HOW WOULD you like a school bag with robotic hands to massage your back as you carry your heavy books around? Or a lamp that can hold a cup of coffee, do maths calculations and recite English poetry? Equally useful would be the “companion pen”, which shows a red light if a spelling is incorrect.
All these devices were suggested by post-primary-school students who were asked to design the type of objects they would like to see in the classroom of the future.
Some 1,600 students registered for the first “Imaginate” competition, organised by NUI Maynooth, and they were whittled down to a shortlist of 16.
Despite massive technological advances, one of the main problems still facing students seems to be heavy school bags, said Damini Kumar, product design director at NUI Maynooth.
“One common theme in a lot of the entries was digital school books – obviously reflecting how students feel carrying heavy books to and from school every day,” Ms Kumar said. The designs, she said, showed “amazing creativity and innovation”. While they were very imaginative and futuristic, many also provided practical solutions to real-life problems.
The competition generated strong interest on the internet, with more than 40,000 votes registered by the public.
The winning senior entry, a Zen workstation, was proposed by Zachery Holmes from Sutton Park School in Dublin. He was one of four Sutton Park students who made the shortlist. His design was inspired by palm trees he saw on holiday in California. It includes a flat panel screen with an inbuilt touch-screen computer. All the school books are available on the workstation, which links up with the teacher’s computer. Asked what he would do with his €500 winnings, the 15-year-old said: “I’m going to put it in the bank. I know it sounds boring but I’m saving for my first car.”
Borris Vocational School’s Brian O’Neill won the junior prize for his “cyber visor”. This also eliminates the need for school books by providing all the images and text in the glasses, with the sound coming from headphones.
He planned to buy new shoes with his winnings. “And invest it,” prompted his business teacher, Aileen Brennan. “Oh yes,” he agreed.
NUI Maynooth president Prof John Hughes said such innovation and creativity had growing relevance in the economic downturn. “It has potentially the benefit of contributing both to the educational and the economic development of this country.”
