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<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; A three-dimensional, virtual-reality software package will give students an opportunity to explore a variety of topics from biology to mechanics, Lake-Lehman Superintendent James McGovern said Monday.</p><p>The district&#8217;s school board authorized leasing a learning platform called zSpace at the cost of $23,995, plus shipping, for a year, making it the first district in the region to acquire the program, McGovern said.</p><p>&#8220;There are about 300 schools nationally that use zSpace,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The libraries at Ross, Lehman-Jackson and Lake-Noxen elementary schools will have one zSpace computer and the high school will have four, McGovern said.</p><p>&#8220;What it is &#8212; students are able to take programs and 3-D imagery and through the use of a stylus pull apart and rotate 3-D images,&#8221; McGovern said. &#8221; I was able to take a picture of the (human) spine, rotate it, and see how it all connected and see how the nerves connected. You can do that with an eyeball, with a volcano.&#8221;</p><p>The zSpace equipment will be installed in each school&#8217;s library at stations called &#8220;thinker spaces,&#8221; which can accommodate up to three students at a time, he said.</p><p>&#8220;It is a whole new concept of a library that we are promoting to inspire intellectual curiosity,&#8221; said the superintendent. &#8220;We will be teaching students how to think, not what to think.&#8221;</p><p>The options are endless, said Brian Pipech, director of pupil services.</p><p>Pipech was introduced to zSpace through a think-tank group, McGovern said.</p><p>&#8220;I was skeptical at first, but when they did the presentation here, I was blown away,&#8221; recalled McGovern. &#8220;I learned more &#8212; I could have read for three days about the spine that I learned in 20 minutes on my own.&#8221;</p><p>The zSpace technology installation and staff training will be completed before the first day of school, Pipech said.</p><p>In other news:</p><p>&#8226; School board member Karen Masters said the anonymous donor who gave over 200 backpacks to the district to help financially stressed families last school year has struck again.</p><p>The unnamed benefactor will donate 300 backpacks this time around.</p><p>The items will be divided between the district&#8217;s four schools, and principals will connect eligible families, Masters said.</p><p>&#8226; The next school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, in the library of the Lake-Lehman Junior-Senior High School.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Lake-Lehman board approves 3-D, virtual-reality software