3D Dreams and Virtual Worlds: Galston Students Dive into Design with UTS

Sydney, NSW – Students at Galston Public School were given a glimpse into the future of learning last week, when Dr Keith Heggart from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) visited as part of the school’s STEM enrichment initiative. The visit aimed to ignite curiosity and creativity among students through hands-on experiences with cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing and immersive reality.

Invited by the school’s principal, Dr Heggart, a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Research in Education in a Digital Society (CREDS) at UTS, brought a design-thinking lens to the classroom. With his extensive background in digital learning and technology-enabled education, Dr Heggart guided students through engaging activities that introduced them to tools like Tinkercad, a 3D modelling platform, and CoSpaces, a virtual reality design environment that enables young learners to build and explore digital worlds.

“The students were incredible – enthusiastic, imaginative, and ready to take risks in their learning,” Dr Heggart said. “What impressed me most was their willingness to explore problems from multiple angles and come up with creative solutions.”

The workshops combined practical digital skills with a focus on design principles, challenging students to not only learn how to use the technology, but to think critically about how it could be used to improve their communities. From conceptualising functional objects using 3D printing to building interactive immersive environments, students had the opportunity to explore how STEM and design converge in real-world applications.

“Technology can sometimes feel abstract,” Dr Heggart explained. “But when students can manipulate 3D models or walk through a virtual world they’ve built themselves, it suddenly becomes real and meaningful. That’s when deep learning happens.”

This visit was part of CREDS’ wider mission to explore the intersections of technology, learning, and society, with a particular focus on empowering schools and educators to harness digital tools in transformative ways. As schools across Australia increasingly adopt future-focused approaches to education, initiatives like Galston’s are becoming key opportunities for collaboration between educators and researchers.

Galston Public School Deputy Principal, Dean Finch, said the visit was a powerful learning experience for students and staff alike.

“Our goal is to provide students with opportunities to think like designers and engineers,” the principal said. “Having Dr Heggart here gave students access to a depth of knowledge and experience they wouldn’t normally have – and it showed them what’s possible when creativity meets technology.”