By Jessie Fetterling

Langhorst’s U.S. History classroom incorporated the 3-D printer into its curriculum in a variety of ways during the first couple units of study this year. Photo Credit: Eric Langhorst

LIBERTY, Mo. — One of the most popular classroom technologies to date is the 3-D printer. The device helps transform the classroom experience from a passive one to an active one by helping students visualize abstract concepts through printing 3-D objects on the spot. As the technology begins to spread across U.S. classrooms, School Construction News spoke with Eric Langhorst, an eighth-grade teacher at Discovery Middle School in Liberty, about his experience using the Dremel 3D Idea Builder and how it has shaped his classroom curriculums.

Q: In what classroom setting do you most often use the 3-D printer, and are there specific curriculums that require technology of this kind?

Langhorst: I teach a rather eclectic collection of eighth-grade courses — U.S. History, Technology and Student Broadcasting — at Discovery Middle School. Social studies has always been my primary subject, but my passion for incorporating technology in the classroom has provided me the opportunity to teach these additional subjects as well.

The most obvious implementation of 3-D printing this year has been in my technology course. My technology courses in the past have included a unit on 3-D printing and online CAD programs like Tinkercad and SketchUp, but without a 3-D printer in the classroom, it has been purely theoretical. My students are now designing items in Tinkercad and then holding them in their hands in a matter of hours.

The Dremel 3D Idea Builder helps transform the classroom experience from a passive one to an active one.

Our U.S. History classroom has incorporated the 3-D printer into our curriculum in a variety of ways. As we studied Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, we downloaded 3-D scans of significant archaeological work of the location using the Smithsonian X 3D Project. After an activity discussing one of the burial sites at Jamestown, we printed one of the 3-D models from the Smithsonian site in our own classroom and used it to continue the conversation about archaeology. My students feel a stronger connection to the content when they are able to hold it in their hands.

Another exciting emerging use of 3-D printing in the classroom is the ability to make custom 3-D maps of geographical locations. Sightline Maps recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to provide greater access to teachers and students who want to 3-D print their own maps of anywhere on earth. Providing students a three-dimensional model of a place on earth they have never visited next to a comparison of their own geography is powerful.

Q: What are the primary benefits of having a 3-D printer in the classroom?

Langhorst: I believe having a 3-D printer in a traditional classroom instead of a designated makerspace or shop area has advantages. I like that the printer is always visible and accessible to students. Even students I don’t have in class will come to see the printer and ask if I can print something for them if they design an item in Tinkercad. Having the printer sitting in the classroom invites more conversations and more applications.