Southwestern Michigan College to Use 3D Visualization in Science Classrooms

The college in Dowagiac, MI, will install Sensavis's The 3D Classroom software in every classroom of its newly renovated science center.

The 3D Classroom

The goal is for the new visualization software to help students better understand STEM-related concepts.

The 3,000-student Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac, MI, will install 3D visualization tools in every classroom of its newly renovated O'Leary Science Center.

The 3D Classroom from Sensavis is a software application that can help students use 3D images to better understand concepts in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.

The software uses Intel HD graphics and can be installed on traditional stationary or laptop computers equipped with Windows 7 or 8. The 3D Classroom is compatible with digital whiteboards and interactive projectors, and can be configured for 2D TVs and projectors as well as 3D TVs and 3D glasses.

In the interface, users can navigate, control and manipulate objects freely with a touchscreen.

The 3D Classroom software comes with a package of educational content dealing primarily with biology, math, chemistry, physics, engineering and geography.

"I need some sort of image in every lecture I have, whether I have a model, sketch something on the board or show it on a screen," said Southwestern Michigan College Biology professor Anna Norris. "My goal is to use this imagery to help students visualize concepts I'm teaching, and my hope is that it makes concepts more interesting to students."

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

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