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A Makerbot In Every Classroom

Posted by Unknown on from the now-do-it-with-a-reprap dept.

Daniel_Stuckey writes "At the start of this year, President Obama nicely summed up the grandiose promise of 3D printing — or rather, the hype surrounding it. In his State of the Union address the president suggested the fledgling technology could save manufacturing by ushering in a second industrial revolution. That shout-out inspired a spate of buzzkill blog posts pointing out — rightly enough — that despite its potential, 3D printing is still in its infancy. It's not the panacea for the struggling economy we want it to be, at least not yet. Apparently the naysayers weren't enough to kill the 3D-printing dream, because, with support from the federal government, MakerBot announced its initiative to put a 3D printer in every school in America. The tech startup and the administration are betting big that teaching kids 3D printing is teaching them the skills they'll need as tomorrow's engineers, designers, and inventors." Caveat: Makerbot no longer produces open hardware, and they are pushing proprietary Autodesk software and educational materials as part of the free 3D printer. Makerbot also launched a call for open models of math manipulatives on Thingiverse (you might remember them from elementary school) so that teachers have something useful to print immediately.

24 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. Can you guys get over your Makerbot obsession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Makerbot isn't open. They want to sell locked in 3D printers.

  2. As a mechanical engineer... by hubang · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd rather see a shop class in every decent sized high school in the US. Equipped with manual milling machines and lathes. WAY more useful.

    1. Re:As a mechanical engineer... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How about auto repair? I think it's a good place to start with mechanical skills because everybody owns a car, and knowing some basics will save you money even if you don't choose to do much yourself, let alone be employed in the field. It exposes you to mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems, and some actual motivation to fabricate or recondition parts in a subsequent shop class.

    2. Re:As a mechanical engineer... by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This entire initiative, as great as it is, ignores a small problem: We aren't raising our children to be builders, we're raising them to be consumers. Consumers have no initiative, and see no point in things like shop class, or building things... afterall, isn't that why we import indians and chinese?

      Also, as soon as some high school student builds a gun with the 3D printer, that'll go away.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    3. Re:As a mechanical engineer... by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nah. I've heard this argument since I was a kid.

      The reason it has been around so long, perhaps is an indicator it has merit.

      Sure we are consumers, we are also producers.

      Find me something within arm's reach that has Made In America on it. Chances are, there isn't one; And odds are very, very good, it won't be one of the first five things you grab.

      It is easier than ever to make things. There is a guide or place to ask how to make ANYTHING on the internet. If I am motivated to make or fix something on my own, I have the guidance to start at it immediately.

      I think I see a flaw in your cunning plan; You aren't motivated. You're just saying that if you were, then yeah, shit could happen. But it ain't happening... because you, like hundreds of millions of others, don't want to.

      Look, people are lazy, we have always been lazy, very few people are doing productive things with their time 24x7 outside of their jobs, if that. That is nothing new.

      Okay, hold on to that for a minute and then consider again the statement you're upset about: We're consumers, not builders.

      just because companies are trying to entice us with advertising doesn't mean we have guns to our head and have no choice in the matter.

      "guns to our head", phrase: It means "I am deeply conservative". Because really, you types are the only ones that ever think there's a gun to your head... and perhaps only a miniscule amount of guns have ever been put to the heads of anyone uttering this line. Basically, if you utter this phrase, I put you in the moron category and move on, because your arguments will invariably be bullshit propaganda, with a side of cognitive distortion, served on the silver platter of self-importance.

      Look... I just said we're creating a culture of consumers. That's why nobody wants to build anything; Instant gratification. Everybody's a winner. You can have it all! It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. We're teaching our kids that you don't need to work hard to succeed -- you just need to open your mouth and let someone shove spoonfuls of product into it.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    4. Re:As a mechanical engineer... by tibman · · Score: 2

      So where does Minecraft fit into that? They are consuming entertainment by "building" virtual structures.

      --
      http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
    5. Re:As a mechanical engineer... by Tweezak · · Score: 2

      Exactly my thoughts. I was so envious of my brother who went through school years ahead of me. He was able to take metal shop, learn to run a mill, lathe and to weld. By the time I got to high school the metal shop had been shuttered. I was still able to take auto mechanics for a couple semesters and got good at fixing cars. But I'd really love to learn how to weld properly. Yeah...a 3D printer will allow you to build plastic crap that will break and you'll have to make a new one - which fits our disposable mentality these days - but machining and welding allow you to make something robust that will last for years and can be repaired if it breaks.

