The Potential of 3D Printing in Education

3D printing is slowly becoming a common sight in colleges and universities across the United States. According to an article on the USA Today's website, The University of New Hampshire, University of Alabama, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are just three of the many universities that have invested in 3D printing technologies for their students. These universities are helping to pave the way to integrating this technology into classrooms by providing students with the opportunity to learn how to use 3D printing software and technology. These universities along with many others, have created special labs for students to be able to create and share their ideas with others. As 3D printing technology becomes more accessible, smaller universities such as Fort Hays State are now able to join in on this growing 3D printing trend. In our “Maker Space” at Fort Hays State University, we use a MakerBot 3D Replicator 2 printer to bring our various 3D models to life. This printer utilizes a plastic polymer filament that is then heated up and used to create various 3D models. Our lab also includes a 3D scanner along with a with a computer workstation outfitted with various 3D model creation software.

3D printing brings a new level of interactivity to the classroom allowing students to touch, see, interact, and create various 3D models of the many concepts they may be learning about. The following Inforgraphic shows just some of the many ways students can use 3D printing to enhance their learning experiences.




Image take from http://cucfablab.org/

At Fort Hays, various student and faculty members have been using this technology to create objects for educational purposes. The University’s Biology Department has been utilizing the 3D printer and scanner to create 3D models of various insects. Another student has been using Fort Hay’s printer to create various models of Meteors traveling through our solar system. Finally, our group has been playing with 3D printing in order to create educational models to help explain the abstract concepts of communication theory.

As this technology becomes more accessible to students and the public, it will be interesting to see how it will grow and evolve. It’s been exciting to work with this technology firsthand, and our hope is that our findings will help others see the potential of 3D printing in education.