Interactive Projection Floors – How Engaging Would These be in Your Classroom or School?

This Activity Oriented Technology Looks Particularly Interesting for Younger Students (+ Athletes and Dancers too).

Just What is an “Interactive Floor Projection”?

This short video shows young children experiencing an interactive floor projection. See how the displayed content reacts to the children’s movements? There you have it – a projection on the floor (or wall) that you can interact with! Pretty cool, right?

Interactive Floor Projection Applications in Education

As stated on the Luminvision site, “Using motion tracking, pupils and teachers are able to interact with the projected image to reveal new layers and interact with content which is perfect for starting discussions and getting young minds interested in the subjects they are learning. These interactive systems are ideal teaching tools to engage pupils and deepen their understanding.”

Many interactive floor projection systems involve a multimedia visual display system which can project outstanding special effects with floor games for students on interactive floor displays. Students get to control multimedia interactive displays using simple gestures and physical movement. Motion-driven video gesture technology that makes use of a body tracking and gesture recognition system can respond in real-time with realistic graphics.

[From what I understand, you do not necessarily need a special projector to get some functionality along these lines, but there are special projectors available that will give you better capabilities. – KW]

A short list of ideas for interactive floor projections for students:

• Virtual sports such as football or rugby
• Ocean study with rippling water and moving fishes
• Study of Scientific Subjects including Physics, Biology and Chemistry
• Dance Floors and Activity Projections
• How about some sort of “Math Hopscotch”?

Many companies offer creative and design services for the education sector which can customize learning programs based on the specific subjects. Schools can even recommend the use of any ‘out of the box’ interactive scenarios which can be adapted for the interactive display to be up and working quickly.

Here are some of the ways that Interactive Projection Floors can engage and benefit students:

1. 3D interactive games are said to increase the motor skills of children to a great extent as well as their responsiveness to situations.
2. Interactive Floor displays can surprise and educate students, turning data and information into all sorts of images which demand attention and also arouse interest.
3. It is difficult for students and children to divert attention from the interactive projections as their interactions help them learn about the effects of their actions and more.
4. Interactive floors can be fun, exciting and engaging for children. They enrich their sensory learning experiences. The responsiveness of the systems enables students of all ages to easily interact with the system resulting in real-time audio-visual experiences.
5. They also serve as powerful and integral therapy tools for student engagement with an activity monitoring template which helps the educators and trainers to monitor and assess student progress.

Humans learn better when we're being active, so when will Interactive Projectors start showing up in our schools?!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Imagining the Classroom of 2016, Empowered by Wearable Technology
It’s 2014 – Can You Text Your Students (Without Your Phone)
Augmented Reality – The Coolest Instructional Technology You Haven’t Heard of?