3D Printing

New for me this year was teaching 3D printing.  Naively I thought it would be an easy tool to add to the tools I use in the classroom.  What I learned is that using a 3D printer is very time consuming.  The maintenance required to keep the plate level and the print nozzles calibrating was very time consuming.

Was it worth the time?  YES.  My students used TinkerCad to design the 3D prints.  Teaching students grade 4 and older to use Tinkercad was easy.  Opportunities to teach the engineering design cycle were endless.  My students were really excited to get their first 3D print, but mostly surprised that the object printed was not the size they expected.  This provided many opportunities for re-design that helped students to understand iteration process.