Skip to main content

I don't Need a 3d Printer in My Elementary Classroom! Or Do I?

I Don't Need a 3D Printer in My Elementary Classroom!  

Or Do I?

By Shawna Degen
Image of a desktop 3-D printer
I am going to get up on my soapbox and tell you that teachers have a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time. As an elementary school teacher, we teach multiple content areas to a range of children, often with extreme behaviors happening at the same time. Now, we need to integrate 21st-century tools into our already overflowing plate. Chromebooks, iPaps, green screens, coding, apps galore are coming at teachers and students faster than we can learn how to use the resources. By the time we teach the kids how to use the many forms of technology, some are out of date and another newer and better tool is available. Now 3D printers have become easily accessible and the push to integrate this technology is at our classroom doors. Honestly, I have to admit, I am not sure I need a 3D printer in my classroom! Or do I?
Image of student creating in a makerspace

Why Should I Use 3D Printing in the Elementary Classroom?

"You have to focus on the learning model first followed by the technology in service of that learning model. Initiatives that start with the technology almost always fail." (Horn, 2017)
As educators in a 21st Century Classroom, we are charged with integrating technology into our curriculum to better prepare children with tools and resources for the ever-changing world. The knowledge to understand processes and design are essential skills. While 3D printing was unattainable in the past, the price of the technology has come down, actually making it quite feasible for many homes to have one. The resources to support the technology have become as abundant as well. But, when is the right time to begin using one in a classroom? 
By now most educators have been to at least one professional development where 3D printers are the topic of discussion. While the printers may be a common language to engineers and programmers, using 3D printers in a classroom is still relatively new. 
I am of the makerspace mindset, believing that fabrication and creation are essential skills, but I wonder why aren't my drawers of makerspace materials, iPads, Chromebooks and tinkering tools enough? The students in my multiage grade 1 and 2 classrooms are just learning to read and write. Can they learn to use a 3D printer in a meaningful way or will be become an overwhelming and unused tool? 

Are Kids Overwhelmed and Addicted to Technology and Are Schools Part of the Problem?

I think it is important to consider the argument that while children need to learn computational thinking and design skills, at what age do we start using such advanced technology? Are we giving the very youngest of learners too much technology when they are just learning social skills and how to play with friends? The argument about this has been ongoing for years. While I believe in moderation, I am inclined to also believe that young children are harmed by too much screen and technology. The evidence supporting technology in primary education is mixed. A recent article from The Guardian reports "A 2015 OECD report found that the impact of computers on pupil performance was 'mixed, at best', and in most cases, computers were 'hurting learning." (Glaser, 2018). Honestly, technology in the classroom in a concentration such as it is now, is still relatively new. I think the jury is still out on this debate. While I agree on everything in moderation, I am firm believer technology is beneficial when it has a purposeful role in the classroom and is not forced to meet some need outside the curriculum it is intended to enhance. This is a really important point in your piece...possibly the most important piece of all! So can 3D printers be purposeful? I think yes, but the level of integration and support will vary depending on the age and learning goals of the students.

Design Thinking meets 3D Printing

To decide how beneficial 3D printers are in the elementary classroom, I needed to look at what students could create and why? Excellent questions to ask and answer There are abundant articles and blogs supporting project-based learning and the need to give students a variety of ways to create to demonstrate their learning. The Buck Institute for Education is a leader in the PBS movement in classrooms. In the elementary classroom, PBS is the process of designing and creating to demonstrate understanding. While PBS has been around for many years, enter Design Thinking which the text Invent to Learn by Martinez & Stager describe the importance of "for students to be engaged in authentic design activities." (Martinez & Stager, loc 1118) . But what does that mean in our very young elementary classrooms, quite possibly creating a landform with a chunk of clay? Or does it need to be taken to the next level where they consider a real-world problem and look for ways to fix the problem? Here comes 21st-century education into the mix and we have 3D printers to consider with the clay.

What Can Students Learn with 3D Printers?

This is the question of the day. An article written by Erin Riley explores the connection between digital fabrication and design. "Digital fabrication, which begins with digital design and ends with the output from a fabrication machine, parallels pre-digital processes for making things." (Riley, 8) . The author goes onto to say "digital fabrication is the merging of the human and the technical." (Riley, 8) . Do 6-year-olds need to understand this process? Maybe not, but can they benefit from it? Quite possibly yes. As 21st century teachers, we are asking our learners at all levels to make real-world connections. Shouldn't even the youngest of learners have some foundation of the design process and fabrication? They likely should. Are they capable of addressing real-world problems and finding solutions, yes I think so? Children see the world through clearer eyes than many adults. The problems and solutions they can address are not the same as adults. 3D printing can help students learn at the very least the design process, including the concepts of fabrication.
Beginning 3D printer users can start using 3D printers with resources like Tinkercad an internet-based building resource that is similar to legos in terms of virtual construction. Tinkercad allows for 3D Design, electronics, and coding. Students can also access designs from Thingiverse a 3D design sharing resource.
The design process allows students to be real-world problem solvers. Students can collaborate with each other, build planning and design skills, create, design, and recreate. The self-directed learning that takes place in 3D design printing can provide strong foundation skills that will assist students to assist students in all curriculum areas.
Not to mention the pride that comes from creating meaningful projects.
This deeper understanding can include:
  • Being Inventors - Instead of buying something, like a pencil holder for their desk students can create on using a 3D printer. 
  • Art - 3D printing can introduce a whole level or art creation in the elementary art room. 
  • Digital Citizenship Skills - Through collaboration students can learn how to have respectful discussions and comments in online creation activities. 
  • Collaboration Skills, Hands-On Digital Creation, and more.

Ideas to Inspire:  Better Learning By Design and Creation

Image of a toilet paper tube holder created using a 3-D printer
"Creative Commons 3D Toilet Roll Holder" by Kai Hendry is licensed under CC by 2.0

https://www.weareteachers.com/3d-printing-math-science/
https://www.commonsense.org/education/lesson-plans/bringing-history-to-life-with-3d-printing
https://www.commonsense.org/education/lesson-plans/introduction-to-3d-printing-designprint-a-board-game-piece

Resources to Consider

Reflection

So, I will now get off the soapbox that I stood on when I started this conversation. While I understand that technology isn't a one size fits all, I do believe that as teachers in a 21st-century classroom, we have an obligation to consider the technologies available to our learners. Will I try 3D printing in my classroom this year? The answer is a confident yes! But, I will certainly approach it with pre-teaching, exploration for application to real-world problems, and most importantly for me as a teacher, purpose.

References:

Comments

Post a Comment