Week 7: How can 3D printing change the way we think about education?
What is 3D printing? According to dictionary.com, it is a printing process that involves making three-dimensional objects from digital models by applying many thin layers of quick-drying material on top of each other. I think 3D printing could have drastic effects on the way we think about education. 3D printing will greatly capture the student’s attention and creativity. The article “3D Printing for Education” says that young students get bored with text. Making information visible helps, but when you want to keep students interested, you print it in 3D. A 3D printer will instantly transform a classroom into an interactive learning environment. Students can print out what they are reading about and actually see and feel objects.
In my social studies class, student can print out globes, famous buildings, landscapes, or anything we are reading about. Once they print out an object, they can do a research report about it, or even paint what they printed out. I think a lot can be done with a 3D printer. All it takes is the imagination of the kids to come up with something they want to print out.
The article, “20 Amazing Things You Can Make”says you can create designs or print 3D models of just about anything under the sun, provided you have the template. So you can print many things within your classroom if you have the templates. That is pretty amazing! 3D printing is relevant in teaching and learning as a way to enable “more authentic exploration of objects that may not be readily available” to teachers and students; it provides a means to let students handle “fragile objects,” such as fossils and artifacts that can be fairly quickly prototyped and printed out; and it opens up “new possibilities for learning activities” (Schaffhauser, 2013).
I believe there are endless possibilities in having a 3D printer in your room. I think it will help all students see what they are learning. Now they can make a 3D model of a skeleton if they are studying about bones, a 3D Taj Mahal if they are studying about it in social studies, or anything that a student can think of. I think it would bring out the creativity of the student. They think of it and then see if there is a template, and print it out. I think having 3D printers in the classroom will be a change for the better for education. It will benefit the students and help them to be engaged and learn. If it gets the students excited then I am all for it!
References
3D Printing. (2015.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved June 22, 2015, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/3d printing
20 Amazing Creations You Can Make With 3D Printing. (2015). Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/3d-printings/
On a mission to help schools uncover the benefits of 3D printing for teaching. (2015). Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://www.lpfrg.com/education
Schaffhauser, D. (2013). 3D Printing in the Classroom: 5 Tips for Bringing New Dimensions to Your Students’ Experiences. Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2013/12/11/3D-Printing-in-the-Classroom-5-Tips-for-Bringing-New-Dimensions-to-Your-Students-Experiences.aspx?Page=3
teacherclass@ak 
I think it would be awesome if the 3D Printing were available to the rural schools in Alaska. Just imagine the detail the Elders would be able to give before another generation of Elders are lost. I don’t think I’ve ever seen very many replicas of what our world used to look like from a students point of view. My own Grandmother grew up in the time of the qasgiqs/sod houses. When I moved to Barrow, we had a class at Pignik, where some old sod houses were in the process of being archived by archeologists. We didn’t have a chance to go inside, but just imagine the possibilities to make oral tradition or oral history come alive. I have always thought that the knowledge that our Alaska Native Elders is more valuable than the knowledge that is taught to us in history books.
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That would be awesome to 3D print things the older generation use to use. Yes I agree the knowledge that the elders share is so precious and valuable.
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Great post, I so never thought about the applications you came up with! I would love to be able to print out little buildings and create a diorama for social studies, or print out a dinosaur to examine. This is technology that I can totally dig!! The more blogs I read, the more ideas I can come up with for uses in the classroom. I can truly say I am excited to see one of these work, and am going to look for one to observe.
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I would love to see one in action. I know I would be just as excited as the kids. 🙂
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I love your view on the 20 amazing things that can be made with 3D printer…my reaction was not as positive. I felt upset at the way our nation throws money around and although really cool, so frivolous and I felt wasteful. In a time when our state and district is tightening the budget, it’s hard to justify those 20 amazing things. BUT, as you pointed out, there are really 20 amazing things that could be done in each of our classrooms that would inspire and grow our students.
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I hear you. I hate being wasteful and so many people waste so many things,
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