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.
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.
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.
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
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.
