In our concluding post in this four-part series, I want to focus on where a tool like the NEO3DO fits in the grand scheme of education.

The Educational Context. In schools, mobility tools like tablets and iPads are clearly the most popular kids on the block. Educational conferences assign an inordinate amount of importance and mindshare time to these devices. In fact, all traditional educational computing has largely become ho-hum in the face of these eye-catching new arrivals. It seems everyone in education wants a piece of the mlearning revolution (mlearning = mobility learning). Although they have not yet replaced laptops and desktops in most schools, tablets and iPads are gaining ground in schools, making their way into pilot projects, shared classroom sets, the welcoming arms of innovative teachers and principals, and the desks of 1:1 schools that can afford them. The context is simple: in today’s educational environments, mobility tools matter.

The Content Context. Although there’s nothing wrong with the NEO3DO tool itself, I was discouraged by the content posture it poses. The company loaded some nice demos and loops for me to explore. That was appreciated. Thanks. But what the company doesn’t yet understand (yet soon will) is that schools have little respect for video, aka movies, flicks, cinema, film, entertainment, Hollywood, features. (A positive exception would be the short, focused video vignettes, like the well-known DesignMate resources.)

Within educational circles, the train has long since left the station in that regard. You will never widely sell a tool to schools on the basis of being able to see videos. Educators today want less passive and more active (interactive) experiences with mobility devices. They want students to be able to create, construct, design, or experience learning with mobility devices. Loops, movies and running demos just don’t cut it for demonstration purposes to educators. Anachronistic artifacts from the past century won’t do this device justice. Instead, we need to see 3D simulations and micro-simulations, 3D serious games, tethered and tightly focused 3D visualizations, and avenues for 3D content creation. (I am speaking specifically of stills, animation, shorts, and narrated machinimas.)  Now, the NEO3DO can do all the right things—but they are not yet loaded on it.

The Competitive Context. I am worried about NEO3DO’s competition. How will this tiny company fair against the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Asus in school sales? Is autostereoscopic 3D enough to give them an edge? I believe this tool must be bundled with stellar content and steered by brilliant marketing strategy in order to carve a presence into the stubbornly resistant educational market.

North Carolina Rocks 3D

Another Success Story in 3D Education

I don't know what it is about the Tar Heel state, but ya’ll certainly gotchee a mess of educational 3D talent there.  Maybe it comes from the drinking water. Or the fresh country air. Or the amazing waffles. Maybe it’s due to the Old North State’s beautiful, plentiful, and restful foliage.  Perhaps it emanates from the high-tech bowels of the Research Triangle. But they sure do educational 3D well in North Carolina. It's a 3-D success story all around.

Rural Richmond County, NC

For the last few years I have described the work of the so-called 3D Jedi, Director of Technology—Jeff Epps.  His past efforts can be reviewed in these previous blog posts: 3D Jedi * 3D Jedi Conclusion * Return of the 3D Jedi * Return of the 3D Jedi (2) But let's move on...

Holly Ridge, NC

Now move eastward with me, as we take a look at some of the 3D learning taking place at coastal Dixon high school.  For the last two years, Jason Chambers, a respected biology teacher, has used XPAND glasses, DLP technology, and DesignMate software with positive results:  “It’s been a dream using the software. It not only helps the kids but the teachers are also enjoying it, especially when they see the test results. In General Biology alone there has been a more than 50 percent improvement in test scores. Our principal is ecstatic,” Mr. Chambers said. In North Carolina, a student has to score a level 3 (mastery of concepts) or 4 (superior understanding and clearly proficient in concept) on a statewide testing exam to be considered proficient. All classes taught by Mr. Chambers [including those with special needs students] earned a remarkable 100% proficiency using the 3D material. In an Honors class taught by Mr. Chambers, he had 12 students score 4 in a class of 21 students. “Those types of scores are unheard of!” Mr. Chambers added. “Normally I’m lucky to get four or five 4’s in a class of 30 students, so the numbers speak for themselves.”

Where students often get restless when a video is being played, Mr. Chambers noticed the opposite effect with the presentation of 3D content. “I can hear a pin drop in the room when we’re watching a 3D video. Kids are attentive and focused and actually entertained by what they are watching. I had never seen that before,” he said.

“Students are grasping the material much quicker than with traditional methods,” Mr. Chambers said. Mr. Chambers concluded: “I don’t have to change the way I teach; I’ve had outstanding results with the content.”

Listen to this short overview video of Dixon High School’s 3D project:

Also, listen to this short video with interviews of students and Mr. Chambers. 

