An education oriented, creative commons / open source project wants to ask you a

3D Printing
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1

An education oriented, creative commons / open source project wants to ask you a couple of questions regarding 3D printers in elementary schools.

  1. How do you think, 3D printer in schools can help teachers improve lessons?
  2. What do you think, need to happen in order for your first answer to become a reality?

Thanks for your help.

2

To answer your first question, I think teachers would be able to increase interest and participation through the use of 3D printing.

I recently spent the day at my kids’ school speaking with them about 3D printing and doing demo prints. To say they were excited was an understatement.

The teachers themselves were just as equally mesmerized at what they were seeing. A few days later my son, who’s in 6th grade, came home and said they were studying Easter Island and his teacher suggested he print something. So we cranked out a Moai print. He was able to seemingly bring something to life.

Yet, in order for any change to happen within the class, it all starts with the educators. We’re seeing where technology is being pushed onto them where kids are receiving iPads, but for several teachers who have 30 years of experiencing, embracing technology has been intimidating. So they’re slow to incorporate the technology into their curriculum. I’m still asking why is it they’re carrying home roller bags of full of books while they have an iPad under their arm?

3

Building something and/or being creative is fun for most students regardless of what is being built. There are plenty of less complex (cheaper) options for classrooms that can provide the same types of learning experiences with a much gentler learning curve.