My students need a 3D printer for technology skills to be competitive in the current job market and what better time to get these skills then now when they are young and eager to learn.
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
A typical day is filled with adolescent energy. Students are engaged in their projects, moving, asking questions and using technology, creatively whether on an iPad, drawing or on a computer to develop their creative thinking skills. I want to channel that energy and curiosity to learn 3D printing.
My students about 150 each quarter; are 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are from all different backgrounds.
They speak different languages, have different styles but they all wear the same school uniform.
They have this room set up for them to create with iPads, computers, drawing tablets, large wooden tables and now hopefully a 3D printer. They can be creative, independent learners and using technology imaginatively for 50 minutes a day. My goal is to use the 3D printer this year to increase their experience with different technologies and work on their marketable skill. They will learn about job possibilities in art and technology and keep them competitive for the current job market. Learning and becoming proficient in a new media/skill will build their self-confidence to succeed in other areas of their education. Having a class with a 3D printer to learn new skills, creatively in middle school would be exceptional experience for these underprivileged.
My Project
3D printing will be a unit of study in the media arts class the first year. Then all the art classes will get a chance to print 3D from a 2D drawing. Each student will use CAD software to create something 3D. We will spend a couple of months learning the program, drawing, editing, and finally creating in TinkerCad something to be printed. They will use for example measuring, measurement conversion, volume, area, perimeter, planes, angles, every time they create something 2D that will be 3D. Students will create three-dimensional solid objects from a digital/virtual file.
3D printing is expected to have a major impact in the next two to three years and a 3D printing experience in the classroom will give students a skill that will be able to put on a resume. Creating something 2D then printing 3D is exciting.
My school cannot rely on parents to fund extra materials or projects since it is a high poverty area.
I rely on grants to fund technology and make students lives enriched. My classroom is par with any school because we get technology funded and hopefully we will get a 3D printer funded to improve this classroom and the exposure students will get to a technology that is part of the future. When I tell them about 3D printing it is hard for them to believe. You draw and then print it in 3D - magical!
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Baldauf and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
