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3D Printing Made Simple for Education
Ever wonder about how 3D printing can be used in the classroom? Many have, but many don't quite understand the intricacies of 3D printing. 3D printing can make a profound impact on student learning and increase creativity levels exponentially. This guide explains what to look for in a 3D printer as well as how to integrate it successfully into the classroom. In addition, there are many tips and tricks on how to make the 3D printer run more efficiently. Many successful classroom project ideas have been included.
Kindle Edition
Published December 21, 2016
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March 2, 2017
Brian Bobbitt’s 3D Printing Made Simple for Education is a must read if you’re an educator and going to invest in a 3D Printer to aid in the educational process in your classroom. The book is not very long but to me that is refreshing because Bobbitt gets right to the point in each of his book’s chapters. The chapters are quite detailed in their explanations, and although Bobbitt claims not to be a 3D printer professional, his explanations reveal that he’s had quite an extensive amount of experience with the devices. Bobbitt’s revelations and tips on 3D printing are a definite eye opener into the entire process of incorporating a 3D printer into the classroom.
In the first and last chapters of the book, Bobbitt raises the questions of why do we want a 3D printer in the classroom? He says, “We must also consider that teaching about a product is not as valuable as teaching the process.” Bobbitt then states, “When I first started with 3D printing, I thought about how I could actually integrate standards and 3D printing. I began taking a look at all of the depth of knowledge charts. It wasn’t long before I realized how much high level thinking adding a 3D printer could do for us. I’ve learned that we create, construct, apply knowledge, problem solve, connect, and design as a result of this new technological marvel.” As an educator, these chapters stood out most to me because it forces one to think about why you want a 3D printer. Bobbitt stresses that we shouldn’t be just teaching about the printer itself and how to use it, but more of incorporating it into a process of thinking and design that makes students think critically and collaborate through constructive criticism from teachers, clients, and peers. To me this has to be one of the most critical points of his book because no matter what kind of technology is used in the classroom, the thinking process behind it all relatively stays the same which is something that Bobbitt mentions. The fact that Bobbitt includes this in two chapters of his book shows the importance of really thinking through why you want a 3D printer and how it would continue to be an educational aid in the classroom even when the excitement of it wears off. It also shows Bobbitt’s focus as an educator and not a salesman.
In the other chapters of his book, Bobbitt goes into quite a bit of detail describing the types of materials 3D printers can use, the different types of printers that are available, some basic troubleshooting, parts that can be tweaked to improve printer performance, maintenance, and basic tools that are critical to keeping the printer in working order. In these chapters, Bobbitt does an excellent job of relating his experience to the readers which I feel is invaluable and will help 3D printer owners better understand and maintain their printer. Bobbitt really does a great job in these chapters of discussing possible options while also mentioning what he recommends.
I guess the only thing I could be a little critical of is that while Bobbitt did provide some ideas on possible larger projects to implement with a 3D printer, he only provided a few smaller projects that could be done. If you are looking for lesson plans from Bobbitt’s book you won’t find them. It would have been nice to have some basic lesson plans to go by as a guide, especially coming from a teacher that has had quite a bit of experience in the classroom with 3D printing. In Bobbitt’s defense, however, he does provide his email address to contact him, and I’m pretty sure he’d be more than happy to share ideas to teachers who might be struggling on the lesson plan side of implementing a 3D printing project. Honestly, this did not take away from my reading experience of his book. I truly feel that using a 3D printer will look different for each classroom and teacher. I think the absence of lesson plans does not take away or sink this book, but again it would have been nice to see some examples. If you want to get an idea of what the outline of his lesson plan would probably look like, one could simply look at the end of chapter 1 at the outline of the design process he has his students use.
Overall I think this book was stellar in helping a reader/teacher understand what’s involved in using and implementing a 3D printer. With the invasion of technology in the classroom and the need to help students understand how to use it in a process of critical thinking, Bobbitt’s ideas of using this process is not only applicable to 3D printing but in general to most technology that can be utilized in the classroom (Chrome Books, laptops, Surface Pros, Smart Boards, etc.). This in my opinion was so valuable and insightful that I would have bought his book just to understand that idea. I recommend this book to not just anyone who wants to use 3D printers in their classroom, but any kind of high tech technology so that they may gain the insight of how technology should be incorporated into the classroom.
In the first and last chapters of the book, Bobbitt raises the questions of why do we want a 3D printer in the classroom? He says, “We must also consider that teaching about a product is not as valuable as teaching the process.” Bobbitt then states, “When I first started with 3D printing, I thought about how I could actually integrate standards and 3D printing. I began taking a look at all of the depth of knowledge charts. It wasn’t long before I realized how much high level thinking adding a 3D printer could do for us. I’ve learned that we create, construct, apply knowledge, problem solve, connect, and design as a result of this new technological marvel.” As an educator, these chapters stood out most to me because it forces one to think about why you want a 3D printer. Bobbitt stresses that we shouldn’t be just teaching about the printer itself and how to use it, but more of incorporating it into a process of thinking and design that makes students think critically and collaborate through constructive criticism from teachers, clients, and peers. To me this has to be one of the most critical points of his book because no matter what kind of technology is used in the classroom, the thinking process behind it all relatively stays the same which is something that Bobbitt mentions. The fact that Bobbitt includes this in two chapters of his book shows the importance of really thinking through why you want a 3D printer and how it would continue to be an educational aid in the classroom even when the excitement of it wears off. It also shows Bobbitt’s focus as an educator and not a salesman.
In the other chapters of his book, Bobbitt goes into quite a bit of detail describing the types of materials 3D printers can use, the different types of printers that are available, some basic troubleshooting, parts that can be tweaked to improve printer performance, maintenance, and basic tools that are critical to keeping the printer in working order. In these chapters, Bobbitt does an excellent job of relating his experience to the readers which I feel is invaluable and will help 3D printer owners better understand and maintain their printer. Bobbitt really does a great job in these chapters of discussing possible options while also mentioning what he recommends.
I guess the only thing I could be a little critical of is that while Bobbitt did provide some ideas on possible larger projects to implement with a 3D printer, he only provided a few smaller projects that could be done. If you are looking for lesson plans from Bobbitt’s book you won’t find them. It would have been nice to have some basic lesson plans to go by as a guide, especially coming from a teacher that has had quite a bit of experience in the classroom with 3D printing. In Bobbitt’s defense, however, he does provide his email address to contact him, and I’m pretty sure he’d be more than happy to share ideas to teachers who might be struggling on the lesson plan side of implementing a 3D printing project. Honestly, this did not take away from my reading experience of his book. I truly feel that using a 3D printer will look different for each classroom and teacher. I think the absence of lesson plans does not take away or sink this book, but again it would have been nice to see some examples. If you want to get an idea of what the outline of his lesson plan would probably look like, one could simply look at the end of chapter 1 at the outline of the design process he has his students use.
Overall I think this book was stellar in helping a reader/teacher understand what’s involved in using and implementing a 3D printer. With the invasion of technology in the classroom and the need to help students understand how to use it in a process of critical thinking, Bobbitt’s ideas of using this process is not only applicable to 3D printing but in general to most technology that can be utilized in the classroom (Chrome Books, laptops, Surface Pros, Smart Boards, etc.). This in my opinion was so valuable and insightful that I would have bought his book just to understand that idea. I recommend this book to not just anyone who wants to use 3D printers in their classroom, but any kind of high tech technology so that they may gain the insight of how technology should be incorporated into the classroom.
Displaying 1 of 1 review