3D Hologram Technology PDF
3D Hologram Technology PDF
3D Hologram Technology PDF
3D Hologram Technology
in Learning Environment
Husain Ghuloum
University of Salford, Department of Built and Human
Environment, Manchester, UK
H.Ghuloum@pgr.salford.ac.uk
Abstract
Major progress has taken place in the field of ICT usage in learning environments. The advantages offered by ICT in this sector have led most educational institutions to integrate ICT services
into their departments. Scientists are working very hard to provide an advanced technology,
which can benefit them in many areas. 3D Hologram Technology (3DHT) is one of the most
creative of these solutions.
In this paper, the researcher presents essential information about 3DHT, in order to understand
the importance of this technology in our life, and in the learning environment in particular. He
also identifies the strengths and weaknesses of 3DHT as a teaching tool, in order to evaluate its
effectiveness as an educational tool.
In order to thoroughly understand the phenomenon, a survey has been carried out on a large sample of teachers in the UK, and therefore the questionnaire has been utilized as a data gathering
technique.
Findings show that, 45.5% of respondents confirmed the importance of 3DHT as an effective
teaching tool for the future. However, 47, 3% of participants mentioned that this technology
could not change the face of education.
Additionally, the results indicate that the main barriers to integrating 3DHT into learning environments are a) the high cost of installation and b) requirement of a high-speed Internet connection.
Keywords: 3D Hologram Technology, Electronic Learning, Electronic Teaching, Learning Environment.
Introduction
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The rapid developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT) have made tremendous changes in the many fields of life. Therefore, educational institutions have been quick to
take advantage of technological services via integrating ICT into education, which in turn has
produced new models of education such as e-learning, distance learning and blended learning.
These models have changed the face of learning as well as playing an essential role in the increase of the student population and also providing a good opportunity to learn at any time and/or
place.
Recently, technological developments are playing an important role in improving the educational
process. For example, we see many educational institutions using sophisticated technological
tools such as touch screens, new software and others. However, before using any new tool in education, it must be evaluated to test its ability and effectiveness.
This paper is set in the context of ICT usage in the learning environment. Its key focus is on the
level of effectiveness of 3DHT as a new tool which could support teaching and learning in educational institutions. For that, the paper will be directed at achieving the following objectives as
well as answering the research paper questions.
Research Paper Objectives:
To understand the importance of 3DHT in our lives, and in the teaching and learning environment in particular.
What difficulties could educational institutions face in engaging with this tool?
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Ghuloum
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, working at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, created the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989. However, the coming of age of the Web in
the educational sector was during 1990s, when Berners-Lee had built all the tools necessary for a
working Web. These tools included the first Web browser, which was also a Web editor, the first
Web server (info.cern.ch), and the first Web pages, which described the project itself. The browser could access Usenet newsgroups and FTP files as well. Almost immediately after Berners-Lee
completed the World Wide Web browser for the NeXT platform, Nicola Pellow created a simple
text browser that could run on almost any computer to encourage use within CERN (Gillies &
Cailliau, 2000). However, Nielsen (1995) confirmed that, the real breakthrough for the Web in
the context of the learning environment was in 1993 when the easy-to-use point and click Web
client Mosaic was released by NCSA (the National Centre for Super computing Applications).
Since then the Web has been growing at an unbelievable speed and has become a system that has
not only completely changed the importance of hypertext and hypermedia but has also had a
strong influence on many fields of computing and information technology as a whole.
Today, the Internet and virtual world support active, hands-on learning which can provide students with practical, real-life experience. According to Sandra Andrews, an educational researcher at Arizona State University College of Education, "The virtual world gives a greater
sense of presence than discussion boards... [so] the students get a better feel for the teacher, and it
is more fun" (Harrison, 2009, p.2). Hence, many studies have shown that this style of learning
results in better retention and understanding of a given topic.
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warming. Prince Charles confirmed this fact in a green energy conference in Abu Dhabi, as
shown in Figure2. He was keen to prove his green credentials by noting that if he had chosen to
appear in person, his long-haul flight would have emitted around 15 tons of carbon dioxide, the
greenhouse gas which is causing global warming. Hence, he appeared as a hologram to congratulate Abu Dhabi for its plans to harness the power of natural resources to create a new zero carbon
city called "Masdar". As the 3DHT, Prince Charles left the audience with the words: "I am now
going to vanish into thin air, leaving not a carbon footprint behind!" (Jacob, 2008, p.2).
