A secondary school in Sydney’s Upper North Shore has begun incorporating 3D lesson plans into its STEAM curriculum to introduce students to 3D printing, encouraging interaction and problem solving.
Turramurra High School has successfully piloted YSoft be3D Academy and is the first Australian school to introduce the program.
Launched in November 2019, be3D Academy is an online library that offers 3D lesson plans to help teachers use 3D printing in the classroom.
Using 3D printing, the lesson plans aim to provide students with alternative ways of learning, through the use of immersive learning tools that bring subjects – especially complex STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) subjects – to life in the classroom.
The resources available include videos, student worksheets and 3D model files to assist educators in incorporating 3D printing as a learning aid. Lessons in be3D Academy also specify the STEAM or design concepts that each project explores.
Y Soft provided Turramurra High with five YSoft be3D eDee 3D printers to use for the be3D Academy pilot. eDee is a 3D printing solution designed for the education sector, which includes the eDee printer and YSoft SafeQ 3D print management to securely, efficiently manage and control 3D printing. They use non-toxic PLA filament materials.
According to Will Delves, Year 12 Assistant Adviser at Turramurra High School, “Students definitely have an advantage having access to 3D printing. 3D printers let us facilitate transformative learning, which increases students’ ability to be creative and collaborative when learning.
“The students really enjoyed the program and it was also easy to teach as everything that was needed to run the 3D lessons was provided in be3D Academy, from worksheets to video resources. We even had a relief teacher with no previous experience in 3D run one of the projects with no issues. The 3D printing process was great for students, especially for visual learners, with clear and simple touch screen instructions and prompts. The added feature of lockable doors during printing, preventing access to filament materials, and the fact that materials were non-toxic also greatly increased the safety from a teacher’s perspective.”
Managing Director of Y Soft for Australia and New Zealand, Adam O’Neill, added, “It’s important for students to have access to technologies that prepare them for future jobs. 3D printing and be3D Academy not only educates students on how to use and interact with such emerging technology, but it also gives them an opportunity to be innovative while self-learning. They can easily access the 3D model database on be3D Academy and print out any model they want.”