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“Everyone thinks STEAM is only for science class, but you can think of a lot of other cool opportunities in arts, geography, even history class,” says Hedges. “3D printing is a hardware tool for enabling STEAM. We’re not a 3D printer company: we’re an educational technology company.”
So far, the company has developed about 12 hours’ worth of materials for teachers to use. Cam Turner, formerly engineering director with Desire2Learn, is program developer with Inksmith. He says the company is writing lesson plans across the curriculum for K to 12 classrooms.
On his own, Turner runs a pop-up maker classroom called Tinker Truck that teaches science and engineering design through hands-on activities in schools, libraries and summer camps. He consulted with Themuseum in Kitchener on its maker space called the Underground Studio, opened in 2016.
Initially Turner wanted to buy printers from Inksmith, but he ended up joining forces with Hedges last spring. “We want to take emerging technology to students and school boards across the country,” says Turner.
He wants youngsters to go beyond downloading open-source files to print objects, and learn to design and build their own ideas – skills that he believes will be vital for what he calls the fabricators of the future. “I want kids to have tools to solve problems. 3D printing is a part of that.”
So far, they’re focusing on the regional market. The company has applied for funding for a proposed pilot project to test its training materials with a large Toronto- area school board. That would be a first step to providing its educational package to schools across the country, says Hedges.
“What we’re building now is the foundation for tomorrow’s STEAM curriculum. Every school in Canada and the States is going to have 3D printers and use the technology to do new and wonderful things. We’re opening that door.”
He adds: “We build solutions to make the teaching experience and the education process different. When I went to school, we were just starting to transfer from paper to digital. Now we’re flipping that switch again and making everything digital real with 3D printing.”
In another fledgling project, Hedges hopes to help disadvantaged kids get their hands on this technology. He’s in early discussions with the House of Friendship in Kitchener
to establish a community centre program for low-income children in Waterloo Region.
Although details have yet to be worked out, he and House of Friendship executive director John Neufeld are talking about providing short workshops in 3D printing to kids, perhaps at the Kitchener Public Library.
Neufeld says such a program would give children tech and modelling skills, and point them to the open-source community for free access to materials.
“We want to make technology more accessible to unleash imaginations,” he says. “A lot of this kind of technology can lead to kids developing helpful skills.”
Not to mention providing a way for Inksmith’s young president to make a difference in the world.