      Quality is dead. Disposable is king.

  3. Makerbot Not For Kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you think you can unpack a makerbot, press the button and start printing Eiffel towers, you need to get out more.
    It's definitely a DIY machine and produces more failures than successes.

    1. Re:Makerbot Not For Kids by fermion · · Score: 3, Insightful
      There are high school programs that have 3D printers. The kids develop the skills over a number of years to do useful things with them. The 3D printer is one of the many carrots for learning the skills.

      Here is one area where a 3D printer can encourage students to learn a skill. Suppose that you were reverse engineering some object with many pieces Each student would have to measure and design a piece in the CAD software. Now, most students do not understand why good measurement is necessary, or why they need to make an effort to draw the object exactly, or how many measurements are really needed. So each student draws and the pieces are put together in the software, and adjustments are made because the pieces are not going to fit exactly. Eventually the group of students gets something that fits together in the software and prints. Inevitably one or two pieces are not going to fit together in the physical prototype, debugging will have to happen, and much learning will go on.

      The problem is that such a process is long, there are not many grades involved, and students who are not motivated and curios tend not to benefit very much. There has to be a reason to have a tool in the classroom, and a understanding of how it is going to be used. otherwise it will, like the laser printer, be used to print shoes.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    2. Re:Makerbot Not For Kids by hypergreatthing · · Score: 2

      Do i think a kid can unpack a markerbot, download a design for Eiffel towers and start printing them immediately? yes.
      I would expect kids to do this and see how easy and powerful a tool it will be. Then ease them into making modifications and then designing their own inventions from scratch.

      It would be like woodshop 2.0, with less buzz saws.

  4. More things to break... by HockeyPuck · · Score: 2

    Film projectors that "stuttered"
    Paper printers that jammed, ran out of ink etc...
    Laptops that get dropped, crash etc..

    Nothing like putting something even more complex into a teacher's classroom for them to troubleshoot.

    Is 3D printing really going to help kids do math and read better? I don't recall PrintShop running on an Apple IIe making me a better reader, though I did crank out some banners...

  5. Another gizmo to be funded by taxpayers... by mi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since 1962 the per-pupil costs of public schools has quadrupled (inlation-adjusted — the nominal increase is 25-times!), while the results remain just as — if not even more — disappointing. Indeed, merely 30% of 8th-graders are deemed proficient in reading . Will a "makerbot" help solve this fundamental problem? Somehow I doubt it...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Another gizmo to be funded by taxpayers... by mi · · Score: 2

      What would that "fundamental problem" be exactly?

      That increases in funding failed — for some reason — to improve education quality.

      when the cost of the labor force enabling education in the US triples

      The per-pupil costs not tripled, but quadrupled — and not all of those monies are spent on (the more expensive) labor...

      Clearly you know how expensive it is to be ignorant.

      Come, come — is not it customary to exclude present company in a polite argument?

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  6. idiotic when we have hungry students with no books by SuperBanana · · Score: 2

    Makerbot also launched a call for open models of math manipulatives on Thingiverse (you might remember them from elementary school) so that teachers have something useful to print immediately.

    Why are we encouraging schools to buy thousands of dollars in equipment (the 3D printer, the computer to drive it, the materials, etc - nevermind the teacher getting sent off to training seminars and whatnot) when we don't have enough textbooks for students, teachers for decades have been paying out-of-pocket for school supplies, and students are not performing well because they're hungry?

    We don't need 3D printers. We need paper, chalk, textbooks, and sandwiches.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  7. Fix parenting and the basics first by Gothmolly · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Feed your kids breakfast. Teach them respect for authority. Remove shiny attention-span robbers from the house. Teach them to learn first. A Makerbot just throws money at it, layers more crap on top of a rocky foundation, and kicks the can of responsibility down the road.

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
  8. kids are the same every generation... by Thud457 · · Score: 3, Funny

    plastic penises in every classroom!

    crap, I posted a obXKCD link. I feel dirty now.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  9. This won't last long... by Kaenneth · · Score: 2

    Just wait until a kid prints a gun at school...