Kinston, NC

And, surprisingly we’re still not done. North Carolina is still that good!  Meet Joe Romig, IB biology teacher at Kinston High. His students, too are seeing positive results using 3D in biology lessons. "In the past, before the 3D biology classes, 8 of 26 students showed academic growth. Now that number has increased to 24 of 29 students," he explains. "I've had kids that would probably have been at level two score at level three. Even had a kid score a perfect EOC [end of course] score." 

See this video of Kinston.

Based on some of these success stories coming out of North Carolina, I am certain that other states “might can” (might be able to) see similar results.  North Carolina rocks. Don't  you agree?

SIG3D Goes Supernova

In my recent post, Whither eS3D, I made the following prediction:

“The new SIG 3D formed by ISTE will double its membership and establish a growing foothold in educational technology.”

At last year’s interest meeting we saw approximately 47+ folks in attendance, mostly educators and a few manufacturers. My prediction was that SIG3D membership would grow to nearly 100 members this year. Then I reported in a very recent post that SIG3D membership has clearly exceeded expectations by exploding to more than 571 members as of April 1^st.

Yet the good news is not over. Are you sitting down? As of June 1st, SIG3D membership has gone supernova, and is now boasting more than 1,064 members! 

Deadline Extended

On a second note, the deadline for submitting a presentation for the ISTE Inaugural SIG3D Gathering has been extended to this Wednesday, June 12. The details, provided by SIG3D Chair Nancye Blair, have been reproduced below for your convenience. Please consider throwing your hat in the ring.

Are you an innovator, successfully using stereoscopic 3D technologies in education?  If so, we would love to showcase you in a 3D Learning Station at our SIG3D Gathering! The Inaugural SIG3D Gathering will take place at the ISTE 2013 Conference on Tuesday, June 25 from 5:00 - 6:15 PM at the SACC Social Butterfly & Newbie Lounge, West Reg.

Attendees will have the opportunity to explore the 3D Learning Stations for a portion of the time during that event.  Learning Station Presenters will need to arrive by 4:30 PM to set up their station.  Possible topics include: 3D learning projects and activities, student-created 3D media, teaching with stereoscopic 3D content, technical suggestions for IT management, lessons enhanced with 3D technologies, or other creative ideas! The Submissions deadline has been extended through midnight, June 12th. You may submit to present with THIS FORM. 

Thank you for your support of SIG3D and your commitment to innovation in education.  We can't wait to see you in San Antonio!

**Attention SIG3D Corporate Members: We would like to feature as many stereoscopic 3D technologies as possible.  If you would like to support this event, please consider encouraging an educator who uses your product to submit as a Learning Station Presenter for our SIG3D Gathering.

3D Conference Talk

As the 2012 ed-tech conference season began in earnest, I found myself at the FETC 2013 conference in Orlando (late January) and the TCEA conference in Austin (early February). I not only attended these huge events, I presented at both.  Of course, I also spent considerable time traversing the exhibit halls.  I would like to share some key observations related to 3D presence at these huge conferences.

Learnings from FETC

Stereo 3D was not well represented.  It was visibly on display only in only one or two booths. I followed up on every session in the conference program that mentioned ‘3D’ in the title or description, and it is clear that, except for one presentation by Nancye Blair, Stereo 3D is not well understood by conference leadership.  They imagine that “3D virtual worlds” (rendered-3D immersive worlds, like Second Life) and rendered-3D design tools (like Sketchup), or rendered-3D animation in augmented reality or games is what it is all about. I found nothing on the visualization and learning advantages of using stereoscopic 3D.  You may ask, “Why doesn’t conference leadership understand what stereo 3D is? I think it’s easy to explain. It is not fully a part of their generation or their personal culture.  It is not yet on their radar.  It should be, but it is not.  But don’t ever think it is an unreachable goal.  We just need the right messaging.

Learnings from TCEA

For the second year in a row, Texas really “gets” 3D.  My half-day workshop was packed with interested K-12 educators of every persuasion. My follow-up TATN network 3D presentation was well attended and well received.  It was clear the educators were ready to move on this technology. On a negative note, the exhibit hall floor had only four booths demonstrating 3D, a significant downward trend. Teachers kept approaching me on the exhibit floor to find resources, but I had only two places to send them. Lumens was the bright spot, crisply demonstrating their magnificent 3D document camera. One brave exhibitor was a new entry into the marketplace for 3D pre-school  content, Classteacher Learning Systems.  

