Category Archives: News
“Invent To Learn” Shows Impact of 3D Printing and Makers on Education
Invent To Learn: 3D Printing and the Maker Movement Take Center Stage in a New Book on Education
In a new book, Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, internationally respected educators Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager capture the excitement of the maker movement and share the educational case for bringing making, tinkering and engineering to every classroom.
When 110,000 adults and children attend Maker Faire to learn together, exchange expertise, and showcase their creativity, it is clear that there is a learning revolution underway. Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom is the first book to introduce this phenomenon to educators and situate the lessons of the maker community in an educational context.
As schools embrace exiting new tools such as 3D printing, Arduino, wearable computers, robotics, and computer programming, Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom helps them get the greatest learning return on investment. The book explores these new technologies, places them in a historical context, and advises educators on how to create rich learning adventures in their classroom.
Nicholas Negroponte, Founder of the MIT Media Lab says, “Learning is often confused with education. Martinez and Stager clearly describe “learning learning” through engagement, design and building. The best way to understand circles is to reinvent the wheel.”
Beyond an explanation of “game-changing” ways to construct knowledge with technology, Invent To Learn features advice on effective teaching strategies for project-based learning and meaningful STEM experiences for learners of all ages. The book concludes with strategies for “making the case” and inspiration for school transformation.
While Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom combines theory, history, practical classroom tips, and countless resources, at its heart is a plea to place the child at the center of learning experience. Schools may purchase the technology of the maker movement, but the greatest potential will be realized when creativity, construction, and children are the focus.
Holly Jobe, President, International Society for Technology in Education says,”Rarely does an education book come along that provides a cogent philosophical basis and an understanding of learning, thinking and teaching, as well as providing practical guidance for setting up effective digital-age learning and “making” environments.”
Get the book at Amazon.com or learn more at the Invent to Learn website.
Top 3D Printing News Last Week: Michael Ian Black, Materials, Startups
3D Printing News
A roundup of the top 3D printing news from May 13 to May 18:
Monday, May 13
- 3D Printing Materials: From Plastic to Metal to Wood and Beyond
- Even Mega’s Kim Dotcom Doesn’t Want 3D Printed Guns
Wednesday, May 15
Thursday, May 16
Friday, May 17
- Michigan Tech Launches 3D Printers for Peace Contest
- Startup Azavy Launches AirBnB Marketplace for 3D Printing
Saturday, May 18
- Michael Ian Black Tweets About 3D Printing – Our Response
- Tinkercad Acquired by Autodesk: Free 3D Design Software Lives On!
Photo by lizzk used under Creative Commons license.
Tinkercad Acquired by Autodesk: Free 3D Design Software Lives On!
Tinkercad Acquired by Autodesk
In what will be great news to Tinkercad fans across the globe, the free 3D design software has found a new home at Autodesk. Autodesk has a suite of pro design software and its own free software such as 123D and 123D Catch for iPad.
Tinkercad is free, online 3D design software that is popular among 3D printing enthusiasts. The team announced they were shutting down Tinkercad in March 2013.
Now, in a change of course, Autodesk has acquired the software and website.
Here’s the memo from Founder & CEO Kai Backman:
I am happy to announce that we have just signed a deal where Autodesk will purchase the Tinkercad site and core technologies. This is a great day for all Tinkercad users, Autodesk is an very enthusiastic and capable steward. There are two main impacts of this deal: the site is fully operational and Autodesk has some very exciting plans for Tinkercad.
The shutdown plan has been rolled back and effective immediately new users are again able to sign up for the site. Even better, at the request of Autodesk, we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts. We have automatically upgraded all existing free accounts to this new powerful plan. This account will be offered for a limited time only so make sure you sign up as soon as possible.
Before signing the deal the we spent a lot of time talking to Autodesk engineers and product people about their vision for Tinkercad. We were impressed by the deep insight the Autodesk team had into the Tinkercad interface and the underlying technology. There is also a strong alignment on topics like furthering education and the vision of making design more accessible. But most of all we are very excited about the roadmap Autodesk has drafted for Tinkercad.
As our team continues working on Airstone I’m pleased to see Tinkercad find a safe and welcoming home. I can speak for everyone when I say that we are looking forward to using Tinkercad for a long time to come.
