Project Connect: education technology

The challenge

Our Insights and Inspirations (I&I) highlight creative technologies and thought-provoking concepts. We developed I&I to enthuse our customers – and lay the groundwork for creating extraordinary experiences, together.

Our innovative education desk allows you to be a leader in education technology trends – and to meet the challenges of our changing world and the future of education. We are ready to implement these concepts, and others, into your portfolio today

What

Project Connect uses new education technology trends to meet the challenges of our changing world and the future of education.

Who

This concept was created for school children, pre-K to 5th grade, who benefit from a socially distanced, simple-to-use technology interface. It can also be used for home schooled children, and those with medical conditions who require remote learning.

Where

A dedicated workspace in the home that provides students the necessary tools to match the in-person learning experience. The dedicated space creates a physical and healthy separation between a child’s home life and school life.

Result

We created a concept desk filled with creative and exciting technology, giving our customers new ideas to make the transition from classroom to distance learning as seamless as possible.

After multiple iterations and internal ideation, we developed a desk that balances a familiar form with futuristic capabilities. Parents and children should be able to choose how and when to use education technology. So, we created a way to hide many of the desk’s technology elements when not in use.

Traditional and unique

A contemporary desk that feels as familiar to a child as walking into a classroom. Each one is color customizable—just as unique as the child sitting in it.

Growth and comfort

The desk can be a permanent fixture for children ranging from pre-K through elementary school. Children should be comfortable while learning, but traditional desks are typically one size fits all with little to no room for adjustment. So, we designed the legs of desks and chairs to be easily replaced with taller or shorter legs, so that the desk grows with the child.

Work and play

The top surface is a large work area, designed to take on a variety of activities like painting, drawing, writing or playing—the possibilities are endless.

Helpful and focused

Dubbed the Agenda, the informational display lists upcoming events and assignments due. The display can be hidden, when desired, via a dot matrix display embedded beneath the surface. It also serves as a warning display to prevent interruptions while focusing on tests and quizzes.

Learn and engage

Opening the desk transforms it into a technology hub, with a focus on a fun educational experience. Encouraging children to engage in distanced learning is challenging. But captivating technologies and centralizing content helps bridge the gap between classmates and teachers.

Connect and teach

The vibrant main display is used to interact with classmates and teachers while keeping the focus on the day’s lesson. A clean and uncluttered user interface heightens engagement and eliminates distractions.

Social and secure

Socializing is critical to positive early development. The built-in camera helps students engage with both teachers and classmates. Safety and privacy are also paramount, so the camera is motorized and only activates upon permission.

Light and visuals

The camera can extend horizontally to light up the surface beneath with an LED array. In this extended position, the camera has a top-down view of the desk, enabling project sharing and collaborative creations.

Advanced and interactive

Children physically engage with the lesson of the day through the Chalkboard digital display. The matte finish provides paper-like friction for the stylus and reduces glare, and the black background reduces eye strain. The stylus tip dynamically shows the selected color when writing on the surface.

To further engage students, the smart display combines near-field communication (NFC) and the LiDAR camera to take simple blocks and transform them into next-level learning tools. Block position is relayed to the display, highlighting combinations for learning possibilities.

Utilizing these technologies has endless possibilities for engagement tools and toys.

Solutions for your portfolio

Project Connect is just a glimpse of what we can do. With endless possibilities for customization, we’ll help you design, prototype and manufacture the solution that makes sense for your portfolio.