Little Architects with Big Dreams are Building Sustainable Cities for the Future

Young students all over the world are building sustainable solutions to the world's biggest challenges, and the technology they're using to express their ideas is quite outside the box. 

At Escola Ramon Fuster School in Bellaterra, Spain, students created a model for sustainable cities of the future featuring clean transportation, a sustainable architecture, and eco-friendly materials and systems.

Students at Mundaring Primary School in Mundaring, Australia, took on a STEM challenge in which they deconstructed a PC and used the parts—as well as a piece of original design work—to build a model of a new vehicle design.

And students at James Morden School in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, turned into Nature Superheroes, helping educate others in their community and beyond about their regional ecosystem.

While all of these students tackled very different challenges in their classrooms, they all took advantage of powerful technology available through HP Learning Studios to help them solve problems and create solutions in a unique way. 

Creating a Network of Learning 

HP Learning Studios are equipped with the latest technologies, including HP Sprout, a fully integrated desktop 3D scanning solution with 3D object capture, editing, and multiple streamlined 3D print options; x360 convertible PCs powered by Windows 10; and a Dremel 3D Printer. 

As part of the Reinvent the Classroom initiative established by HP and Microsoft, Digital Promise Global is creating a global network of HP Learning Studios designed for student-centered, experiential learning that inspires creation and collaboration. Using these studios, students define the problems they want to solve and then create solutions through specific activities and projects that help them hone their skills in areas such as design thinking, three-dimensional design, and social entrepreneurship.

Today studios are available in dozens of schools across Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States. To support educators, Digital Promise Global provides professional learning opportunities, facilitates an online learning community, and develops creative learning activities and projects for students.

Addressing the Global Challenges

Many of the projects help students focus on specific global challenges, including those that address some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

For example, at the Marrickville High School in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, students decided to take on a gender equality issue that hit close to home—finding ways to increase the number of girls who enroll in their school. As part of the project, students worked on a strategy to address the problem. The students developed a survey to determine which extracurricular activities most appealed to girls and then designed a promotion program, creating posters and a logo using the 3D technology.

And students at the Medical, Engineering and Technology (MET) Professional Academy in Peoria, Arizona, US, took on the goal of good health and well-being when they worked to design a unique prosthetic arm. Unique because the arm would be designed specifically for use by children—but more importantly, designed in a way that allowed the arm to be built by the children themselves. 

In addition to the global network, six HP Learning Studios are being deployed in Lebanon and Jordan to help refugee youth learn in-demand skills. 

Solutions like the HP Learning Studios are helping reinvent the learning experience and bring high-quality education to students around the world.