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  1. #1
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    Do Teachers Even Want 3D Printers?

    In my experience many teachers shy away from the idea of 3D printers because of their lack of knowledge around the industry. They don't know how to work with CAD, don't truly understand how they work, and can't see how useful to education a printer can be.

    Teachers need to be educated about these printers, the software, and possible applications and lesson plans around these devices. Once they see what can be printed, most will jump on the bandwagon.

    The Makerbot initiative to give free printers to teachers received an underwhelming number of responses from teachers I have heard. Why? Because the teachers don't understand what these machines are capable of. It's up to the schools themselves to bring this information to teachers, and for parents to push the administrators to do so.

    Just my experienced opinion.

  2. #2
    Engineer-in-Training MysteryAlabaster's Avatar
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    You are so right.

    We've had our two Makerbots in the computer lab for over a year and a half now, and we still have teachers walk in and go "Oh, what's that?".

    They're not even hidden... You see them when you walk in...




    Even when presented with the machine, and offered an explanation as to how it works, half turn away and say something like "It seems complicated, don't bother".

  3. #3
    Three points:

    1 - Do not paint all teachers with a broad brush. There is a small and growing number of USA teachers in K-12 that are using 3D printers in their classrooms. Further, there are many teachers at secondary institutions worldwide who are using 3D printers in the classroom and for research.

    1a - Never paint any group of people with a broad brush.

    2 - A major inhibitor is the lack of "programming," the tools that surround the printer that must not only make it work but also align the printing process and/or output with the curriculum. If a teacher must create grade and subject specific content then that slows down the adoption process.

    3 - Teachers and school systems cannot simply buy a 3D printer (assuming they even have funding) but they must also find time in the day for a creative and time-intensive process. I daresay that most USA teachers regardless of grade level, at least in K-12, will tell you that their day is filled to the brim with required, non-3D print related content that must be taught in order for students to perform well on the numerous standardized tests that they must take.

  4. #4
    Staff Engineer old man emu's Avatar
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    I think we (society) is dumping too much on teachers and the education system and abandoning the roles of family and industry. I was reading in my Saturday newspaper that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission wants consumer and financial literacy embedded in the core curriculum from the first year of primary (elementary) school.

    This as well as trying to teach little ones how to behave in the classroom society, remember which lunchbox is theirs, plus a little bit of the 3 Rs.

    Is it little wonder that children in the US, Britain and Australia are falling behind in basic literacy and numerical skills.

    Old Man Emu

  5. #5
    Engineer-in-Training MysteryAlabaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by old man emu View Post
    Is it little wonder that children in the US, Britain and Australia are falling behind in basic literacy and numerical skills.
    So many of my friends are stupid...

    I've done my best to teach myself skills beyond what the schools here would.

  6. #6
    Staff Engineer old man emu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MysteryAlabaster View Post
    So many of my friends are stupid... I've done my best to teach myself skills beyond what the schools here would.
    Hey! Hey! Watch what you are saying. Your friends are not stupid. They are just uneducated in the areas in which you have educated yourself. Never say that someone is stupid. You don't know where their abilities lie. I could be called stupid by a musician because I can't play a musical instrument. I'm always calling my son stupid because he hardly knows which end of a wrench to hold, but I do. However, he calls me stupid because I don't know how to set up and run a computer-based communications system, which is his area of specialty.

    I've taught myself lots of things that other people don't have the need or desire to learn. Does that make them stupid and me smart? No!

    My argument with education systems is that they fail to lay the foundations of numeracy and written communication which are essential for expanding the areas of learning a child can enter as they grow older.

    Old Man Emu

  7. #7
    Engineer-in-Training MysteryAlabaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by old man emu View Post
    Your friends are not stupid.

    You misunderstand me and take me too seriously.
    Sometimes I foret that people here don't really know my background.

    I attend a 'Special-Ed' school. This literally means that half my peers have no hope of ever becoming anything because they physically can't learn.

    I feel as if we're getting off track here.

    stu·pid

    adjective

    • 1.
      lacking intelligence or common sense.




  8. #8
    Staff Engineer old man emu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MysteryAlabaster View Post
    You misunderstand me and take me too seriously. Sometimes I foret that people here don't really know my background. I attend a 'Special-Ed' school. This literally means that half my peers have no hope of ever becoming anything because they physically can't learn.
    Please let an old man say something without us getting into a flaming match.

    Saying that your peers have no hope of becoming anything because they can't learn (for whatever reason) is the first step towards supporting Eugenics. The Nazis in Germany took Eugenics several steps further and said that the physically and mentally handicapped were a burden on society, so they killed them off. Would you really like to see the people you attend your Special-Ed school with, taken away and given a lethal injection like some stray mongrel dog?

    Your school mates might not be destined to win Nobel prizes, but they have been given the gift of Life and should be supported in ways that lets them enjoy the gift. Too many people have been robbed of the chance to do just this.

    You seem to have benefited greatly from your chance to attend a Special Ed school. Maybe you are not as handicapped as the rest, so give the others your support and be happy that they have had some sort of chance at life.

    Now let's get back to printing sh!t.

    Old Man Emu

  9. #9
    Engineer-in-Training MysteryAlabaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by old man emu View Post
    Now let's get back to printing sh!t.
    Now that we're back to relevant topics, have some 3d-printed skin, free of charge.
    No hard feelings.

    download.jpg

  10. #10
    Staff Engineer old man emu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MysteryAlabaster View Post
    Now that we're back to relevant topics, have some 3d-printed skin, free of charge.
    No hard feelings.

    download.jpg
    You are too young to have heard: "Skin me, Daddy-O"


    (Means "to shake hands")

    OME

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