Week 7¶

Assignments¶

[ ] Task 1: [Design and print a 3D object]

Process¶

Steps followed I have to say that as a technology teacher this was, sadly, the first 3D item I ever printed. I was always so scared of the 3D printer because I always thougth it needed a lot of knowledge and studying, which I hadn’t had the time to research. I was very glad that I got this task because it forced me to find a way to do it and start: Making a mistake and seeing where it takes me. First I asked help from the people who are usually at the fablab and my local Fablab guide which is Ericka. They guided me into finding my first item to print. In my classes, I like to show my students a timer of how long they have left of class, or how much time they have to work on a task, or to put away the chromebooks. I tend to put a different kind of timer and lately I noticed a lot of my students are interested in my fitness tracker or my smart watch which is targeted for sports. I thought it would be an interesting idea to have the timer of my watch on display for them to see. So the first thing I printed was a Garmin stand. First I looked for ideas of stands that were already created, they guided me into seeing what kind of design would work best and how the file should be labeled. I also learned about the different materials that we have in the fablab to print and how they work for different moments or objects. It was very interesting to see how other items had been printed before with the wrong type of material and the problems that can be faced when that happens. What helped me most was seeing how they have made mistakes also, and it’s part of the learning process. You learn more from mistakes than from making things perfect.
Photos / screenshots of key stages https://photos.app.goo.gl/RmTL7ezFnrcbypwR9
Challenges and solutions I believe that all the task for me was a challenge because I had never done this before. From thinking abouto what to print, to choosing the right material for the object I had chosen. The solution was having my coworkers around and asking for help when I felt lost or didn’t know what to do.

Reflection¶

Are you planning to use the fabricated object in your classroom? If so, how? Yes, I am planning on using the object in my classroom, like I mentioned before. It’s a stand in which the timer will be flashing when needed. The students will be able to see the time they have left for a task or for the class when needed.
Consider a learning activity involving 3D printing. How could it be aligned with your curriculum / standard? What are the challenges? I think one task that students would be able to do is to design an object that would make the classroom better and more useful for everyone. This task could be aligned to the standards of Empowered Learner (1.1) because students make choices in their design, test, and improve their models. Also with innovative Designer (1.4) since students design, prototype, test, and iterate. One of the main challenges that I see is the time that it takes for the objects to print. Students would probably take one period to see the item being printed or set the printer and come back to get their item later on.
Explain one successful educational activity in which you collaborated with other educators. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with other educators? What are the main aspects to take into account to prepare an education activity among 2 or more educators? In our school we try to work with other teachers to integrate the learning process. One of the school years we decided to work together on a research project with second graders. The advantage was that there is “more time” to do the project since it’s not only one teacher, one topic, one period. But students are able to take what they learn with one teacher and use it with another one. This made learning a lot more meanigful and students had a lot of fun. A disadvantage was that you depend on other people to do the work. If one person had extra time, but the other was behind, you couldn’t just keep on going because there were parts missing. I believe the most important parts to take into account when planning an activity between two educators are planning, communication, and flexibility. You need to plan your activities well so that you know which parts are needed and which order. Communication so that the other part knows how you’re doing, if you are going faster or slower than you thught and flexibility to adjust all those small details that happen during the execution of the plan.

Tools¶

Tools or software used
Program Creality https://www.creality.com/
References or tutorials followed