3D teaching tools highlight FETC’s ‘TechSHARE LIVE Keynote’

Date:

Share post:

Communicating with students and parents who don’t speak English will soon get easier.

And, thanks to ed tech expert Leslie Fisher, educators got a sneak peek at some soon-to-be-released digital translation tools from Microsoft at Thursday’s “TechSHARE LIVE Keynote” at the Future of Education Technology Conference®.

Microsoft Translator is being integrated with PowerPoint to provide live presentations with real-time closed captioning in English and many other languages. In OneNote, the translation service will transcribe lectures and class discussions, and also translate the text, Fisher said.

But that was just the tip of the ed tech iceberg unveiled at the 2020 installment of “TechSHARE LIVE.” Along with Fisher, the panel consisted of regulars Kathy Schrock, an ed tech consultant; Adam Bellow, co-founder of Breakout EDU; and Hall Davidson, who is Discovery Education’s senior director of global learning initiatives.

Here’s a sample of what the FETC® experts’ favorite new ed tech tools can bring to the classroom:

Hall Davidson

  • YouTube Audio Library: This is a library of free music that students can use to enhance videos.
  • Panoform: An entry into virtual reality technology, the tool can scan drawings and turn them into digital, 3D environments that users can navigate.
  • Bellus3D: Users can scan and create 3D images of their own faces.
  • CoSpaces: These augmented reality tools allow users to upload 3D images into another photo.
  • Paper Phone: A Google experiment in disconnecting from technology, this app lets users print important contacts, maps, recipes and other information from their favorite apps and fold them into a phone-sized packet.

Kathy Schrock

  • Microsoft Pix Camera: This camera takes a burst of 10 pictures, and analyzes and keeps the best shots. It can also detect faces and turn any motion captured into short videos.
  • Synth: Students can record and share sound bites to add to podcasts and create classroom collections.
  • VideoAnt: This web-based tool can add annotations to web-based videos, which can then be shared.
  • Smartify: By framing artwork in a smartphone camera, users can get information about the piece and the artist at a range of well-known museums.

Adam Bellow

  • Parlay: This classroom discussion tool allows teachers to track which students speak most often and privately nudge those who may be reluctant to share their ideas in class.
  • InsertLearning: This Chrome add-on allows users to annotate and share webpages. A teacher, for example, could add questions and sticky notes to The New York Times homepage and share it with students.
  • Teaching Tolerance: This program provides lessons plans to help teachers discuss content such as social justice, white privilege and other complex topics around race and tolerance.
  • Calligraphr: Students can scan their own handwriting and create their own personal fonts. It is effective for students who have difficulty writing.
  • Display.land: The app takes and converts videos into 3D images that users can interact with.

    For all FETC® coverage, click here. 

Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of District Administration and a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

Related Articles