David Thornburg - The Invent To Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success

2014 Thornburg Center. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical without permission in writing from the publisher.

Invent To Learn is a trademark of Constructing Modern Knowledge Press

All trademarks and servicemarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective owners.

Constructing Modern Knowledge Press

www.cmkpress.com

EDU039000 EDUCATION / Computers & Technology

EDU029030 EDUCATION / Teaching Methods & Materials / Science & Technology

ISBN: 978-0-9891511-5-3

Cover design: Yvonne Martinez

Project/Software List

Also from Constructing Modern Knowledge Press

Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom

by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager

Theres a technological and creative revolution underway. Amazing new tools, materials and skills turn us all into makers. Using technology to make, repair or customize the things we need brings engineering, design and computer science to the masses. Fortunately for educators, this maker movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. The active learner is at the center of the learning process, amplifying the best traditions of progressive education.

In this practical guide, Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager provide K12 educators with the how, why, and cool stuff that supports classroom making.

Available in print and e-book version at InventToLearn.com

Learning is often confused with education. Martinez and Stager clearly describe learning learning through engagement, design and building. The best way to understand circles is to reinvent the wheel. Nicholas Negroponte, Founder MIT Media Lab & One Laptop Per Child

The Maker Movement in schools now has a bible. Larry Magid, Technology Columnist, Huffington Post, San Jose Mercury News, CBS Radio

Educators will be hard pressed to find a more essential, important book for making sense of not just the exciting, game-changing maker technologies that are currently exploding around us, but of the absolutely powerful learning opportunities they present for our students as well. Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager are a teachers perfect guides into this fast growing, innovative world of creative problem solving and construction using an array of new, innovative computing devices, many of which fit in our pockets. Even more, Invent To Learn creates a required new context for modern learning, and it offers an accessible roadmap for re-imagining schools, classrooms, and personal practice. Its a must read for those wanting to remain relevant in their students learning lives. Will Richardson, Author of Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere

Foreword

3D printers are hot. Theyre so hot that even schools are buying them. Although, schools are thought to be late adopters of emerging technology, Ive been pleasantly surprised by how many already own 3D printers.

Investing in a schools first 3D printer may be a down payment on the future of education; a future in which learning to learn with ones head, heart, and hands will be equally critical. Making things is a great way to learn and an ability to make the things you need is an important 21st Century skill. The confidence and competence required to solve problems that the school curriculum or your teachers never anticipated will be the mark of a life well lived.

That said, once a school gets their 3D printer working reliably enough for each seventh grader to print an identical Yoda keychain, many educators are at a loss for next steps. Thats where this book comes in. David, Norma, and Sara share 18 projects designed to help teachers teach 3D design and enrich multiple curricular subjects.

Once you get the hang of 3D printing, you will realize how simple the hardware is. The real revolution may not be the printer as much as it is the democratization of design and the Z-axis.

For decades, CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) software was too complicated and expensive for more than a few students to use. It was relegated to drafting classes and vocational settings. Now affordable and accessible software like Tinkercad make design childs play. The ease of use associated with this new generation software does not mean that the design process has become any less rigorous. Design is where the mathematical reasoning, artistic sensibility, and engineering processes come to the fore.

We were all taught about the X- and Y-axes in school math class. Some of us may even use that coordinate system from time-to-time. However, with the exception of the occasional SAT question about the volume of a cylinder, you might conclude that we live in a 2D world. 3D printing and its design software bring us the Z-axis and provide an authentic context for using and understanding three-dimensional space. This book makes the conscious pedagogical decision to transition from 2D design to 3D artifact.