Teacher, 3D Educator Liz Arum has been someone we have followed closely. One of her crucial roles these days is teaching other educators how to make better use of 3D printing, digital fabrication, and interactive technology into their classrooms.
If you have been hunting for the storehouse of project based curriculum that she has been developing since 2009, we received an update that it is now now hosted here!
From the overview page:
3D Printing is one of the most disruptive technologies around, and 3D printers are changing the way we create and learn. These printers are affordable, personal fabrication tools, compact enough to sit on any desktop, and allow anyone at any skill level to become producers, inventors and artists. Students participate in project-based learning that is experiential in nature and has real-world applications. The process of designing, inventing and fabricating exposes participants to various career paths such as industrial design and engineering, and allows them to directly engage with the tools used in those fields. 3D modeling, capturing and printing engages students in the world around them, kindles a curiosity about how machines work, how objects fit together, and how the designers, architects, and inventors who build the products, spaces and technology in their lives have found solutions to a variety of design problems. These technologies have the potential to transform the way we think about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and to inspire more young people to pursue STEM careers.
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!