Why School Leaders Need to Know About 3DBear

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of educator who has a real fear of missing out.  I don’t want to be left in the dark on any new ideas, new technologies, or trends.  I hate when someone knows about a resource that I haven’t heard of, so I strive to always learn and grow.  As a district leader, I know that I can never stop learning if I want to keep leading.

My need for continuous learning pushes me to seek out about new things, read about them, and try them out, doing whatever I can to learn more and keep current. If you have FOMO too, then you know that internal drive to keep learning.  That is particularly true when it comes to technology.

As school and district leaders, we need to stay on top of the changing educational landscape while ensuring that our schools, our teachers, and our students are equipped to thrive within this technologically advancing environment.  Regularly reading edtech blogs and attending conferences can be great ways to keep current, but sometimes you need some hands-on exposure to a new tool to really find its value.

Technology is changing by the minute as artificial intelligence, and virtual reality is altering the way we approach teaching and learning.  Augmented reality is one pathway for teachers to immerse students in learning experiences that combine creativity and technology skills. You may have heard about 3DBear, a new augmented reality tool that is opening doors for students and unlocking their creativity.

Grab a free trial so that you can learn more about using this tech tool in your school.  

https://3dbear.io/freetrial

Creation, Not Consumption

As leaders, we want students in our schools spending time in creation, not merely consumption. For this to truly happen, we need to equip our teachers with the knowledge to design these learning opportunities for our teachers.

Students can certainly read about medieval times or learn about dinosaurs in textbooks or through video.  What if instead, students could immerse themselves in this learning making and creating the very topics they are learning about?  When students create using augmented reality, they activate their imaginations and skillfully craft products that they can share immediately with others, offering opportunities for global collaboration.

3DBear provides endless possibilities for classroom creation. In any subject area and at any grade level, this app will allow students to create scenes that invoke creativity, demonstrate knowledge and build technology skills. Once students (and teachers) start to engage with the app, they will soon discover that they can bring their creations to life by connecting to a 3-D printer. No longer focused on consuming information, students have the ability to create and produce their own designs.

Activate Creative Thinking

I want students to be problem solvers and complex thinkers. We need classrooms where students are challenged to engage in thinking, planning, and iterating as they develop collaboration and critical thinking skills.  When students are working in 3DBear they will activate creative thinking as they plan and design their images, carefully mapping out their images and making their learning visible for others. 

Exploring with this tool, I quickly found my creative juices flowing. Looking outside at the flurries falling from the sky, I used the 3DBear app to create a virtual flower garden indoors.  As I worked, I found myself rearranging the plants and flowers thinking about the aesthetics of my image.  While I was informally creating with the app, I wondered how students might use this to redesign their classroom, build an ancient structure, or create a welcoming landscape.

                      

My augmented reality flower garden

Content Integration

When teachers are designing lessons, 3DBear offers ways to enhance learning within the content areas.  English Language Arts teachers looking for another layer of engagement can have students design scenes from the stories they are reading.  Math teachers looking to develop spatial awareness and build an understanding of geometry concepts with find options within the app.  Science teachers will love the bank of images that can be used when students are studying plants and animals or the solar system.  Merging knowledge from math and science with tech is a great step towards STEM and STEAM lesson integration as well.  Check out this solar system image I created after just a few minutes tinkering with the app on my phone.  Imagine what students might create when given the time and space to explore augmented reality in the classroom.

          

       Solar System Exploration in 3DBear

Engagement At All Levels

3DBear can be used in simple ways in the primary classroom but can increase in complexity throughout the grade levels. First-grade classrooms can jump into augmented reality to build words and even practice spelling. The tool can be used to practice vocabulary and create images to enhance word meaning. Intermediate level students can expand use to build intricate scenes connected to creative storytelling and narrative writing.  Middle-level science classes create animal habitats. High school students design homes and 3-D print the components.  3DBear can support academic learning, social-emotional learning, but it can also just be for fun. 

This weekend my sons (ages 4 and 6) messed around with the app and created this image for March Madness.  Even my preschooler was engaged and used his iPad to create other scenes on his own.

Ease of Use

We know that adding something new to the plates of our teachers can present its challenges, but 3DBear makes it easy with a teacher dashboard.  This tool provides lesson plans and resources so teachers can get started right away.  The dashboard provides examples for all subject areas making 3DBear an easy-to-learn and quick to use the platform.  Get this into the hands of your teachers, so that can share in the fun with your students.

Since this tool is easy to use and can work across grades and subject areas, I can see this becoming a favorite app for teachers and students.  Check out https://3dbear.io/ for more information.

As a district leader and educator, this is the kind of tool that I want my teachers exploring. It provides an opportunity for exploration and student creation in so many ways.  Teachers will find 3DBear easy to use, as will students. Take advantage of their free 30-day trials for teachers and sign up for an account here https://3dbear.io/freetrial.