I have seen 3D printers in several different tv shows and had heard a little bit about them before being introduced to them in this class. The 3D printer is a very impressive invention. You can literally print anything that you would like. I was very impressed with what it can make as well as the amount of details that it can take into account.
As far as the 3D printer within classrooms, I feel that it could be very beneficial to every classroom. In a perfect world I would love to see every school district be able to have two or three of them to use. I feel like the possibilities that a 3D printer can offer are endless and I truly see this technology being a big part of the future for many years to come.
Within in my own classroom I could see a 3D printer being very useful. First off I think it would be great for the students to get an understanding of the machine and how its software works. Allowing them to use there own imagination and create something will hopefully spark their interest to go further. Many ag classrooms do a lot of their own fundraising. Many programs that I am familiar with have a silent auction. I know that the ag program that I grew up in made a lot of money off of this one night. As students in that program we pretty much made every item that was up for auction. These items came from the welding shop, the wood shop, the green house, and often times several students would come up with something even more unique. I feel like a 3D printer would allow students to take that even one step further.
Another way that I can see a 3D printer being a valuable part of my classroom activities would be for making parts or even certain equipment that may be needed. Within the an ag class you just never know what you might need. Having a 3D printer would really feel some of those gaps while allowing students to master yet another tool. This will only benefit them.
The 3D printer is an awesome tool and I am very happy that I got to explore it and create something. I look forward to hopefully one day having one in my very own classroom.
Where 3D printing has yet to really make a huge impact, but provides an ample amount of opportunity, is within educational institutions. These range from elementary schools to high schools, universities, and maker spaces around the globe. One reason that 3D printing has been quite slow in making its impact in these institutions is simply because of the lack of knowledge of the technology. Therefore, we have learn some basic knowledge in 3D printing technology and will need to update our information or database so that we can bring this piece of technology into schools!!
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