3D Printing And K-12 Education

Are you looking for some enjoyable ways that you can get kids involved with 3D printing? With the popularity of this topic, it’s no surprise that kids are interested and no surprise that teachers want to make sure they’re making the most out of their abilities. You’ll be able to teach even small children about how these machines work, and you can start building up the interest so that by the time they’re able to operate them they are more than ready to do it.

3D Printing in Kindergarten – While it may not seem like there’s a lot that kindergarteners can do with 3D printing, the truth is that they can get an introduction quite easily. They can see how the process works, and while they don’t understand all of it, they can watch a teacher go from a picture on a screen to an actual, physical product. This is the time to start with printing little toys and gadgets for the students to get them interested.

3d printer filament

3D Printing in First Grade – Moving up to the first-grade students can still watch what their teachers are doing when it comes to 3D printing, but they can maybe get a little more involved in the process. This is the time to start asking students to identify a need that they think a product could be created to fix. Then, the teacher can help to create the product and print it so that they can solve the problem.

3D Printing in Second Grade – The students are starting to get a little more advanced now though they’re not quite ready to start using the 3D printer for themselves. Instead, they should be figuring out ways that they could create images or products using 3D software but not printing for themselves. Teachers can also help them with printing little items for the family for holidays.

3D Printing in Third Grade – Third grade is a good time to start working with students on a little more about. What the 3D printer can do and how the products that they produce can impact their studies. You can work with them to design different items and elements that can be used in their education. Such as viewing 3D images of real creatures and things that they’re learning about in class.

3D Printing in Fourth Grade – Encourage the students in your class to create 3D designs that they can have some fun. Get all of the students together and create a mascot for your classroom. This can create something fun that the students can play with or see at all times that they helped to create.

3D Printing in Fifth Grade – Your students are getting ready to leave elementary school behind. And they definitely can use the 3D printed products that you create to learn something new. This is a time when you can start printing out pieces that they can use for things like measurements, weights, and other mathematic and spatial uses. They can even use these types of products for art, whether with the true pieces or with the 3D images on a screen.

3D Printing in Sixth Grade – Your students are ready to start looking at different needs and how they can be filled using a 3D printer and 3D printed objects. Start asking them to look for needs in the community or their school and then encourage them to come up with ideas. And sketches of items that could be created using the 3D printer that would solve that particular need.
3D Printing in Seventh Grade – This is a point in time where you can start working with children. About what the capabilities of the 3D printer are and better understanding the different objects that can be created. Encourage your students to look into some of the more broad uses of the 3D printer and to see it as a way to solve problems even outside of their community and their school.

3D Printing in Eighth Grade – As your students are starting to leave middle school behind it’s time to start exploring how the 3D printer that you have can function. Encourage them to design more advanced projects, like trophies and awards for the school. Ask them to design some art project that could be put on display at the school. Or even encourage 3D printing in some other science and math competitions.

3D Printing in Ninth Grade – Now that your students are in high school, it’s time to have them explore how the printer works for themselves. Give assignments where the student has to design something to solve a particular problem and then give them the freedom to design their solution and create it. These can then be presented to the class, and the class can vote on the product that seems to solve the need best.

3D Printing in Tenth Grade – Encourage science programs and groups to use a 3D printer to enter into different challenges with other schools. Look for needs in the community and start a challenge to see which school can come up with the best solution and then implement that solution. You’ll need judges and official prizes for this type of competition and it’s a good way to encourage schools in friendly competition.

3D Printing in Eleventh Grade – It’s almost time for your high school students to be out on their own now. So it’s a good time to explore how 3D printers work in different industries. Start talking about how they could use this printer in a career that they might be interested in. Encourage students to look for an object that they could create with this printer that would be useful in their future careers.

3D Printing in Twelfth Grade – Finally, your students are ready to venture out on their own. And get into their college years, but you can encourage them with your 3D printer just a little bit more. This is where you want to work with your students to create something for their future careers. Make it something more complex and make sure that the student has to spend time designing it. Explaining how it’s going to help them in their future career and then actually printing it out. If they can’t justify it, then they need to start again.

You’re going to find several great ways that you can use 3D printing throughout your teaching journey. Students of all ages are going to have a great time, and they’re going to be able to learn a whole lot of new things. 3D printers are a unique invention, and as they continue to become more and more popular, it’s going to be an excellent way for students to get an advantage. Being able to use a 3D printer and understanding what all they can do is going to make sure that the students at your school are prepared, For their future and the way that they can create the objects that they need in their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Written by Boris Siomin

BorisSiomin is a professional blogger and marketer, who frequently writes about custom packaging, technologies, news, to help businesses understand and adopt new ways to reach and inspire their target audience. And the Founder of Best10top and Protechbound.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

How to Archive Yahoo Email Messages Locally on Computer

How social media making us unsocial?