Thousands of educators throughout Europe are embracing 3D printing as a new way to teach 21st century skills and prepare students for the jobs of the future. Taking the first step to introduce students to 3D printing, however, can be challenging. MakerBot, a major desktop 3D printer manufacturer, conducted in-depth research this spring to better understand how to help educators incorporate 3D printing in classrooms. The research shows that acquiring 3D design skills is a major hurdle for educators and there is no single resource to address this need.
To fill that gap, MakerBot published a handbook designed to provide educators with a wide variety of ideas, activities, and projects to get started with 3D printing. Titled MakerBot in the Classroom: An Introduction to 3D Printing and Design, the handbook includes an introduction to 3D printing and a range of hands-on 3D design lesson plans. MakerBot in the Classroom will be available from July 1st as a free digital download for registered MakerBot customers and a sample project chapter will be available free to anyone who registers on eu.makerbot.com. Additionally, MakerBot launched a new MakerBot Education landing page with further ideas and resources to support the integration of 3D printing in the classroom, such as real-world MakerBot stories, videos, challenges for teachers and students, and more.
“3D printing is a powerful tool in the classroom and provides engaging experiences that motivate students to excel. 3D printing can help teach many of the 21st century skills that employers are looking for, such as STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, art and math), literacy, collaboration, problem-solving, and applying knowledge to the real world,” said Jonathan Jaglom, CEO of MakerBot. “We’re excited to launch MakerBot in the Classroom to help even more educators and students discover the power of 3D printing to create original designs. This handbook is part of our broader MakerBot Education initiative, which aims to provide teachers, professors, librarians, and students with access to the resources and tools they need to embrace 3D printing. We will continue to work together with educators to build out the leading MakerBot 3D Ecosystem to address their specific needs.”