Trewin Restorick, of the energy saving charity Global Action Plan, told Sky News: "It's been estimated it contributes to 3.5% of the world's green house gases we're pumping into the atmosphere so businesses need to follow Prince Charles' example" (Jacob, 2008).
Figure 2: Prince Charles appear in Abu Dhabi as a hologram (Mail News, 2007)
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net network with a minimum guaranteed constant speed of 20 megabits per second. Finally, to
use this technology perfectly, we will need a screening room with compatible lighting and video
technology, which costs around 150,000 US dollars to install, as well as a display screen for
viewing the holograms on, priced at around 215,000 US dollars (Bobolicu, 2009).
Nevertheless, Ian O'Connell, director of Musion, a company that is pioneering the use of live hologram technology, believes that this sort of fixture will be a mainstay in many sectors in the future, perhaps even within the next five years. Its going to necessitate a change in architectural
design for residential homes for it to be embraced fully, he said. Its going to need a room that
can accommodate the screening and delivery technology. But I think were five years away from
holograms being a ubiquitous, affordable tool (Bobolicu, 2009, p.2).
Primary education
Primary schools
Reception
classes
Typical age
Study sample
18 +
100 lecturers
17 - 18
16 - 17
15 - 16
Y10
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
14 - 15
13 - 14
12 - 13
11 - 12
10 - 11
9 - 10
8-9
7-8
6-7
5-6
4-5
100 teachers
100 teachers
100 teachers
Figure 3: The Study Sample (Diagram of the Education system in England and Wales, 2009)
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In order to maximize validity by standardizing the sample, the researcher explained the purpose
of the study and gave an introduction to the 3DHT of all respondents to know what the meaning
of this technology. Moreover, he clarified concisely all questions of the questionnaire before each
teacher and lecturer started filling it out. The researcher carried out follow-ups with the participants according to what participants identified as areas in which they needed help and once
teachers complete the questionnaires, the researcher has collected them straight away.
Each question in the questionnaire has been evaluated by using a pilot study or must be pilot
tested before the final administration. This procedure is vital for any questionnaire in order to
evaluate how respondents interpret the question's meaning and also to check if the range of response alternatives is sufficient. Furthermore, it is also important to evaluate how to phrase each
question, layout, check the wording in the questions to avoid potential confusion (De Vaus,
2002). The pilot study suggested that the questionnaires appeared to be an effective method of
collecting a large amount of relatively basic information in a short space of time.
Research
Sample
Response
Category
Instrument
Size
No.
Teachers
Questionnaire
400
400
100
First of all, the researcher wants to know the relationship between the teachers from different levels of education and their thoughts on whether 3DHT will enhance learning (Table 2). The table
shows that, 228 (57%) of respondents said Yes, whereas 61 (15.3%) said No. While, 111
(27.8%) said Dont know. These proportions clarified that there is a large percentage of respondents believe that, the hologram technology will support the learning process. However, if we
break down their responses by educational phase, we will find different views. For instance, 46
teachers in primary stage said "yes", whereas just 2 said "no" and 51 said "don't know". That is
the stage with the highest percentage of teachers who are not sure if this technology will enhance
the educational process or not. On the other hand, the situation was different in other stages of
education because most of the teachers especially in higher education (73 teachers) emphasized
the importance of the hologram in supporting the educational process.
699
Primary educa-
Lower secon-
Upper secon-
tion
dary education
dary education
ther education
Total
Yes
47
56
52
73
228
No
19
31
61
51
25
17
18
111
100
100
100
100
400
Don't know
Total
Table 3 clarifies the relationship between the teachers and their thoughts on whether 3DHT will
change the face of learning. The table shows that, 92 (23%) of respondents said Yes, whereas
189 (47,3%) said No. While, 119 (29.8%) said Dont know. These ratios indicate that there is
a large percentage of respondents who believe that hologram technology will not change the face
of education, especially in primary education.
Table 3: Relationship between the 3DHT and change the face of learning
Table 3
Primary educa-
Lower secon-
Upper secon-
tion
dary education
dary education
ther education
Total
Yes
16
17
21
38
92
No
63
57
42
27
189
Don't know
21
26
37
35
119
100
100
100
100
400
In table 4, the researcher wants to explore the relationship between teachers from different stages
of education and their thoughts on whether 3DHT will be a tool for the teacher. The table shows
that 243 (60.8%) of respondents said Yes, whereas 59 (14.8%) said No and 98 (24.5%) said
Dont know. According to these percentages, there is a large ratio of respondents who believe
that hologram technology will be a tool for the teacher. However, if we analyse this question in
each educational phase, we will find 77 teachers in higher education stage said "yes". That is
mean hologram technology could be a future tool for teachers in the phase of higher education in
many majors.
