Draft of BIG IDEA: Using 3D printing to enhance student learning
Last year I received a Makebot 3D printer through Donors Choose and expanded my classroom’s 3D printing capabilities with two 3Doodlers. My 5th grade students were very excited to use the 3D printer. They were able to print rocket ornaments for Christmas with their names on them, picture frames for Mother’s Day, and an avatar for boardgames they made using Quizlet. The most exciting project was when the students went through the design process and made something of their own. They worked in groups of four, drew out a design on paper with measurements, and created their design using Tinkercad on the computer. We were then able to print their designs with the 3D printer. Many of the projects did not come out the way they imagined, but the students were able to examine their objects that they printed out to see what went wrong. It wasn’t just failure, it was a reason to learn more. I want to expand on this.
My goal for this upcoming school year is to incorporate technology, specifically the use of 3D printing, to enhance and expand on student learning. I will be moving from 5th grade to 6th grade this year where I will teach 54 students Math and Science. My goal to implement technology purposefully will be implemented daily and the use of 3D printers will be included depending on the topics we are covering. I feel like the students and myself have just fallen for the novelty of 3D printing. It is new, exciting, and now all the talk in education technology conferences (SXSWedu, ICE, Tech Talk). Everyone seems to talk about how “cool” this technology is. I want to be able to move pass the “coolness” factor and use the 3D printer and the 3Doodlers to expand on the learning.
There are many projects that I hope to accomplish this year. In their Social Studies class with another teacher, the students research different ancient civilizations including Mayans and Aztecs. I hope to bring their knowledge of the various pyramids and artifacts into their Math and Science class. I would like for them to create scale models of the artifacts and pyramids using the 3D printer. They will learn about fractions and scale while learning about the different materials the Aztecs and Mayans had to build these items. Another major project I anticipate is for the class to work with Enabling the Future. This is a great resource, where our class will be matched with a person that needs a prosthetic. We will work with a doctor that measures the person in need that needs the prosthetic and we will use our 3D printer to print out the pieces of the prosthetic. The students will learn about giving back to the community and learn about disabilities and prosthetics.
I am not focused just on the outcomes with the 3D printer. I want the students to think about the building and design process using the software associated with 3D printing such as Blender and Tinkercad. I want the students to think about their math studies in real world situations and Blender and Makerbot could really help. Last year, we already touched upon cost of the materials and objects they were printing and how they could scale their creations, or not use rafts to reduce the amount of filament used. I want to dive more into this so the students could really what their outputs costs. The Blender software also uses graphing details with x,y, and z axes and various polygons to design the objects to be printed. I want to make these concepts connected more into our studies of Geometry so that I am not teaching these concepts as if they are singular lessons.
With a new grade level, new subject areas, new teachers I am working with, this is going to be a roller coaster of a year. But, which year isn’t? I am excited to teach new content areas because I will be looking at the content through new eyes. I know that I want the students to elevate their learning by using 3D printing and I am starting fresh with them. I want to be driven by what 3D printing can help us learn than what products we could build with it.
Sources that I have found to use are:
http://www.thingiverse.com/curriculum/designs
http://www.lpfrg.com/blog/how-to-integrate-3d-printing-in-education/
http://enablingthefuture.org/
http://www.makerbot.com/uses/for-educators
My goal for this upcoming school year is to incorporate technology, specifically the use of 3D printing, to enhance and expand on student learning. I will be moving from 5th grade to 6th grade this year where I will teach 54 students Math and Science. My goal to implement technology purposefully will be implemented daily and the use of 3D printers will be included depending on the topics we are covering. I feel like the students and myself have just fallen for the novelty of 3D printing. It is new, exciting, and now all the talk in education technology conferences (SXSWedu, ICE, Tech Talk). Everyone seems to talk about how “cool” this technology is. I want to be able to move pass the “coolness” factor and use the 3D printer and the 3Doodlers to expand on the learning.
There are many projects that I hope to accomplish this year. In their Social Studies class with another teacher, the students research different ancient civilizations including Mayans and Aztecs. I hope to bring their knowledge of the various pyramids and artifacts into their Math and Science class. I would like for them to create scale models of the artifacts and pyramids using the 3D printer. They will learn about fractions and scale while learning about the different materials the Aztecs and Mayans had to build these items. Another major project I anticipate is for the class to work with Enabling the Future. This is a great resource, where our class will be matched with a person that needs a prosthetic. We will work with a doctor that measures the person in need that needs the prosthetic and we will use our 3D printer to print out the pieces of the prosthetic. The students will learn about giving back to the community and learn about disabilities and prosthetics.
I am not focused just on the outcomes with the 3D printer. I want the students to think about the building and design process using the software associated with 3D printing such as Blender and Tinkercad. I want the students to think about their math studies in real world situations and Blender and Makerbot could really help. Last year, we already touched upon cost of the materials and objects they were printing and how they could scale their creations, or not use rafts to reduce the amount of filament used. I want to dive more into this so the students could really what their outputs costs. The Blender software also uses graphing details with x,y, and z axes and various polygons to design the objects to be printed. I want to make these concepts connected more into our studies of Geometry so that I am not teaching these concepts as if they are singular lessons.
With a new grade level, new subject areas, new teachers I am working with, this is going to be a roller coaster of a year. But, which year isn’t? I am excited to teach new content areas because I will be looking at the content through new eyes. I know that I want the students to elevate their learning by using 3D printing and I am starting fresh with them. I want to be driven by what 3D printing can help us learn than what products we could build with it.
Sources that I have found to use are:
http://www.thingiverse.com/curriculum/designs
http://www.lpfrg.com/blog/how-to-integrate-3d-printing-in-education/
http://enablingthefuture.org/
http://www.makerbot.com/uses/for-educators