Ear Bud Holder classroom project.
Stratasys has added seven new 3D printing education modules, aimed at students in middle and high schools in the U.S., as part of its mission to accelerate the adoption of project-based learning in the classroom.
Each module will enable students to witness the entire lifecycle of a product from sketch to 3D print and includes comprehensive plans that will make it easy for teachers to bring these modules into their lesson plans. Each module focuses on a specific learning outcome with durations ranging from days to weeks at various difficulty levels.
Also included is a complete designer toolkit with offers industry standards and best practices for 3D printing which can be used either with current curriculum or Stratasys modules. Stratasys is currently offering a sneak peek of one of the projects, which will allow students to create their own Ear Bud Holders.
"We saw an educator need and took responsibility to bring active learning projects around design for 3D printing to our customers," Stratasys' North America Education Manager, Jesse Rotenberg, explained. "The launching of Stratasys post-secondary curriculum modules is the first step in providing support to educators and students who are integrating 3D printing in the classroom. The toolkit and modules are a guide for instructors to follow, allowing for flexibility to modify for their students, which was important in creating a successful program that will integrate with the various STEAM programs taught in the schools."
The education market is one of the biggest focuses for many 3D printing companies either in the industrial sector or at desktop level. Despite adoption not being as rapid as some would have hoped, various names in the industry are working on ways to break down the barriers to adoption and give teachers the skills needed to bring 3D technologies into the classroom. UK company CEL, recently partnered with Kitronik to put 5,000 Robox 3D printers into UK schools alongside the BBC micro:bit initiative. Over in the U.S., earlier this month New Matter announced plans to bring its affordable MOD-t 3D printer into 100 schools this year. In addition, Autodesk recently celebrated the one year anniversary of its free software for education initiative which gives students and educators access to its professional software and is supported by Autodesk’s Design Academy resource, filled with curriculum ideas and projects.
