Week 8

Assignments

1. Have you considered sustainable practices in your teaching in the past? How? In the past, I have strived to be very mindful in my daily practice, starting with the materials I use and how I dispose of them. For example, in my country, styrofoam was not a recyclable material until recently, so I excluded it from my lessons. Since recycling became an option two years ago, we now use it only when absolutely necessary. I also maintain a recycling box for paper scraps. Additionally, because most of my consumables involve cardboard, I collect and reuse materials from my community, such as boxes and cylinders of various sizes.

2. What aspects do you think should be improved in your own teaching environment? Regarding my specific classroom environment, I believe I am doing the best I can with the available resources. However, I view this through a systemic lens, as my class is part of a larger school that dictates sustainability practices. At my school, sustainability efforts are still developing, and I have found that education is the missing link. For over ten years, I served as the school’s environmental liaison, leading projects and setting expectations; however, a true “environmental culture” has yet to take root within the wider community. I have learned that while developing a project is easy, shifting people’s mindsets is much more difficult. Therefore, education is the primary area that needs improvement. Furthermore, formal policies would help guide decision-making and improve the execution of environmental initiatives.

3*. How might Digital Fabrication (DF) support sustainable practices? What actions can you take?*** DF can support sustainability by becoming an integrated part of the curriculum, allowing students to design tangible prototypes that propose solutions to local and global problems. During the design process, it is vital to remain aware of resource consumption to avoid excessive waste. Now that we are exploring biomaterials, it would be beneficial to intentionally offer these resources to students and teachers. This helps internalize the urgency of returning to natural primary sources rather than relying on artificial ones.

4. How could you integrate both culturally reflective learning and digital fabrication in your environment? Integration begins with an awareness of the cultural, social, and organizational context, as well as my own beliefs. This awareness serves as the initial “filter” when planning learning experiences. In my current environment, I work with colleagues and students from diverse backgrounds and countries, which means certain festivities must be approached with sensitivity.

5. Could you come up with some project ideas using digital fabrication in which the cultural diversity of students is highlighted?

Building on the example of festivities, I am interested in using DF to create decorations or student prizes that include symbols from various end-of-year holidays, such as Hanukkah menorahs, Christmas trees, or symbols for the Lunar New Year. Another project idea is to 3D print a map of Guatemala and connect it via lines to a larger printed world map. We could then link Guatemala to the specific countries and symbols that represent each foreign student or teacher in our community.