3D scanners open up new possibilities in the classroom
STEAM (Science, Technology, the Arts and Mathematics) labs are adopting 3D scanners to help teach students as young as elementary-school level. The scanners are set to help teach and encourage youngsters about design, prototyping and even progress to specific courses in their later schooling. With 3D printers falling in price rapidly, students can use them to create items for a range of classes, enhancing their experience of graphic design and product design. Augmented and virtual reality look likely to follow 3D scanners into the classroom.
Dive Brief:

3-D scanners are proving popular additions to STEAM labs to teach concepts like design and prototyping to students as young as elementary school.

The scanners replicate the size and shape of an object, which can then be manipulated onscreen. 3-D printing is possible, but not required.

Middle school students in Hawaii are using the technology to delve into courses on design thinking and working with historical artifacts, according to EdTech: Focus on K-12.

Dive Insight:

As 3-D printers have dropped in price during the past few years, the technology has found itself in more schools and makerspaces than ever before. Today, students are using 3-D printers of various capabilities to create prototypes in engineering classes, topographical models in geography, modified car and robot parts for design competitions and graphic design and artwork. The technology shows promise across the full spectrum of STEAM disciplines, even as pricier printers remain out of reach for some schools (and cheaper printers can lead to less detailed models and longer print times).

In the same way that 3-D printing gives students hands-on experiences with computer-generated models, emerging technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality seem poised to do the same, as applications increase and price points drop. Both AR and VR (the latter of which was named as an important development in the 2017 Horizon Report) let students manipulate and design 3-D objects in immersive ways, leading to similar benefits as other related 3D technologies.