magazine - SMART Technologies

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
writes Dr. Bamford, citing results
from the study.
What you need to know about our
new add-on to SMART Notebook.
What’s unique about 3D Tools?
Many companies are developing
3D content these days, so what
makes 3D Tools for SMART
Notebook software special? Here
are just a few of the extraordinary
things you can do with 3D Tools:
• Access and manipulate 3D
content right within SMART
Notebook software
• Navigate through the
internal details of 3D models
• Disguise a 3D object as a
magic hat and click to reveal it
• Label objects and the labels
will remain affixed, even when
objects are rotated and moved
• Write in digital ink over 3D
objects or layer them with
2D objects
• Rotate objects by moving
them on a single axis or on
multiple axes
Studying 3D in the classroom
The 3D in Education White
Paper, from Texas Instruments ,
explores the idea of using 3D as a
teaching and learning tool. Written
by Dr. Anne Bamford, Director
of the International Research
Agency, the paper focuses on
a European study examining
stereoscopic 3D (3D requiring
glasses) and its impact on student
engagement and understanding.
“The research results suggested that
the 3D animated models were able
to represent information in the most
economical manner to facilitate
learning and comprehension,
thus simplifying complex, abstract
and impossibly large amounts of
information into a coherent form,”
writes Dr. Bamford.
When it comes to academic results,
the study also showed that 3D had
a marked positive effect on learning,
recall and test performance.
“Under experimental conditions,
86% of pupils improved from the
pre-test to the post-test in the 3D
classes, compared to only 52%
who improved in the 2D classes,”
Google and 3D
Google 3D Warehouse and Google
SketchUp are two great – and free
– resources for incorporating 3D
into your classroom. Between these
two resources, you not only can
create 3D objects, such as vehicles,
buildings or animals, but also find,
share, store and collaborate on
3D models.
A few of our favorite 3D
models available in Google 3D
Warehouse are
Notre Dame de Paris
Playground
What a teacher says
Statue of Liberty
SKPRbot
I teach in a low-income school. These students don’t travel
outside their local area. With 3D, they get the whole visual,
not just a flat shape. [For] example, the Roman Colosseum can
be shown as 3D, including where the spectators sat, where the
gladiators dueled. Animals that can’t normally be brought into
the classroom can come alive via 3D. Students can’t get this
kind of experience with flat pictures.
Dorothy Johnston
Sixth-Grade Teacher
Monte Vista Elementary School
Montclair, California
February 2012 | 25