Learning by Making. 3D Printing Guidelines for Teachers

Abstract

For many years now, and particularly since the 1930s, educational research has focused on the idea that all authentic education comes from experience. Nowadays, activism has found a natural affinity with the maker movement. Fab labs and creative ateliers have become more popular, especially for educational purposes, suggesting the coming of new types of “learning by doing.” However, these new forms of “learning by doing” must take account of the technologies already present in a particular creative space used by makers. These technologies are mainly: 3D printers, CNC milling machines, 3D scanners, laser cutters, etc. This short paper begins with a premise of educational ergonomics, to introduce teachers, media educators and animatori digitali (digital coordinators) to the didactic implications of introducing different human–machine interfaces (HMI) into their practices. In particular we describe the main features of SLA and SLS 3D printing. The impacts we discuss of 3D printing are resolution, types of printing materials, average printing times, post-processing, and cost. We have selected these criteria because it has been documented that their impact is very heavy in certain school subjects. For example, an FDM 3D printer can be useful in terms of the ease of printing an object, but it may not reach the necessary level of detail for a meticulous reproduction of art objects or precision mechanisms that an SLA 3D printer can achieve.