{"id":3215,"date":"2014-10-17T19:33:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T19:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=3215"},"modified":"2015-02-12T19:36:23","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T19:36:23","slug":"america-3d-printing-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2014\/10\/america-3d-printing-education\/","title":{"rendered":"America is 3D Printing an Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by David Fishman: One of Fieldston\u2019s three MakerBot 3D printers with student projects on it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One day in math class, Raphael Palefsky-Smith was browsing the Internet when he came upon an article on 3D printers. Intrigued, he set out to buy one. Two days later the 17-year-old had raised over $700 from 14 students and a faculty member. With that money, he purchased a Solidoodle 2 for his school in Santa Cruz, California.<\/span><\/p>\n

This sort of wild excitement is common in the $2.5 billion industry, which has grown 29 percent since 2012. Now, companies are turning to lower education as the next frontier. In the past six months, two of the 3D printing industry\u2019s biggest companies launched education initiatives. One of them is MakerBot, which has provided over 400,000 students access to a 3D printer.<\/p>\n

Using computer-aided design software, students can construct 3D models and then print them. When the 3D printer receives a model, it extrudes heated material onto a platform, building an object from scratch. Structures are printed using a variety of materials, including rubber, metal and most commonly, plastic.<\/p>\n

Thomas Kalil, President Obama\u2019s Deputy Director of Science and Technology Policy, says schools should start using 3D printers to inspire young engineers and solve problems hands-on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t teach football by lecturing to kids about football for 12 years before allowing them to play,\u201d Kalil said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the way we should engage in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Hripko, another supporter of the fast-advancing technology, works for America Makes–an organization that helps classrooms across the United States obtain 3D printers.<\/p>\n

\u201c3D printing is a technology that enables students to make whatever they dream,\u201d Hripko said. \u201cStudents print things like amateur rockets, components for drones and robotic parts. (3D printing) is an evolution of education; it\u2019s going to become an integral component in high school education.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one hitch: 3D printers don\u2019t come cheap (typically costing anywhere from $300-$15,000), so, as deputy director of workforce and educational outreach, Hripko teaches schools various techniques for raising money to purchase them. They include company sponsorship, parental contribution, budget reallocation and crowdfunding.<\/p>\n

Responding to a call from Obama to encourage innovation, MakerBot, a New York-based 3D printing company, launched its Academy program in November \u2014 pledging to put a 3D printer in every school in the United States.<\/p>\n

Six months later, MakerBot \u2014 which commands 20 percent of the 3D printing market, according to 3DHubs.com \u2014 has reached more than 400,000 students in 50 states.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo compete at all,\u201d said Academy director Ryan Luikens, \u201c3D printing needs to be a requirement, the same way a computer lab was in previous generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another leading printing company, 3D Systems, founded its education program, M.Lab 21, in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe envision M.Lab 21 as the 21st century shop class,\u201d said Leanne Gluck, director of global social impact at 3D Systems. \u201cThe education market is really thriving. Everyone understands that 3D printing is the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since June, 200 schools across the country have expressed interest in M.Lab 21, and \u201ctwo to three\u201d more schools make inquiries about M.Lab 21 via email every day. Students use their printers in hackathons to design buildings and add flair to bicycles.<\/p>\n

Todd Keruskin, an assistant superintendent in Pennsylvania, said 3D printers are a necessary new part of education.<\/p>\n

\u201cDesigning things in a 3D world on a computer is really the world we\u2019re heading to,\u201d Keruskin said. \u201cI want students to be able to think they can build and design anything. I want to reconnect them with creativity and innovation. I want to make sure my kids are prepared for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his school district, which has 2,588 students, there are fourteen 3D printers which cost from $1,000 to $3,000 each. Keruskin\u2019s students have used Google SketchUp on an iPad to design and print 3D candy bars and device holders.<\/p>\n

Not everyone shares Keruskin\u2019s enthusiasm for 3D printing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you have a serious engineering program, it is a very valuable tool,\u201d said James Dann, a science teacher at the Menlo School in Atherton, California. \u201cBut the way I see 99 percent of schools using it, it\u2019s a waste of money. If you\u2019re just going to print out balls and toys, what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n

At Fieldston, design teachers Carl Smith and Kirk Ruebenson both expressed a shared enthusiasm in the technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are learning 3D visualization, they\u2019re learning to draw their ideas like architects and they\u2019re becoming designers,\u201d Mr. Smith said.<\/p>\n

After receiving a venture grant from the board in the spring of 2012, ECFS purchased its first 3D printer, a wooden MakerBot Replicator 1. Two years later, Fieldston has three total printers and a brand new 3D scanner in its Design Center.<\/p>\n

Students, teachers and even the White House are jumping on the 3D printing bandwagon.<\/p>\n

It is \u201ca cultural phenomenon,\u201d Kalil said. \u201cThere\u2019s a growing interest in being a producer of things not just a consumer. The tools that are necessary to make things are more affordable and easier to use. But the real win will come with empowering the next generation to recognize that if they have an idea, they can use these powerful new tools to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One day in math class, Raphael Palefsky-Smith was browsing the Internet when he came upon an article on 3D printers. Intrigued, he set out to buy one. Two days later the 17-year-old had raised over $700 from 14 students and a faculty member. With that money, he purchased a Solidoodle 2 for his school in Santa Cruz, California. This sort of wild excitement is common in the $2.5 billion industry, which has grown 29 percent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"coauthors":[45],"class_list":["post-3215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/3dprint.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3215"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3218,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions\/3218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}