User:Rocktravis18
Return to: ETAP 623 Spring 2021 (Byrne) |Rock's Mini-Course | Rock's Portfolio Page
About Me
I am currently in my fourth year as a teacher after spending my first 13 years professionally as a Design Engineer. This is my second year in my dream job, teaching at the school that I graduated from and where my kids also attend(First grade and Kindergarten). It is a complete dream come true, but hasn't come without a ton of hard work, dedication, and drive to never stop trying. While I am still trying to get my feet under me in a "new" district, I am also completely overhauling the 20 year old curriculum as well as the physical spaces that students get to learn and work. I am also trying to network with other teachers in the school so that I'm not viewed as "just another Tech teacher" that hides in the Tech hallway. There are days that I feel this is too hard, but then I see a student laugh, or be excited about being in class, or cry when the semester is over because they are going to miss my class, and that's what makes me continue to keep pushing ahead with ideas.
My Topic and Purpose
We will be exploring 3D printing in the classroom. I am going to inform everyone about the potential in using this type of technology, as well as introduce teachers to a really easy modeling program for use with their students. Why should teachers be interested in using 3D printing in their classes?
Teachers are constantly trying to find new ways for students to become engaged in learning, one of those ways is project-based learning. Many students have trouble reading from a textbook, or listening to a lecture, then answering a worksheet, and follow that up with a quiz on what they learned. Why not get them designing solutions for problems, or use their ideas to be creative and make learning fun? 3D printing is an excellent resource to use in your class because it is an up and coming technology in the real world, and with 3D printers being less expensive than ever, it’s an inexpensive tool to hook students’ interests in learning. In this mini-course, I will introduce you to some ideas of how to incorporate this technology in your classroom, how to get started modeling (or find models), list some popular 3D printers, and what kind of real-world application does 3D printing have for the future?
Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content
Students will be able to determine if a 3D printer is right for their classroom. They will also be introduced to the future of 3D modeling in solving problems professionally. Students will finally be able to design a product to be 3D printed using an online modeling program.
Some questions to consider:
Needs Assessment/Analysis of the Learner and Context
Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered learning approach where teachers become more of a support system instead of a knowledge expert attempting to transfer that knowledge to the students. This is a form of constructivism where students wouldn’t be passively receiving information, but instead they would be learning by doing (Buffalo Website). Please note, project-based learning and problem-based learning are similar in theory, but are different philosophies. PBL gives many students who may have difficulty with reading, reciting, and repeating, a chance to be creative and learn by creating some sort of project for the teacher to assess learning. Many teachers are buying into this approach as students are thoroughly engaged throughout the lessons. An added bonus is that students are proud of their final product because they were the ones that created it opposed to an older approach to learning. That being said, PBL is not without its drawbacks. Something teachers need to keep in mind when introducing this concept is that some students that aren’t motivated at school, or are true novices in how learning works, may have a difficult time understanding the concept. In some circumstances, students new to learning (novices) won’t be able to handle the responsibility of being intrinsically motivated, and thus may grow frustrated putting more work back on the teacher (Edutopia). Also, depending on where you find your research on PBL, there are reports that argue both sides of the successes (or lack thereof) of this theory. Lastly, project-based learning relies on students working in groups to create a solution to the learning problem; some students might not feel comfortable working on teams and being mature enough to get their work done. Teachers need to understand that this is just another tool that they could try in their classroom to engage all students in learning. There are many different ways to introduce PBL to your classroom whether it be a Shark Tank project, a debate, planning a garden, or in our case using 3D printing to help create that solution.
Another reason this should be introduced to classrooms is that there are careers out there that implement 3D printing technologies to solve world problems. An obvious career choice for 3D modeling/printing is going to be engineering and designing. But what about architecture? Creating miniature models of different types of architecture to show students the differences between designs and to analyze what they like and don't. What about creating entire houses out of 3D printed material? Or what about 3D printing food? There are chefs out there that are currently printing their own food and making it look incredible at their restaurant (McConnell). There are also plenty of opportunities to use 3D printing to create artificial limbs (McConnell) for someone after a devastating injury. Careers like these are going to need students to not only be interested, but innovative to solve many of the world's problems, and 3D printing is a tool that can be used along the way.
1. Instructional Problem
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a way to truly engage many students that have difficulty reading from a textbook then answering a worksheet, then taking a quiz; that process isn't how real life problems are solved (Terada 2021). Let's make learning a bit more interactive and allow your students the ability to think of unique solutions for problems and create a working part from a 3D printer! 3D printing is a major buzzword among administration and we are seeing more and more schools latching onto this (becoming less expensive) technology. As a teacher, you may get the opportunity to have a 3D printer in your classroom, so let's try to make the most out of this situation and learn a few basic skills to provide a new avenue to better engage students.
