3D Print Your Way To Modern Education What fun it is to hold your creation in your hand? And imagine when you could do that in school.
By Manya Jha
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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
-Benjamin Franklin
Methods of teaching have significantly evolved over the years and it is a proven fact that the sooner you adopt the faster you move.Isn't it interesting? 'Know-how' which was earlier restricted to library, was taken over by Internet and with 3D Printing going mainstream it will all move to Do-It-Yourself and learn on the go. Touch and feel factor has always been a spur for the students of this generation. 3D printing is the best way for hands-on learning. What fun it is to hold your creation in your hand?
For the educationist, the fun will not just be limited to showing or describing how a piece of history looked like, their motivation will be in imbibing the spark of creativity in their students by allowing them to redesign the historical piece and see what comes out. Who knows that can be the birth of an innovation?
In the classroom
Children love exploring and trying new things and this technology allows kids to retain their inquisitiveness. It leaves them with a room to learn from experimentation, thereby creating a culture of innovation.
The list of how students can use 3D Printing to experience the new dimension in their field of education is long. Just to mention a few:
- Physics and Engineering students can now make their own complex gear parts.
- Students who have a keen interest in chemistry can understand the molecular structures in depth by making structure of material or matter and holding it in their hand.
- Students of Biology can study the cross section of any organs by holding the 3D model of the part in their hands.
- Architecture students can give life to the skyscrapers that they design.
- Fashion designing students can now easily demonstrate the futuristic designer wears that they create.
- Students involved in food education can create new shapes of molds to control the form their dish takes.
- Art students can give new life to their complex designs.
- Students in the Robotics discipline don't have to worry about the error in the trial and frequent adjustment in their design as the technology saves them on the production time.
To reap the benefits of the technology, designing is the basic skill that is required. You need not be a pro designer, even if you just have the designing sense and know how to express it, companies like Morphedo, help you take things ahead.Also, there are open source ready to 3D Print design files on platforms like Thingiverse. You can just browse through the plethora of already made 3d designs in several categories and have them manufactured by 3D Printing service provider.
How schools can facilitate the usage?
It is very important for the educational authorities to understand that this technology facilitates and boosts the designing instinct in students; the rapid production of their creation is just the reward. Hence, it is important that they facilitate the students accordingly, help them learn new ways of designing and get them connected to the experts of the domain.
There are a lot of talks about having 3D Printers at every school and every home. This seems to be far-fetched and can be comparable to the expense of setting up of library in the internet era. However, there is a real world solution with a minimal cost. Morphedo is working on the solution and will soon launch it. Schools and online digital manufacturers can tie up or have their students registered under some discounts. This spares them the maintenance part. There are different 3D Printers classified on the basis of the raw materials they use and the underlying technology. Holding 3D printers at school can be compared to having several computers fixed in a computer lab. In today's era which one suits more? Having a huge computer lab with 200 computers in a room, or giving a tablet in the hand of every student in every classroom that can be carried and used whenever required?
Global ecosystem of 3D Printing
The technology was invented by Chuck Hullin 1984. Due to some of its limitations the mainstream adoption graph of the technology has been a little slow. However, with the expiry of different patents on the machine the speed in which the giant companies like HP are working on fixing the limitations of the technology is changing the scenario.
The US, UK, Australian, Japanese and Chinese government have already taken steps to invest in and promote 3D Printing in the education system.When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unveiling the Startup Action Plan, he has promised the establishment of 500 labs in universities which will have 3D Printers.We at Morphedo understand the benefits this technology can have to mankind and have pledged to make this technology available to every individual.
It is expected that 3D Printing will shape the powerful pathway to being in a new dimension to the education system which will encourage experimentation. Creation of new things, tinkering with it, breaking it, making the better one again will be the new way for students to learn.
