Satz School Pupils In Holmdel Manipulate Virtual Reality

HOLMDEL, NJ - Satz School pupils are taking advantage of the technology tools a their disposal to create solutions to life's little problems. As part of their Technology Education class with technology teacher Christen McCafferty, pupils have been introduced to the basics of 3-D printing.

As part of the district's "innovate to elevate," children are able to design small objects using computer-assisted design software, which allows them to render ideas in a virtual three-dimensional environment. Those designs can then be transferred to the Technology classroom's 3-D printer, which create them by depositing thin layers of plastic, one on top of the other, to build up a solid object with computer precision.

One pair of students printed a holder for their ear buds, while another pair designed and printed a desk- or table-mountable "hook" from which they could hang their backpacks.

Learning how to manipulate virtual objects, how to design items and how to identify and solve real-world issues are skills that will serve pupils well as they move through their academic and professional lives, according to a press release from the school.

In the Satz Technology class, pupils learn how to design, then create objects. Photograph by Amanda Mills/Associated Press.