Futuristic education is near
Namibian students and teachers interacted with live streamed holograms during a one-week workshop at People’s Primary School, Windhoek.
The co-design workshop, co-facilitated by Professor Heike Winschiers-Theophilus and Ms Itenge from Namibia University of Science and Technology, allowed participants to explore the new 3D live streaming technology using the Microsoft Hololense and Lidar technology (laser cameras), share educational practices of engagement and design novel interactions to guide future developments of the technology to be used in an educational context.
The workshop is part of a four-year Academy of Finland funded project, under the leadership of Professor Erkki Sutinen (Future Tech Lab, Windhoek Campus, University of Turku) in partnership with an international and interdisciplinary research team.
- This immersive technology will connect people across continents, with a feeling of being present and together, while being in remote places, states Sutinen enthusiastically.
Dr Naska Gogagoses, (Carl Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg), educational psychologist on the team, ensures that pedagogical frameworks and constructs, such as academic engagement, are embraced in the design of the technology to facilitate remote presence education.
- Although the technology is in its infancy, it is of outmost importance to include Namibian students and teachers, in this early stage technology development to ensure local needs and ideas influence future development and global edutech trends, emphasises Winschiers-Theophilus.
The teachers and students who participated in the workshop, provided valuable suggestions of which some will be implemented by the software development team, led by Dr Nicolas Pope (University of Turku). Dr Colin Stanley, DVC R, I &P, NUST welcomed the international and local team during the workshop, trying out the hololense, he mentioned that “exploring the usage of cutting-edge technologies such HoloLens provide unique, innovative opportunities in TTVET and social entrepreneurship that is much needed for Namibia to drive the 4IR .”