2. What is to be Learned
Participants will learn what project based learning (PBL) is and how this effective strategy improves student engagement and learning. They will also learn some basic 3D modeling skills using TinkerCAD, as well as learn how to download 3D material from Thingiverse. Lastly, students will learn about different 3D printers as well as the future for 3D printing in society..
3. The Learners
Learners of this course include anyone that wants to learn a new skill, as well as learners looking to learn about 3D printing in the classroom.
4. Context for Instruction
Learners will be completing this course with an enthusiasm to learn and have an open mind about new skills or ideas. There will be various different ways to learn the material presented, and units can be repeated to ensure understanding. There are no prerequisites or foundational knowledge required, only the Internet and curiosity.
5. Exploring the Instructional Problem and Solution
Participants will be introduced to the idea of Project Based Learning and learning how to implement that concept into their class. They will then be taught how to create a simple 3D model and then asked to create a model on their own after being given a set of parameters. Along with an introduction to the various types of 3D printers available to buy, learners will also find out what the future holds for this very unique technology and how it could (potentially) change the world.
6. Goals of this Mini-Course
The main goal for this course is to introduce teachers to the idea of 3D printing in their classroom and give them some basic 3D modeling skills. Another goal is that teachers will learn about project -based learning and how that can connect to 3D printing.
Performance-Based Objectives
Teachers will be able to investigate which 3D printer would be right for their classroom Teachers will be able to explore a 3D modeling software that would be right for their classroom Teachers will be able to create a 3D object in TinkerCAD Teachers will be able to look through a database to find 3D model files (Thingiverse) Teachers will be able to decide if 3D printing in the classroom is right for them
Task Analysis
Types of Printers: Dremel Digilab 3D40
https://www.3dtechvalley.com/best-3d-printer-for-schools/
This printer is one of the more top of the line printers coming in at just under $1,700, but based on reviews, it has everything an educator would be looking for. It is easy to set up, it’s reliable, it’s fast at printing, and best of all, their customer service is excellent. Also, with this package, teachers also receive 30 lesson plans, support, and filament (the printing material) which is an excellent way to kickstart your experience.
Stratsys https://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers
If your school has a huge budget and 3D printing is at the top of their wants, this printer is the printer to go with. It’s almost the size of a refrigerator, but it is the best on the market for producing legitimate prototypes quickly. There are companies out there that use this printer to do exactly that, develop prototypes prior to mass manufacturing. Most schools won’t even bother looking into something like this, but if you get the opportunity and want the best, this is the best (according to multiple teachers that I interviewed for this section).
FlashForge https://www.flashforge.com/
In our classroom, we have 3 of these printers (the consumer level, not the professional grade), and they are fine. There’s no bells or whistles, but the prints come out pretty good and pretty quickly (relatively speaking). It is also straightforward to take a model you created (or downloaded) and upload it to the printer, so novice teachers don’t need to be intimidated with the new technology. The big issue we run into with this one is that it doesn’t print fast enough (even with 3) for every student to create something and have it printed. Even a small print can take 2 hours or more, and when you’re talking about 125 students per teacher trying to print to them, there’s just not enough time to get all of them done.
3D modeling programs Thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/
This website offers a searchable database of already created 3D models. Students LOVE to browse through and find some interesting (and amazing) solutions to in-class problems. A couple quick clicks and the model is downloaded to your removable drive, which is then plugged into your 3D printer, and your student is off and running. Having a library like this is very beneficial for a teacher because nobody has to know how to do any type of 3D modeling, just click, download, upload, press go!
TinkerCAD https://www.tinkercad.com/
For teachers that are looking for students to be a bit more creative in their class, TinkerCAD is a free, cloud-based program that uses simple instructions and shapes for students to be introduced to the concept of 3D modeling. There are many tutorials and lesson plans for free through the website to help support teachers/students that are trying 3D modeling for the first time. As students have more exposure to this program, they can really make some creative designs; then they can download their file to a removable drive, insert that drive into your 3D printer and press go. I have also attached a video to walk you through how to create a very simple design with some basic cuts and blocks.
Curriculum Map
References and Resources
https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-research-makes-powerful-case-pbl http://www.buffalo.edu/ubcei/enhance/learning/constructivism.html https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1122039.pdf file:///media/fuse/drivefs-13b0a89a2df60833b52d29be7fce0409/root/sustainability-10-03595-v2.pdf https://www.makersempire.com/5-amazing-3d-printing-careers-to-inspire-students/
https://www.3dtechvalley.com/best-3d-printer-for-schools/ https://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers https://www.flashforge.com/ https://www.thingiverse.com/ https://www.tinkercad.com/
Pages to check out/use as activities: How to implement 3D printing: https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2018/09/4-steps-create-strong-3d-printing-program Ideas for different subjects: https://www.theedadvocate.org/3d-printing-activities-try-classroom/ Resource Database: https://www.k12irc.org/tools/3d/classroom.php