The Australian Education Reporter
3D Printing
With a range of new technologies flooding the market, 3D Printers are more affordable than ever for schools looking to implement practical design thinking into their STEM curriculum.
TECHNOLOGY like 3D Printing, previously the domain of industry and manufacturing, is now commonplace in the classroom with companies providing 3D software, technology, specialised resources, and professional development to schools.
Questacon’s National Science and Technology Centre and its programs strive to promote greater understanding and awareness of science and technology within the community.
Questacon has a range of national programs that tour Australia, visiting different regional areas each year.
The Shell Questacon Science Circus is the most travelled and farthest-reaching program of its kind in the world, inspiring young people – primarily in regional areas of Australia – to value and engage in STEM through interactive in-school science shows and pop-up science centres in regional hubs.
Questacon innovation mentor Hannah Feldman said that 3D printers are a great way to make design and ideas a reality, and suggests that schools look at printers as a tool for their projects.
“There are so many enriching activities that you can explore before the printing stage actually happens,” Ms Feldman said.
“3D modelling, user centred design or design thinking, and iterative prototyping are great uses of the technology to investigate, without putting all of your 3D printed eggs in the one basket.
“This also means that if the printer doesn’t work on any given day, you still have a great project to go on with.”
While 3D Printing has potential across a range of different curricular activities, from IT, Design and Tech and other STEM subjects, Ms Feldman said teachers should be aware that troubleshooting when the printer doesn’t work can be time consuming.
When printing a large number of projects teachers should also be prepared for it to take longer than expected.
“Our best advice is to be flexible with your printing deadlines, and try to allow a bit of wriggle room in your timelines to set up new printers or old prints,” she said.
Questacon offers a 3D Design workshop for high school students, a suite of Questacon Maker Project virtual excursions, and the opportunity to see a suite of 3D printers in the Maker Space at The Ian Potter Foundation Technology Learning Centre in Canberra.
The Questacon Invention Conventions are aimed at connected regional youth with local industry and mentors as a way to create engagement in STEM, but Ms Feldman said it’s not only about students’ motivation for the subject.
“Some of the key skills that we are trying to instil in students at Questacon are 21st century skills such as creativity, communication, critical thinking and collaboration – these skills play a vital role in STEM and are just as important for teachers to develop these skills,” she said.
Makers Empire director of learning Mandi Dimitriadis said that the world is changing so rapidly that while we can’t be certain exactly what jobs of the future will look like, it’s clear that students – and teachers, by extension – will need to be adaptable and flexible in order to thrive.
“They will need to be prepared to face situations and challenges that they have never seen before. They will need to be able to identify and develop innovative, creative solutions to problems and challenges they encounter,” she said.
“3D technologies are ideal tools to help students develop creative confidence, problem solving abilities and design thinking processes, and critical and creative thinking skills.”
Students can create almost anything to make abstract concepts accessible and easy to understand; from chemistry molecules, to fossils, to architectural models and robot parts.
“3D printing empowers students to create their own products and innovations, and makes it easy to iterate and improve their designs through prototyping and testing,” Ms Dimitriadis said.
“If a student can imagine something, they can create it!”