Category: 3D Printing

3d printing in the classroom

May 15, 2014

Manufacturing

If it takes 4 hours to print one marker and we are in school for 6 hours a day, how many hours will it take us to print 30 markers? How many days will it take us to print 30 markers? After some discussion the class decided that we could print 2 a day if […]

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May 8, 2014

Working Prototypes

At last we have a working prototype. It may not look like we intended, but it works. After all this research and design I thought it would be a good idea to make sure the LEDs work. So, I used an Altoid tin, some wires, an LED, and a battery to rig something up. We […]

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May 1, 2014

A Treasure Trove and a Redesign

The last couple of weeks have dragged on with our interactive whiteboard marker. We have had a week off of school and have been stuck getting our design to print 100% the way we want it to. We’ve tried a few different software programs, had a Google Hangout with an expert, and tried several versions. […]

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April 24, 2014

Small Victories

My students are making great progress with Interactive Whiteboard Markers. They have successfully overcome two obstacles that were slowing down progress. The first one may have been the most satisfying for them to accomplish. The original file that we downloaded from Thingiverse does not have a cap on the end. Therefore, we needed to fabricate […]

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April 10, 2014

Board Games

I have no data on this, but I would guess that the number of teachers who have their students create board games is pretty high. Why not? It’s a fantastic, multi-layer project that can demonstrate a great deal of student learning. I have done board games for literature topics, social studies, and a number of […]

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April 3, 2014

Authentic Learning

This week I had two parents tell me at different times that they were very happy with what I was doing in class. The first parent called and left a message. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a parent call and leave a voice message with the only purpose being to state how pleased they […]

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March 27, 2014

Hacking the Pen

Several years ago I had the privilege to work with Dr. Carl. Technically, Dr. Carl was our site technician meaning that he was there to help keep our computers up and running. In reality he is an educator who is as passionate about education technology as I am. He was interested in Maker Education before […]

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March 20, 2014

World 3D Printing Expo

Recently I had the privilege of attending the World 3D Printing Expo in Burbank, California. I was invited to attend and participate on a panel to discuss 3D printing in the classroom. The entire event was a fantastic experience. The first session I attended was on how to fund 3D printing in the classroom. A […]

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March 13, 2014

Explaining 3D Printing

I love explaining 3D printing to people who have never really been exposed to it before. As I share all of the incredible things you can do with a 3D printer their facial expressions  go from bewilderment to pure imagination. I’m also amazed at how some people see the possibilities it presents to some while […]

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March 7, 2014

3D Printed Entomology

When I first got the 3D printer my mind swam with different ideas of how to use it in my classroom. You can see my first brainstorm here. I find the process of choosing what actually gets used in the classroom to be interesting. I thought I had some really good ideas, and some were […]

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