The continually and ever-rapidly evolving nature of education in the technological world continues to expand possibilities for students. Everything from projection systems and screens to interactive learning systems have revolutionized the game for educators and students alike, but 3D printing offers students an unprecedentedly tangible approach to interactive learning in the comfort and budget-friendly confines of the classroom.
Consider Some of the Most Compelling Reasons Why 3D Printing Is Beneficial to Students
Over the past decade, 3D printing has made great leaps in availability and affordability for everyday users, including students. 3D printing capabilities stand to greatly enhance the way students acquire the same deeper understanding that they gain from performing lab experiments, building models and creating their own artwork. As a matter of fact, the 3D printer can help students with these types of projects and so much more.
Explore some of the ways that 3D printing enhances the overall learning experience for today’s students:
3D Printing Bridges Gaps Between Learning Disciplines
Many students often feel as though their educational possibilities fit into a box. They might think of themselves as a “language arts” person or a “math and science” person, but with 3D printing might just be the way to break through long-held cross-discipline barriers. Young art-oriented students, upon seeing a freshly 3D printed fossil or an artificial anatomical body part like an ear, can see the artistic wonder and intricacy of the model and may view geological, biological and other sciences in a new light.
From Concept to Concrete Creation, the 3D Printer Is a Powerful Design Tool
The 3D printer gives students a chance to take a design idea, create a prototype, test the results and gather peer feedback to see how effectively they can see a conceptual project through to completion. Such a learning tool offers students new opportunities in independent thinking and design, as well as a way to interact with fellow students to try to find pathways to design improvement.
3D Printing Encourages Classroom Communication and Cooperative Learning
The simple truth is that 3D printing offers a somewhat magical experience in the classroom. Each time a student creates a new object—from a fidget spinner to a molecular model—it instantly becomes a conversation piece among students and teachers. The resulting engagement creates new avenues to learning. Students can pass the object around and discuss features they had never considered before.
3D Printing Unleashes the Power of Creativity for Students
The 3D printer gives students brimming with vision the opportunity to express their ideas in bold and instantaneous new ways. Many students can envision solutions to life’s daily problems and just need a way to bring those solutions to life. The 3D printer is the perfect tool to help tomorrow’s top innovators get a head start today.
3D Printing Pays Off for Students and Educators Today and Into the Future
There is no limit the possibilities that 3D printing offers educators and earnest students from grades K-12 and far beyond. 3D printing is set to revolutionize the way today’s students learn, giving them new insights to cross-disciplinary possibilities, design capabilities, cooperative learning and more.
