# 3D Printing > 3D Printing in Education > Teachers & Professors >  Do Teachers Even Want 3D Printers?

## Maggie

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.

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## MysteryAlabaster

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".

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## NHRef

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.

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## old man emu

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

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## MysteryAlabaster

> 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.

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## old man emu

> 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

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## MysteryAlabaster

> 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.

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## old man emu

> 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

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## MysteryAlabaster

> 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

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## old man emu

> 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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## MysteryAlabaster

> You are too young



Ouch. I blame the stereotypes of my generation for that.

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## Compro01

> You are too young to have heard: "Skin me, Daddy-O"
> 
> (Means "to shake hands")
> 
> OME


I have heard similar, though the expected action was a high five rather than a handshake.

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## MysteryAlabaster

I've actually heard "Skin me, Daddy-O" before. It was during the Jazz-y times. ofc I didn't hear it then, but I loved when my dad told me stories of the past.


Also, I think it was is in the movie *The AristoCats*.

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## Larry

I think what Maggie meant was that a large number of teachers rather not have the extra worry, perhaps rightfully so.

I do feel as though in another 2-3 years 3D printers will be the norm in classrooms, especially as printer prices drop and filament gets cheaper as well.

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## pardonme

I have a cousin that is a teacher and he's trying to hard to get his school to get a 3D printer.  From what he says, all the teachers he knows feel very strongly about having 3D printers in schools.

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## Roberta3D

Personal 3D printers have not had the time to make it into common practice.  New technologies can be scary to those who are not familiar with them. Over time, as more individuals begin using 3D printers, I believe that their use will become commonplace in schools.  The calibration and other technical aspects of the printers initially appear to be daunting, so I don’t blame teachers for not currently using them.  Personally, they frightened me because I am not overly tech savvy. Kudo3D recently allowed me to try a prototype of the Titan 1 and I was amazed by how easy it was to use.  The calibration was simple and I was able to print a beautiful 9-inch Eiffel Tower without any problems.  I feel that, as exposure to 3D printing increases, teachers will begin to embrace its use in their classrooms.  I am sure that it will happen one day in the near future.

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## 3dfilemarket

3dprinting is expanding fast in UK schools. Last year the 3dprintshow ran an education day where if schools took a group of 30 kids then they were awarded a free 3dprinter, they had over 2000 kids attend so lots of schools got a printer(a friend of mine who teachers got a makerbot). I am a teacher of Technology myself full time and have a 3dprinter in my classroom. Also there is a new curriculum released by the government in september that states all pupils have to learn about CAD and 'new emerging technologies'. 3Dprinting basically ticks this box. In addition as well there has been a organisation set up called teach design who provide free printers for schools who in return will educate other local teachers about 3dprinting. If those local schools can't afford their own printer then they can have access to the teach design school printers free of charge. Its really positive at the moment. I know on teacher facebook groups (they are pretty popular in the UK are hot with 3dprinting talk right now and I think it will only be a few more years until all schools here in the UK have printers.

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## Yancy

Every single teacher I have spoken with (about 5-6) have said that they would love to have 3D printers in their schools.  I don't think any teachers (at least very few) would be against the idea.  It's the future, and they realize this.

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## MechaBits

Less form filling more Producing! I went to a conference the other month called "the Future of Skills", the speakers managed to talk all day without mentioning which skills are needed for the future(besides Maths & English) or without mentioning a single piece of software, they where more pre-occupied with their shrinking portion of the budget pie, why is it that the people who bang on about productivity don't seem to produce anything?

Opps forgot to add input about the topic at hand, do they want it.

Obviously some will many might not, perhaps it should be mandatory in schools that dont have lathes and milling machines, just so they can at least teach something present relevant to today instead of stuff from text books that are out of date.

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