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Ghuloum
Primary educa-
Lower secon-
tion
dary education
ther education
Total
46
57
63
77
243
No
21
19
11
59
Don't know
33
24
26
15
98
100
100
100
100
400
Total
Table 5 shows the relationship between the teachers and their thoughts on whether 3DHT would
be an effective teaching tool in the future. The ratios show that 182 (45.5%) of respondents said
Yes, whereas 63 (15.8%) said Noand 155 (38.8%) said Dont know. Overall, the percentages emphasise the perceived importance of the hologram as an effective teaching tool in the future. However, both teachers in primary schools and lower secondary schools were not sure if this
technology will be an efficient instrument for teaching in the future or not. However, teachers in
upper secondary schools and higher education asserted the importance of the 3DHT as an effective tool for the teacher in the future.
Table 5: Does the 3DHT will be an effective teaching tool in the future?
Table 5
Do you think
the Hologram
will be an effective teaching
tool in the fu-
Primary educa-
Lower secon-
tion
dary education
Total
ther education
Yes
31
43
47
61
182
No
26
13
15
63
Don't know
43
44
38
30
155
100
100
100
100
400
ture?
Total
Table 6 seeks to identify the obstacles that may face the integration of holograms into the learning
environment. This table shows that 380 (95%) of all participants confirmed that the main barriers
that could hinder integrate of the 3DHT into education is the high cost of installation, whereas
315 (78.8%) of all teachers in different stages said that 3DHT needs high speed Internet and
that could be an obstacle. 41 (10.3%) of all respondents mentioned that, it is not easy to use the
hologram technology in a learning environment while 77 (19.3%) of all participants indicated that
there are other reasons which could prevent the merger of the hologram into education. For
instance, most of them don't like to deal with this technology, because it is vulnerable to interruption at any moment which may disrupt the smooth flow of the learning process.
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Table 6: Possible barriers which 3DHT when integration into the learning environment
What are possible obstacles that
holograms may face in terms of
integration into the learning
environment?
Table 3.6
Included
N
Excluded
Percent
Total
Percent
Percent
380
95%
20
5%
400
100.0%
315
78.8%
85
21.3%
400
100.0%
41
10.3%
359
89.8%
400
100.0%
77
19.3%
323
80.8%
400
100.0%
It is difficult to use
Other
Overall, the results showed some interesting points related to the use of 3DHT as a teaching tool as well as the reasons that hinder its integration into the UK learning environment. For example, the majority of respondents confirmed that 3DHT reinforces the
learning process, as well as potentially being an effective teaching tool for the future.
However, most participants mentioned that this technology does not change the face of
education. Moreover, the main barriers that may hinder the integration of 3DHT into the
learning environment are the high cost of installation and requirement of a high-speed
Internet connection.
Conclusion
Teachers replaced by holograms. It sounds like something from a science fiction movie or T.V
show. What would happen if holographic teachers could be sent to you? The reality is the technology has recently been created to bring live holograms from one location and beam them into
any location in the world.
This phenomenon led the researcher to investigate whether 3DHT will be an effective tool for the
teachers in the future. Furthermore, the researchers wished o explore the main barriers that might
prevent 3DHT being integrated into a learning environment. In order to move towards an answer
in this issue, the researcher posed the following questions;
1.
The researcher noted that, 60.8% of respondents have confirmed the importance of 3DHT as an
efficient tool for teachers while 45.5% believed that 3DHT will be an effective teaching tool for
the future. However, 47.3% of teacher in all stages mentioned that this technology could not
change the face of education, but it could help them to some extent in their teaching.
2.
What are the difficulties, which educational institutions could face in engaging
with this tool?
According to the study findings, the main barriers that may hinder the integration of 3DHT into
learning environments are needing a high cost of installation and needing high speed Internet.
Although 95% of all participants indicated that 3DHT is very expensive and difficult to integrate
it with the learning environment, the researcher believes that it is very interesting to use this technology in the teaching process even if it is very expensive to implement at present.
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Ghuloum
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Biography
Husain Ghuloum is a researcher in Information Systems at Salford
University. He worked lecturer at the Public Authority for Applied and
Education (PAAET) in the State of Kuwait for around four years ago.
Ghuloum got Master Information Science at Leeds Metropolitan University and currently working on research relating to ICT in Kuwaiti
Higher Education at Salford University.
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