ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: 3-D tool helps SJ students learn in whole new way
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Some students in east San Jose are looking at their schoolwork in a whole new dimension. In a story you'll only see on ABC7 News, Mathson Middle School is one of the first schools in the Bay Area to get their hands on a captivating new learning tool.
For students, wearing special 3-D glasses that tracks their head movements is just like looking through a window.
"It feels like it's right in front of you," said sixth-grader Cristian Hernandez.
Hernandez is using the new computers called zSpace to learn about volcanoes.
"You can look at the magma chamber," he explained. "It can go up to I think around 1,000 degrees."
That's degrees Celsius, to be exact. Hernandez's teacher wasn't surprised he passed our little pop quiz. He's found these interactive 3-D models really bring depth to the learning process.
"To understand the concepts in their own way, and be to articulate those concepts themselves, using their own words instead of reading back from the textbook," said middle school teacher Victor Guendulein.
The technology is made by a local company that originally built the computers for product designers. But they quickly found out they have an even more special place in the classroom; helping kids almost literally reach out and grasp difficult concepts.
"The fascination, the amazement like, 'wow I could really do this,'" said resource teacher Giselle Postrado.
That's even more important for these kids. You see, this is a special education class full of kids who've experienced frustration learning the traditional way.
"Being in here makes it easier to address those needs," Guendulein said. "I mean, they can actually move at their own pace."
And in their own laguages.
Three quarters of the kids at Mathson Middle School speak a language other than English at home. Principal Oscar Leon dreams of a day when that won't hold them back.
"Very few Hispanic and Latino students are part of these technology, Silicon Valley careers and professions in science," he said. "Hopefully with this they will get interested enough to pursue those careers."
They can even start early, with coding workshops there over the summer. All part of Mathson Middle School's new name - MIT.
Postrado explains it stands for, "Mathson Institute of Technology."
