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Education

The possibilities of the Virtual Classroom

Pat Johnson is currently working with Adobe Systems to develop a database of K-12 curriculum utilizing Adobe Software reports on Atmosphere, she shares her thoughts with Atmospherians below.

I am an education marketing consultant, working with computer graphics companies, to bring information about their products to educators through creative programs including workshops, exchange programs, conferences and newsletters.
I am currently working with Adobe Systems to develop adatabase of K-12 curriculum utilizing Adobe software that can be downloaded and shared with other educators through the Adobe Web-site.
While exploring the many options for buidling curricululm with Adobe software, I became interested in the possibilities of the Virtual Classroom.
I joined the Web 3D Consortium and discovered the Adobe Atmosphere development team and learned about their mission for creating a universal web 3D capability that will enable the use of 3D on the web. Because the mission of the Atmosphere team is in keeping with my own, I began to encourage the educators who are working with me to develop curriculum to explore the possibilities of using Atmosphere software as well. Recently, the 2002 SIGGRAPH Studio committee accepted a proposal from my team of educators to share this curriculum by presenting a panel discussion and workshops in the Studio at SIGGRAPH 2002 in San Antonio this summer.
We looked forward to bringing the possibilities offered by Atmosphere to this audience and spreading the good word to more educators in this exciting venue.

First impressions

The first impressions expressed to me by my team of educators and students is that Atmosphere is really easy to use. This is a BIG plus in the education area because teachers have so little time to train on new technology and yet they want very much to help students explore new technology.
With Atmosphere, the learning curve is so gentle that everyone can get up and running quickly and develop confidence easily.
Ideas that stand out The foremost idea that stands out among my team of teachers is that Atmosphere will make it possible for students to share distance learning experiences in a significant new ways.
They all look forward to teaming uplong distance to build educational sites that everyone can share through the internet.
Range of Uses I see Atmosphere being used from 5th or 6th grade on up through graduate school. The range of uses for educators includes any discipline that can be facilited through virtual classrooms, and 3D objects in virtual space.
These include Language Labs, Science Demonstrations, Virtual Tours, Art Studios, Sculpture Gardens and many othere possibilities.

Resources

I have been working with many small town and country schools in rural areas of the United States. In all these regions, funds are drying up for sustaining K-12 schools in each small town. Districts are consolidating, arts programs are being cut from curriculums and yet, teachers are being required to incorporate technology into their classrooms. The virtual classroom, facilitated through Atmosphere, will be an immesurable resource to these programs.
By making resources and space available on the Adobe site, Atmospherians will have a relatively cost free location in which to build an endless array of shared resources. Through the virtual classroom, teachers can share curricula and educational exchanges with schools all over the country and rebuild dwindling programs with rich content that requires a minor financial investment.
In addition, students from all regions of the country can learn from each other, which is an exceptional way to expand the education experience.