  10. Re:I didn't know by RenderSeven · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The API is the STL file format, which is pretty open. Just about any CAD program can generate one. Thats fed into either the Makerbot slicer or the open source Skeinforge slicer to generate the X3G files that get sent to the 'Bot. What do you want to do that needs more openness than that?

  11. Who will teach them? by morgauxo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My high school had a 1 million dollar computer lab gifted to it. That was quite a bit in 1990s money considering that I had a graduating class of under 40! The problem was that the only teacher who knew anything about computers was the band teacher. He was good, don't get me wrong but his musical love/responsiblities came first and he didn't really have time to teach computer class. After he struggled to fit in a programming class for 1 semester he realized he couldn't do it. After that about the most advanced thing in the room was Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

    Maybe school teachers are more techically proficient today? I doubt it! Even if they are.. with all the finiky settings that go into getting a 3d printer to work right, and all the failure prone parts that go into one... I don't see how this can possibly work!

  12. Re:idiotic when we have hungry students with no bo by quintessentialk · · Score: 2

    I wouldn't say 'idiotic' -- I believe you don't need to fix all the problems in the world before you're allowed to do new things. That said, I come from a family of teachers, and that insight leads me to agree with you. I'm especially offended by teachers buying school supplies out of pocket. If I, an employee of a large organization, had to buy office supplies out of pocket, I'd assume the company was on its way down the toilet or at the very least had major management problems. Teachers are somehow conditioned to think having to buy supplies for your classroom and your students/customers is o.k... or they have too much empathy. Again, there's no reason you can't have both makerbots AND fix these problems, but my experience is that investment from technical companies and press celebrate enrichment in either a few affluent schools or in the one poor school that has the luck of being the example case. Meanwhile, there are plenty of schools remaining without enough pens and paper, let alone current generation computers, ipads, makerbots, etc....

  13. Re:Yeah, that's convinced me by OffaMyLawn · · Score: 2

    A home computer in 1980 could do way more than any cheap piece of plastic one of these printers will ever produce. Those kids would be better off with VIC-20's and Sinclairs, and they would be a lot cheaper.

    I have to agree with this one.

    My youngest daughter is now in middle school, 7th grade. Her school did not get a Makerbot donated to them, but they did purchase one for the computer lab. I have issue with this, but not because they have a 3D printer. It's because they spend money like this constantly (this isn't the only purchase they've made that I have issue with) and yet they do not even have the proper course materials available for students.

    She has a total of one textbook. And it's of the dead tree variety. I don't believe that they need to make the immediate move to digital, though I think it would be beneficial. I have issue with the fact that they just do not have textbooks for all but one of her classes. So if she is having issues with the material that her teacher feels the need to send home with her, there is nothing for her to turn to for assistance.

    Thankfully her mother and I are capable of helping her, but what about the students that don't have the family resources available to them for help? We also help tutor one of my daughter's friends, as her parents are either not capable or not willing to make themselves available to do so, but we cannot take on every student that needs help. We do not have that kind of time.

    For students in her age range, this is nothing more than a toy. And a waste of money.

  14. A **teacher** in every classroom by globaljustin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's start by getting proper pay for and hiring more teachers.

    These fabricator things can be a great learning tool **For a quaified teacher to use**....it's not really on the radar for most schools right now.

    Most schools are busy figuring out which teachers to lay off b/c of unnecessary budget cuts.

    To the point above about "makerbots"

    It is definitely hype. It's embarassing b/c essentially its the same thing as that plastic mold machine at tourist attractions that can make you a plastic souvenier of the Washington Monument.

    Fabricator technology has improved greatly, but only in the commercial/industrial usage areas.

    It **will** eventually reach the consumer level but now it is far,, far from it.

    I **hate** tech hype! Wastes BILLIONS.

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:A **teacher** in every classroom by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 2

      It's embarassing b/c essentially its the same thing as that plastic mold machine at tourist attractions that can make you a plastic souvenier of the Washington Monument.

      At least those "mold-a-rama" machines demonstrate real-world manufacturing techniques. There are a hell of a lot more injection molding machines out there cranking out parts than there are 3D printers, that's for sure.

      --
      Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
  15. Re:Someone still has to design by aztracker1 · · Score: 2

    Funny, I was thinking parking lots were a nightmare, because they were designed by people who live in areas where the Prius is considered a "large car" and they parking lot is in Phoenix, Arizona where nearly half of all vehicles on the road are full-size pickup trucks.

    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info