Emerging Technology #3: Photosynth

I chose to study Photosynth for my third emerging technology because it looked interesting and challenging to use. The first two emerging technologies that I tried were too simple for me. I always like a challenge, and I thought that Photosynth would be more interesting for me to experiment with.

First, I will describe what Photosynth is. Photosynth is a free application that allows users to upload pictures and create a 3-D tour of an object. Photosynth uses a series of flat photgraphs to create a 3-D interactive image of a given object. The Photosynth website (http://photosynth.net) says that Photosynth is particularly good at showing viewers the texture and dimension of objects. Photosynth works by looking for similarities between images and "stitching" the images together to create a 3-D presentation of that image. Photosynth allows uses to post their work to blogs and share their 3-D images with other users online via a gallery.

Here is a link to a blog that provides excellent steps on how to Photosynth objects (for example, a car): http://blogs.msdn.com/photosynth/.

The applications for Photosynth are endless in education. Here are a few applications that I came up with:

1. Teachers can create virtual field trips for students.
2. Students can use Photosynth to learn the basics of photography.
3. Photosynth would be a great tool to use in online collaboration.
4. Photosynth could be used to create a 3-D presentation to enhance any PowerPoint Presentation or lecture.
5. Students could create Photosynths as visual aids for speeches or show-n-tell.
6. Photosynth could be used in interior design schools.
7. Photsynth could be used to help students understand how to create a 3-D sketch or image in art class.

Surprisingly enough, I found Photosynth very easy to use. I did, however, encounter a few issues. First of all, in order to view or create Photosynths, you have to download special software. This software is free, but some school corporations do not allow teachers and students to download software. Also, there is a limit to what kinds of objects you can upload into Photosynth. The Photosynth website recommends that users avoid taking pictures of shiny, moving, or monotone objects. Another issue that I came across was that you have to enter a lot of photographs if you want a decent 3-D image. In the tutorial on the webpage, the speaker suggests that you take 24 pictures. I uploaded more than 30 images and the 3-D visual that I made was not nearly as good as the ones posted on the main website. When you view my image below, you will see where the picture is "jumpy" and the transitions are not very smooth. This is because I did not take pictures at small enough intervals. I did not take enough "over-lapping" pictures. A final issue that I encountered was that the Photosynth took over 20 minutes to create. Many of our students are not patient enough to sit and wait for the application to finish creating their 3-D image. Therefore, if I used Photosynth in my classroom, I would plan an activity for the students to do while they are waiting for their Photosynths to be created. Overall, I really enjoyed using this technology. I think that it would be a great tool to use occassionally in the classroom. It is definitely a tool that requires practice to master, however.


Here is a link to a photosynth that I created. I took pictures of a sculpture that my husband and I received as a present when we were expecting my daughter, Emma.

http://photosynth.net/edit.aspx?cid=be9cf659-1b54-4dc5-877e-47a04381dbce&wa=wsignin1.0