Yours sincerely,
Kai Backman
Founder & CEO
Michael Ian Black Tweets About 3D Printing – Our Response
American comedian Michael Ian Black, made famous through his role in The State, tweeted about 3D printing.
Several articles tell me how great 3D printing will be because it will allow me to make “missing game pieces.” Great.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 18, 2013
Okay, it’s a sarcastic tweet, but exciting that his nearly 2 million followers will be thinking about 3D printing.
Michael, here are a few ideas for you:
Practical 3D Printing: 10 Things to Make With a 3D Printer
Practical 3D printing? Hack Things put together a list of 10 practical things to make with a 3D printer. Here’s the list.
Wow: 3D Printing a Lunar Base with Material Already on the Moon
How would you go about constructing livable habitats on the moon? Foster + Partners proposes to use 3D printing with material already on the moon.
Photo by lizzk used under Creative Commons license.
Startup Azavy Launches AirBnB Marketplace for 3D Printing
Azavy, an AirBnB for 3D Printing
In college, all the Azavy team members independently had difficulty getting access to a 3D printer. Having lived through this challenge, they created Azavy to efficiently connecting designers with makers (owners of 3D printers).
Co-founder Michael Anderson described to us the vision for the company, ”3D printing is a nascent market with vast potential. We see parallels with the early personal computing industry. With rapidly developing technology, lowering costs, and increasing ease of use, the number of printers and their capabilities are expanding dramatically. Azavy allows everyone to participate in and capitalize on this new technology–by purchasing items, designing products or fulfilling orders.”
Think of this like the AirBnB of 3D printing. You want a design. Someone has a printer. Get it printed cheaper than higher-end 3D printing services through crowdsourcing. The service is similar to Teleport It 3D, but more trusting in the kindness of strangers.
Bringing 3D Printing Costs Down
Consumers buy 3D printed products because they are manufactured just for them and can be made from unique stunning designs. Products bought through Azavy arrive 2x faster and up to 6x cheaper than current competitors. User reviews and feedback establish consumer trust, and Azavy guarantees product delivery or your money back.
How Azavy Works
Designers start selling their 3D designs for a price-per-product that they specify, without requiring any upfront capital. Designers retain full rights to their uploaded files, and can choose to be the sole manufacturer if they do not wish to share their design with other makers.
Makers (owners of 3D printers) monetize their expensive assets which would otherwise sit idle. Azavy allows makers to place bids on products to fulfill orders, and monetize their 3D printers.
Anderson describes the marketplace:
Azavy will rapidly democratize the 3D printing landscape, empowering designers, consumers, and printer-owners. There are two primary sides to the Azavy platform:
1) “iTunes store” for 3D Designs: Designers are compensated on a per-product-sold basis, incentivizing them to create the most desired designs on the market, while retaining full ownership of their digital models. As the store grows, Azavy will be a major ecosystem in the intellectual property space for 3D designs, as physical items become digitized, transferable, and shareable.
2) Dynamically Routed Local Manufacturing: The Next Industrial Revolution will be on-demand, localized production. The Azavy platform makes this possible by connecting designers and consumers with local fulfillers. The secret sauce is the Azavy algorithm for routing work-orders based on consumer preferences, while optimizing for price and delivery time. By dynamically routing orders to local makers, Azavy enables the next generation of manufacturing efficiency – on demand production at the closest possible location.
The Azavy algorithm works by suggesting the best fulfiller for each item, specific to each consumer. Consumers also have the option to choose any of the various makers bids on each product, and the algorithm incorporates customer reviews, adjusting the “preferred fulfiller” for each item and trending to higher-quality manufacturing.
The Azavy vision is this manufacturing model on a global scale. 3D printers, supported by a library of digital designs, and an efficient crowd sourcing and order routing system, will enable production of physical items anywhere in the world on-demand. This is the Next Industrial Revolution, and represents a tidal shift in how people will go about producing products. By dynamically routing orders efficiently, Azavy represents the global production model of the future: items created on-demand, locally, for the cheapest price by available resources.
Azavy launched in April and is targeting early adopters and hobbyist 3D printers in the United States, while looking toward a long-term vision of a global marketplace.
In May, Azavy was named a winner in the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.
Below is a video made by the Azavy founders.
Learn more at Azavy.
