Seeing things printed, in 3D, right before your eyes can be pretty amazing. This not only goes for the students but for me, and other adults in the building. It's somewhat "magical" to see a computer image become something you can hold in your hand.
This is our first year using our new 3D printer, fondly named Ruby by my class. Giving it a name has been fun and gives it a human like personality, if a printer can possibly have a personality. In a 1st and 2nd grade classroom one sure can.
We began our journey with Ruby this year by learning the vocabulary and some of the components that came with her. Her filament, perf board, nozzle as well as the raft, degree of solid material used and any supports she may use to aid in creating a model have expanded our knowledge base. She is helping us use and learn about how easy it is to incorporate STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math) into an elementary classroom setting in new and exciting ways.
Then we moved on to our first classroom project by starting our research. A little like our Passion Projects, students were able to choose an animal from Haiti to research. This research lead to fact cards for each animal. These fact cards along with multiple copies of models for each animal, will be part of a set of educational tools to be used by students in poor villages in Haiti later this month.
To say it has been flawless would be a lie. We have learned that sometimes Ruby doesn't like the design we have chosen so she doesn't print it accurately, or at all in some cases. (Our problem, not hers) We have learned she can only do what she is told because despite her human like qualities we have given her, she is only a computer and can only respond as such. We have learned that she does her job very well when we (the students and the teacher) tell her exactly what to do and provide her with what she needs to do that job. She is pretty amazing!
Regardless of the number of prints we do, each time she works on something for us it's hard to not be somewhat intrigued and want to watch her work, for at least part of the time. And of course when she beeps to tell us she is finished checking out her completed task is a must! Even so, she works so quietly that it's easy to continue on with our daily classroom routine as she prints.
As we continue through the rest of this year look for more about the trials and tribulations with our friend Ruby. Students will soon be creating their own code for her to print unique designs. I'm sure she will let us know if she doesn't agree with what the students have told her to do and am certain she will continue to help our students build their STREAM skills along the way!
Happy 2016!
-Lynn
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