Also, one 3D printing company (what we call additive manufacturing) offered a small presence.

The final product was in the Epson booth. But they were showing a 15-year old technology solution for 3D (double projectors) that exemplified the historical problems with this old delivery system: the projectors were out of sync and two expensive projectors, not a single inexpensive DLP projector, were necessary.  My conclusion: Again, just like last year, Texas educators really ‘get’ 3D.

On a related note, DLP 3D Lamp-Free Projectors were being demonstrated in a few areas, but the messaging was exceptionally weak.  I consider this to be one of the most impactful technologies ever invented for recession-wrenched educators, but it was absolutely clear that neither exhibitors nor integrators had any idea how to communicate its value proposition to educational customers. (To the educator, ‘lamp-free’ means not paying for bulbs every year—at $350 a whack.  These projectors cost a little bit more, but pay for themselves in a year and a half. In some cases, a solution can last for 20,000+ hours—10+ years in school terms.) You may want to research this mainstream innovation on your own.

3D in the Cloud

NextGen 3D Educational Content Series [Part 4]
Another entry in our sweepstakes for the future of great educational 3D content is a stout and familiar player, Sweden’s Eon Reality. Eon Reality offers a crowdsourced vision of cloud- and social media-based 3D educational content development and distribution: Eon Creator and the Eon Experience. Both are well integrated and offer a distinct social-media look, with easy user search, access, or upstream contribution, as well as user-generated content ratings.

Eon Creator, explains Brendon Reilly, the business development manager for Eon’s U.S. operations, “a tool for educators or users to easily generate 3D content and store it in the cloud.” He continues: “It has the scalability to design something as small as the human blood cell to something as expansive as the Taj Majal.”

Eon Creator is tightly integrated with the Eon Experience platform, enabling users 

to download commercial or user-generated 3D content or publish their own content.

The Eon Experience is a platform that permits search, access, downloading, uploading, and rating of user- or industry-generated  stereo 3D content. Some content is free, some is for sale, and I imagine a strong barter economy will eventually arise. The content is organized into three categories: Avatars, 3D Components or 3D Scenes. Reilly notes that the Eon Experience is “cloud based, multiple-device friendly, and offers great possibilities for education.” 

Now this is the point where I am forced to chime in: “You betcha!” Eon Creator was designed for non-professional content producers (a.k.a., students and teachers). The advantages are obvious. The Eon Experience platform creates a friendly space where the 3D educator can become a consumer, producer, or both. More importantly, both tools were evidently created with the school educator or industry “human performance improvement” professional in mind.

After learning resources are attached to a 3D model in a walk-through gallery, 

the learner can access those learning support resources by simply clicking 

on one the icons layered in a pyramid above the 3D object.

For example, 3D objects can be placed within a 3D gallery or exhibit hall scene for casual or in-depth exploration.  A trainer can also insert or embed learning resources into the 3D objects he/she has designed. This enables the creation of richly layered, hypermedia-based learning experiences that can stand on their own. The trainer/instructional designer can associate many different types of “learning objects” with the 3D model or object, including short video segments; personalized text or audio annotation; a PowerPoint presentation; a wiki, blog, or discussion board; or a hyperlink to a website or simulation activity. Folks, this is designed for great teaching, learning, and instructional design!

Depth by PowerPoint

[NextGen 3D Content Series, Part 3]

Bringing the 3D Advantage to Presentations

I teach some very popular workshops on how to do teaching (or sales presentations) differently, based on how our minds work. Based on brain research, the techniques I employ cleverly draw the attention of the audience, while sustaining their focused attention on the learning at hand. Done well, these techniques can even go so far as to visually ‘delight’ the viewer. It’s all part of my personal campaign—my intentional effort—to utterly destroy the old notion of “death by PowerPoint,” the notion of tiresome, unimaginative, overly lengthy, and utterly boring PowerPoint presentations. Of course, the notion of “death by PowerPoint” is forever immortalized in such Dilbert cartoons as the PowerPoint Coma, the PowerPoint Chimp, and PowerPoint Poisoning. 

