3D printers and laser cutters … it’s the classroom of the future

 
The Pearson Lab, Somerset House, is a classroom of the future which has loads of super high-tech gadgets on show including 3D printers to give a glimpse of what schools might look like in decades to come...
Miranda Bryant29 January 2014

Featuring 3D printers, laser cutters, a brainstorming space and “hacked” furniture — the trend for pulling objects apart and modifying them for a new purpose — this lab does not have the appearance of an ordinary London classroom.

But experts today said hi-tech equipment like this could become commonplace in the capital’s schools as learning and classrooms cater for a new technology-focused age.

The Pearson Lab at Somerset House, in partnership with Makerversity, will hold workshops, events and drop-in sessions for children, young people and teachers to experiment with new learning techniques and skills such as coding and digital manufacture.

The Standard was given an exclusive preview of the space ahead of the scheme’s launch today.

As well as the latest digital machinery for pupils to create physical prototypes of their ideas, the classroom also includes special apps for web, tablet and smartphone as well as hi-tech learning aids.

Learning activities might include building circuits on a littleBits circuit board — which uses magnets to snap the components together — or Kano, a Lego-style kit to learn to code or build a computer.

Following on from the “maker movement”, a technology-based extension of DIY, children will also be encouraged to make things, such as an adjustable-height table created from a disused office chair. Designer Tom Tobia, who is director of Makerversity, which started last year as a space for start-up businesses, said the centre aims to promote “learning by making”.

Diana Stepner, head of future technologies at leading learning company Pearson, said although there will be a “transition” period while schools adjust, as prices on new technologies come down resources like 3D printers will become commonplace in schools. She added: “The classroom of the future may not look anything like the classroom of today. It’s got to have physical and digital opportunities for children to make things.”

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