3D Printing, group presentations, and more!

So it's been awhile since I updated.. What can I say? Finals week us upon us and I have been relaxing because MINE ARE DONE. Almost. Almost completely...

I wanted to post some of the things we did for our 3D printing presentation a few weeks ago. Now we have a final project that includes Mozilla Popcorn, an online program which allows the use of open links, Google maps, and other resources online. I was comparing it to putting a news story together using the internet.

My professor in my Ed Technology class gave us the opportunity to use an iPad and explore the possibilities of teaching and learning through apps. My group found the app 123D Creature, by Autodesk, to be extremely - well - AWESOME!? As someone who just last year was introduced to 3D modeling I can say that this is a very student-friendly option on the iPad.

123D CREATURE

Directions

• Start by creating a skeleton – drag joints to create new limbs, or to adjust their position.


• Adjust the thickness of your creature’s skeleton by dragging the shaping rings.


• 123D Creature will keep your model symmetrical automatically.



• Once you’re done creating the basic skeletal structure of your creature bake it in the digital kiln before adding additional sculptural detail.


• In the sculpting room you can refine the surface shape using tools from the popular 123D Sculpt app. Sculpt out or in, smooth and sharpen and flatten, until your creature is complete.


• Use the airbrush to paint on color, or use Image Paint to rub areas of a photo from your image library onto your creature to add realistic details.


• Bring your creature into the Render room where you can adjust the lights, background, and filter effects to generate amazing scenes and images and share them on Facebook, Email, Twitter, or save to your image library.

In my classroom I would hope to 

a. Have access to an - or many - iPads 

b. Have access to a 3Dprinter

BECAUSE I WANT TO DO THIS WITH KIDS. SO BAD. Okay. All caps lock aside, here are some reasons I came up with for 3D printing in the classroom (not just the art room):

What is so great about 3D printing anyway?!

3D printing in the classroom setting… and communicating relevance

„ Students experience real-world design problems

„  “Fab Labs”

„ Design objects for specific uses

„ Design improvements on existing objects

„ Why didn’t my design work/print properly?

„ INQUIRY, FAILURE, SUCCESS = LEARNING

„ Components for more complex machinery

„ Replace parts of larger machines

„ Engineer newer and better components

„ Many parts make up the whole

„ Working models and artistic renderings

„ 3D modeling

„ Game design

„ Fashion design

„ Character design

„ Architecture

„ Product design etc.

**3D printing is a hugely resourceful and modern Maker technology with many applications in classrooms, workshops, laboratories, and even the home.**

Long story short.. I am OBSESSED with 3D Printing. My Maker group had to present 3DPrinting as a learning technology to a local superintendent... I think we overwhelmed him a bit! But that's the difficulty in presenting such an advanced machine to schools; there is not a great deal of information out there that is in layman's terms... I spent a lot of time working with my group to translate information. The main uses we focused on were problem solving, applications used with 3D printers (Rhino, Autodesk software) and of course LEARNING possibilities. I think that our findings are best summed up in the video we had to put together for class. 

On that note I am going to go back to... RELAXING. I only have two finals this semester so finally I get a break!

Back to the hot cocoa

Ms. K