South Orangetown Middle School enrichment and technology teacher Mr. Andrew McIntosh hosted a parent workshop in the new zSpace Lab, sponsored by SOMS PTA on February 13. “We discussed how students’ first impressions of content have evolved from looking at a virus in a textbook to actually dissecting a 3-D virus in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment,” explains Mr. McIntosh. “Then parents had the opportunity to explore zSpace themselves, by cooking a virtual pizza that included nutritional facts for all ingredients and experimenting with 3-D models of the human heart and human brain.”
“The new zSpace is an extraordinary resource for our students. Parents and guardians had fun while exploring new content and getting a glimpse into our students’ school day,” says SOMS PTA President Ms. Claire Sullivan-Heatley, a sixth-grade parent, who helped coordinate the event.
Having an opportunity to get hands-on with tools their children made a big impression on parents. “I was extremely impressed with ZSpace! I think it’s amazing and will definitely make learning more interactive,” notes SOMS PTA Secretary and seventh grade parent Ms. Gloria Bidmead.
Ms. Maria Burns, who also has a seventh-grader at SOMS, agrees. “I am proud to be part of a district that keeps up with current educational trends and makes sure the children are fully engaged in the project.”
Parent participation is key, according to Principal Dr. Karen Tesik, who participated in the zSpace workshop. “Our school goals focus on increasing student engagement and parental involvement. zSpace brings a natural curiosity to our curricula and students are truly enjoying this new lab environment,” Dr. Tesik says. “Having our parents participate in this training allows them to experience how technology is opening up a whole new level of instructional technology and experiential learning for their child. We are grateful for the continued support of our parents, a strong, collaborative PTA, and our Board of Education, who supports these incredible learning tools for our school.”
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