In the stereoscopic 3D world, many have tried to provide a way to convert traditional presentations into stereo 3D, hoping to capture the illusive golden goose ‘wow’ factor.  Our third entry in the field of  Next Generation Educational 3D content is Presente3D. This new startup aims to become nothing less than a game-changer for educators. What these folks are up to is so promising, I playfully call it Depth by PowerPoint, and I assure you it is a good thing, and for quite a number of very practical reasons. First, Presente3D enables 3D content creation through a truly easy-to-use and extremely flexible ribbon bar add-on to PowerPoint 2010. " It enables the educator, e-trainer, or student to turn their presentations into a 3D format, but more importantly, to turn any graphic or chart within a PowerPoint into a 3D object that can be manipulated in space and depth. Any object or text can be individually extruded and the z-depth adjusted, as well. Presente3D, with offices in New Jersey and a talented technical team in the Ukraine, offers the potential for some very creative and immersive presentations. Their easy and flexible process for designing 3D presentations also offers a stiff advantage: it’s easy enough to use that you can construct effective stereo 3D PowerPoint presentations the night before your presentation. Here an overview video and here is a video showing how their interface works. In addition, this tool is quite extensible. It runs on most portable devices, including Apple and Android operating systems, the iPad2, and all 3D TVs and projectors.

Yet, the significance of this effective new 3D tool lies with content creation. Perhaps 95% of educational 3D content currently available supports science instruction. Math content is well on its way toward a solid presence this year. But this tool opens up the floodgates of immediate amateur content creation for all the other subject areas, such as English, world languages, social studies, and the arts—to name a few. Think about it. There are over 500 million PowerPoint users worldwide. Currently, over 50 million PowerPoint presentations are made every day. Now, anyone can be able to create 3D content. It is simply content creation for the rest of us. 

Spatially Cool

[NextGen 3D Content Series, Part 2]

Our second featured nextgen company is Spatial Thinking, a California-based company with a talented international programming team located in both L.A. and Lebanon. Spatial Thinking is led by its founder, George Dekermenjian, who is a gifted master teacher and active college mathematics professor in his own right. Formed to exclusively serve the education space, Spatial Thinking builds interactive simulations that can be presented in stereoscopic 3D as tools for teaching and learning math for grades 4-12 and college math. Their flagship product is Space Geometry and Measurement 3D (SGM-3D and SGM-S3D). Both versions contain the same content, but the latter (SGM-S3D) is optimized to be viewed in stereoscopic mode while the former is produced in rendered 3D. This approach exemplifies a generally wise strategy for success in the stereo 3D marketplace: offering 2D content as well as 3D content. When schools are ready, the shift to 3D is easy and costs less.

Using 3D to teach concepts that are harder to learn without stereo 3D.

I chose Spatial Thinking as an example of one of my nextgen educational 3D content developers for five main reasons:

1. This company starts with the premise of the added value stereo 3D can bring to learning; I like that. Spatial Thinking produces simulations that use stereo 3D to an advantage, concepts that lend themselves naturally to 3D visualization. Essentially, that means using 3D to teach concepts that are difficult to learn without 3D.
2. Spatial Thinking understands the educator perspective as much as they understand the technology of 3D visualization. This company demonstrates an openness to learn and do what schools, teachers, and students want and need, not just pursue the technology for its own sake.
3. Their content represents a significant move beyond the current hegemony of science content in the 3D educational marketplace—and math is a great place to start.
4. They are not developing just a few quixotic titles—they are developing quite a few key math concept sims. (You see, if there are not many resources to choose from, my experience is that teachers won’t spend time to learn to use the technology.)
5. They surround their software with exactly the kinds of supporting materials that teachers are dying for: visual PowerPoint supports, lesson guides, and extension materials.

Topics covered on the “Space Geometry and Measurement” (SGM)
product from Spatial Thinking.

Stereo 3D educational software designed the way teachers like to teach.

In this series, I asked each content provider to explain what was so defining about their approach to 3D content. In designing their software, Dekermenjian noted his desire to “creatively use negative-parallax to highlight key ideas of particular concepts” and importance of “ensuring each lesson/module could be explored in 10 minutes or less, leaving enough class time for reflection, discussion, practice, assessment and review.”

Spatial Thinking’s plans to build additional interactive stereo content for other areas of mathematics, such as analytic geometry, calculus (high-school and college level), and other higher mathematics courses typically offered at the college level or beyond. Spatial Thinking’s web site can be found at: www.spatialthinkingllc.com.

Sensavis [1]

Sensavis creates 3D products with incredible realism and stop-
action manipulation. And their content runs on iPads.

