GSCI 104: 3D Printing for the Classroom
Prerequisites: Education Minor
Class Objectives:
1) Teach students the fundamentals of 3D printing
2) Teach ways in which future teachers can implement 3D printing in the classroom, and what the benefits of 3D printing for students are
3) Allow students to experience the rewards of helping students, and better prepare them for a career in the education field
With the rise of 3D printing, the next step for this fascinating machinery is, unsurprisingly, the schools. GSCI 104: 3D Printing for the Classroom, is a 1 credit course intended for education minors only, specifically in the fields of math, science, or art, that will allow students to learn firsthand the benefits of having 3D printers in schools, a tool that will be useful in an ever-growing technology based society. The students will engage in designing and printing models using the Afinia Printers at a basic level first, and will then progress to more difficult models, which will be donated to local schools around Harrisonburg at the end of the semester. The models being delivered to the schools will include pencil boxes, rulers, and other classroom-related objects. While progressing through the different levels of printing, students will be expected to keep a progress journal which they will be graded on at the end of the course. Also throughout the course, students will be taught lessons on the benefits of 3D printing in the classroom, and how to work with the students and the machinery. A class synopsis is featured below:
| Week | Activity | Learning Objective |
| 1 | Work on Tinkercad Lessons | Understand the primary functions used in creating 3D objects on Tinkercad. Have a solid understanding of how to size objects, use different shapes, connect shapes together, etc. |
| 2 | Print out Quarter Trap | Understand the functions of creating a quarter trap, and understand how to successfully use the 3D Afinia printer. |
| 3 | Print out pencil box**Start writing in journal now | Successfully print a pencil box using pre-made instructions for size and shape. |
| 4 | Print out rulerLesson #1: The benefits of 3D Printing in the Classroom | Successfully print a ruler on their own. |
| 5 | Print out divider tabs | Successfully print divider tabs on their own. |
| 6 | Print out index card dividers | Successfully print out index card divider on their own/other objects of the students’ choice. |
| 7 | Continue printing out objects of students’ choice. | |
| 8 | Print out pencil gripLesson #2: How to implement 3D Printing in the Classroom Safely | Successfully print a pencil grip on their own/other objects of their choice. |
| 9 | Continue printing out objects of students’ choice.Lesson #3: Working with “Problem” children | |
| 10 | Print out key chain with school’s name | Successfully print a key chain/other objects of their choice |
| 11 | Continue printing out objects of students’ choice, but these must be made specifically to the students. | |
| 12 | Deliver items to the local schools. |
The Rise of 3D Printing in Schools Today
Now more than ever, 3D printers are becoming more accessible to teachers in the classroom. A printer that once costed over $1,000 can now be purchased for just under $10o, according to Martin Stevens, CEO of “It is 3D”, the leading 3D Technology Company for education in the UK. With these kind of prices, the implementation of 3D printers for schools has become less of a dream, and more of a reality.
While researching the future of 3D printers in schools, an article titled “MakerBot wants to put a 3D printer in every US public school” caught my attention. MakerBot is a leading 3D Printer Industry based in Brooklyn, New York, and with that kind of support for education, schools could be seeing a few changes in the next few years in regards to 3D printer technologies. According to the founder and Chief Executive of the company, Bre Pettis, “Instead of waiting for someone to create a product for you, you can create your own,” he said. “It can change the whole paradigm of how our children will see innovation and manufacturing in America.”
This article also mentions that the US government supports MakerBot’s motives for the future. Within the White House, there is agreement on the benefits and effectiveness of teaching our future generations the importance of creating, and not just consuming. (http://www.cnet.com/news/makerbot-wants-to-put-a-3d-printer-in-every-us-public-school/)
Video talking about how MakerBot intends to Bring 3D printing into the classroom: http://on.aol.com/video/bringing-the-makerbot-into-the-classroom-517282016
What are the benefits of 3D printing in the classroom?
1) Boosts Creativity: Students are able to work with design in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to, with the help of online 3D printing programs such as TinkerCad, which would be the sole program students in the GSCI 104 class would be working with. Students are able to play around with shapes, colors, and tools that can spark imagination and creativity that can sometimes be left out of constant note taking and text book reading. According to an article titled, “The Next Dimension: 3D Printers” the author states that “We have a generation of children brought up in a virtual world where objects are shown as displays on screens, not in tangible form”–a noteworthy point to make, especially when taking into consideration the age group that would be working with these machines (likely preteens and above), an age group infamous for their constant focus on social media and cellular devices. (http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/supplement-the-next-dimension-3d-printers/55354)
2) Spatial Intelligence: When working with students at a lower learning level than the norm, such as special education students, spatial intelligence comes into play. Spatial intelligence, according to an article titled “7 Reasons Why Every Schools Should Have a 3D Printer,” is “the ability to draw accurate conclusions from observing a three-dimensional environment. It involves interpreting and making judgments about the shape, size, movement, and relationships between surrounding objects, as well as the ability to envision and manipulate 3D models of things that are not immediately visible.” With 3D printers, we now have the ability to design irregular shapes that would not be produced in a normal manufacturing setting. Even more so, the aid in spatial intelligence that models produced from 3D printers gives us is especially valuable for the school psychology field, in which shapes are crucial in assessing children’s learning capabilities. (http://airwolf3d.com/2013/02/27/school-3d-printers-in-the-classroom/)
Class Summary:
Overall, this course will be beneficial for students in many ways by teaching them the core aspects of 3D printing and allowing them to work and become comfortable with a new technology, providing support for local schools around the harrisonburg area, and learning the benefits of 3D printing in the classroom, all the while gaining experience for their future careers as educators. Below is a video which again emphasizes the possibilities and benefits that education will have with adding 3D printers to the classroom.
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