Written By: Aisha O’Neil
Edited By: Pallas Shen
Across the globe, classrooms are adapting to a new and more technologically advanced world, and 3D printing is one way schools are striving to achieve a more modern classroom. Most major companies, including Ford, Nike, and Hershey’s have invested in 3D printing for a variety of different uses, from producing more efficient car parts to printing edible food. Now classrooms are utilizing this new technology for two more purposes: education and inspiration.
According to the University of Texas at Arlington, “engineering, chemistry, math, biology and architecture, just to name a few, all make use of 3D printers, but the real advantages lie in the development of imagination and creativity.” 3D printing allows students to transform an idea into reality quicker than ever before. The University of Texas at Arlington, or UTA, goes on to explain: “an idea can now become a reality that the student can measure, hold, bend, fold and continue to improve.”
But 3D printing allows more than academic, or even materialistic inspiration. It allows students a creative outlet to impact their school and community and boost their self-confidence. At Harlan Rowe Middle School in Pennsylvania, a STEM teacher challenged students to “make the world a better place” through 3D printing. Schools across the globe have started implementing 3D printing in their education. One eighth-grade girl created a new holder for the school’s badminton net. A project from the Murtaugh School District in Idaho, prompted students to design a solar-powered motion-sensing alarm to keep deer and elk out of fields. Another classroom, in South Carolina, printed a wheelchair for a dog.
“The high-tech digital world can now fit in one's hands, where today’s students can improve upon it for a better tomorrow,” a UTA article details. Students in today’s modern classroom are destined to become tomorrow’s leaders, scientists, and creators; inspired by classroom 3D printers.
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