Our first featured nextgen company is a remarkably skilled group out of Sweden, Sensavis. They offer products in the field of corporate and medical education, marketing, and visualization. I've explored their products and works-in-progress first hand and found myself nothing less than stunned. I have seen it all with regards to 3D educational products on the market, and this is the best imagery I have seen. More importantly, it works the way teachers and professors really want 3D learning to work, based on the end-of-project teacher interviews conducted following our year-and-a half case study in the Boulder Valley School District. In a past blog post about educational content, “What is eS3D,” I describe five of the key attributes of outstanding 3D educational content, and the Sensavis masters all five. 

Sensavis has produced an Interactive 3D Human Framework (I3HF), which approaches discovering the human body from a physiological perspective – meaning that you see fluids flowing and particle systems moving, not just 3D learning objects. Their presentations are so completely interactive, you can zoom endlessly from macro to micro, steer around, or choose from a navigation client to add slides or film into the model. If only they would create content for the high school market!

Sensavis' app, Heart Interactive, demonstrates
their use of simulation in rendered 3D.  Their
content is also produced in stereo 3D. 

One of the many efforts now underway at Sensavis is a high end "interactive 3D heart project.” This involves software that integrates Sensavis’ technology with real time data from a heart simulation developed jointly by the internationally respected Karolinska University Hospital and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Using their product, Sensavis intends to "steer" the heart “in real time” in order to conduct various simulations, conditions, and treatment effects. (If you would like to glimpse at the quality of their visualizations, download the free Heart Interactive app from the App Store—search for 'Sensavis' or 'Heart Interactive' and you will find it easily.)

Sensavis’ remarkable vision, driven by CEO Magnus Arfors and a world-class development team, is grounded in several fundamental beliefs. First, Arfors suggests that “Humans were equipped to learn through experience. The closer we can get to an experience of a message, the closer we get to an understanding of that message (and in shorter time).” Interactivity is key to his notion of experience. Arfors explains: “Film is linear, yet interactive content is non-linear. You choose where you want to go.”   Arfors offers a simple formula for 3D success: “3D + interaction = understanding and recollection.” He reminds us: “Regardless whether the interactive 3D content is for general education, learning science, or used in marketing—it enhances understanding and stimulates the learning process in a way that the audience is engaged and remembers the experience and the messages.” Arfors’ theories translate well into practice. Two weeks ago, a professor used the Sensavis’ 3D In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) visualization in her lecture for 100 medical students at the Karolinska University Hospital. Arfors gleams: “This was their première for interactive 3D content and already the enthusiasm is spreading internally at the university.

Second, the strength of Sensavis’ approach and expertise asserts itself at the precise point where “IT, visualization, and academic competence meet.” He clarifies: “We strive for realism, both in movements and in visual quality (we put very high demands on our software). Most importantly, Arfors notes: “A key characteristic of our content is that we want to picture ‘alive’ environments, i.e., the human body in operation (physiology).”  

Third, Sensavis’ accomplishments are grounded in solid technological advantage. They have developed their own visualization engine. They have reliable hardware delivery platforms, including an auto-stereoscopic streaming solution that can be used for companies desiring to distribute education content to local sites, universities, or hospitals from a central server. And they are agile enough to take on special projects in the fields of science or education. (For example, Sensavis just completed a production focused on In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), visualizing the achievements behind the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2010).

I have often stated that my personal vision is to make the world of teaching and learning a better place, to enable the kind of teaching that fully engages and challenges our 21^st century learners. I believe Sensavis’ creativity clearly moves us in that direction. Sensavis can be reached at www.sensavis.com.

NextGen Educational 3D Content

The current generation of educationally focused content available in stereo 3D is very usable in schools. It is often quite impressive from the perspective of teachers and students.  (See my comprehensive list of all currently available educational stereo 3D content here.) The future, however, promises to be even better. Behind closed doors, content developers are working feverishly on the next generation of stereo 3D educational content. And I’m not talking about movies here. I am referring to software specifically designed to bring together as many of these characteristics as possible: tremendous artistry, solid curricular and educational fit, and practical and easy software delivery—all while aiming to leverage the real strengths of the stereo 3D medium in the classroom.

Future educational stereo 3D content (eS3D) offers these defining characteristics

Interestingly, these efforts are happening across the globe, not solely in the U.S. Over the last six months I have quietly reviewed the visions and products of a number of different companies. I’ve sat down with each of them, all the while thinking deeply about what’s happening with the coming generation of 3D educational content. The companies I plan to highlight in the coming series of posts are not the only firms that are working on nextgen stereo 3D for the educational market, but these companies offer a mouthwatering hint of what is now emerging. At the very least, this series presents a rare opportunity to delve into the minds and motives of some of the most inventive and promising 3D educational software developers in the world.