The Wonders of Technology

Abstract

At present, the teaching of patternmaking usually takes place in a lecture-lab setting in which the instructor teaches the steps and students duplicate the work. Patternmaking courses are slowly moving toward an Internet-based format, for which students no longer attend class sessions at a certain time or place. Such innovative ways of providing education have, however, typically been provided through a text-based format. How should visual topics such as patternmaking be dealt with, now and in the future? This article explores the possibilities for use of animation software for teaching patternmaking and projects its use into the future, suggesting immersive virtual reality and holograms as teaching technologies. An examination of current research and application of these technologies and of ways they may play a role in the future of education is presented.