For Everyone's Eyes: ILP “Participation”

On Tuesday, February 21st our EME 2040 class visited the Technology Sandbox in the College of Education. The Technology Sandbox had an array of devices that students and educators could use to enhance learning. I was amazed at the technology they had inside the room and learned so much in the 45 minutes we were in there. In the Technology Sandbox, I learned more about 3D printers and Google Glass, but the found out about the item that interested me the most, the Smart Board. Before our visit, I had no clue what a Smart Board or Promethean Board were and I was in awe watching the demonstrations take place.

When we first came in Martin introduced us to the 3D printer they had in the Technology Sandbox and showed us several gadgets it had engineered. I found it very interesting when he told us how long and how challenging it actually took to create the cube with the gears. However, the 3D printer could be a great source of learning for students by giving them an opportunity to feel and see what they are learning about. i.e. a cube and its six sides. We then saw the Smart Board and Promethean board which sparked a great deal of interest. I could not believe how advanced the boards were. The boards reminded me of projectors many classrooms have, except these boards gave students and teachers a hands on opportunity. It made it seem that the possibilities with the boards were endless. The Google Glass was also very intriguing. Although I found the glasses interesting, it seemed that there was not much need or use the public would have for them, which is why Google did not mass produce them. The last technology we saw was the Oculus Rift. The Rift was mind-blowing in that it allows people to be immersed into another world. The Oculus Rift technology could give many students an opportunity to see places and do experiments that would seem near-impossible from a classroom and that was truly amazing.