If schools have always been seen as fantastic places for the democratization of new technologies, allowing for the introduction of initially less accessible tools such as computers or the Internet, today we might question the arrival of 3D printers in the educational sphere.
A 3D printer in a factory, a workshop, or even a laboratory, yes, that’s common. But what about in a classroom? Well, it turns out that this is also possible, and the trend might even become widespread. Indeed, some schools have started incorporating 3D printers designed for students. While primary school children are far from the job market, it’s still deemed necessary to study these 3D printing technologies from an early age, thanks to educational-purpose machines.
3D Printing for Better Understanding
Despite a significant delay in France regarding the integration of these new technologies in schools, there’s an increasing demand because new generations are inevitably influenced by this digital and industrial transformation. So, how can these innovative tools be used effectively, and what would be the advantage of such a method? Firstly, 3D printing techniques could be applied in various school subjects to simplify concepts and help students understand certain theories by having the opportunity to materialize them. Among essential subjects, we can mention Physics and Chemistry where teachers could create 3D representations of molecules, for example. In Life and Earth Sciences, it would be possible to model parts of the human body and then print them for future study by students. Because, yes, it’s always easier to understand when you can see with your own eyes and touch with your own hands, and it’s certainly much more fun than a textbook.
An Original and Fun Learning Experience
And for those who do not like mathematics, don’t worry. Children might start appreciating them when it involves building an object in a fun, step-by-step manner. Here, math would have a real utility between measurements, shapes, and conversions… Even in History, we could create famous monuments. Therefore, all these theories and complex examples could suddenly be easily simplified and presented more clearly to students of any level thanks to this 3D printing service in schools.
The purpose of having a 3D printer at school would thus be to make learning more dynamic and interesting for students who could then, through this technique, model concepts and subsequently touch them, a very important aspect for concretely materializing things and fully feeling one’s work. This learning method can therefore prove effective. Moreover, it is not the only existing one, as other production methods such as injection molding also allow for the simple production of parts from three-dimensional designs.
