3D printing and SketchUp are brilliant tools to foster digital creativity and learning in the classroom. 3D printing allows students to bring designs they have made digitally to a tangible item. SketchUp provides an easily acceptable and student-friendly platform for creating these digital designs for 3D creations.
The pedagogical benefits of using 3D printing are important in illustrating the use of this technology as it benefits students in their learning and can boost their creativity. 3D printing and SketchUp allow students to create their own models and encourage them to think in an abnormal way to come up with creative solutions to different problems. Furthermore, when students are able to create 3D models they can physically hold and examine a design they have created digitally which allows for more immersive and hands-on learning experiences. This also provides help to have a better understanding of spatial concepts and can promote greater engagement in the classroom, (Üçgül, & Altıok, S., 2023).
Technologies like SketchUp can be greatly used across a variety of subjects including engineering, art and maths. Designing 3D creations allows students to use their measurement, and geometry knowledge and skills to conceptualise the proportions and scale of what they are making. This allows for the use of mathematical skills in a creative way providing students with the freedom to create something unique to them.
However, there still lies a few pedagogical issues when it comes to using 3D Printing in the classroom. Although SketchUp and 3D printing are great digital tools for students with the heavy costs of the equipment and machinery it is not always accessible for schools to fund these. Teachers and Educators need to consider alternative ways of integrating 3D printing and this is where SketchUp is a great stepping stone for this. Students may not be able to have a physical model of their designs but they are able to upload and store these digitally and as schools further develop these designs may be printed into models they intended to be.
As you can see below through my personal experiences using SketchUp I was able to create a simple house in a small amount of time and although I wasn't able to have it printed being able to construct something and design it myself felt like an achievement I am sure a lot of students would enjoy.
References:
Üçgül, & Altıok, S. (2023). The perceptions of prospective ICT teachers towards the integration of 3D printing into education and their views on the 3D modeling and printing course. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11593-z
Hey Margot,
Really loved your blog post. I like how you did two different technology that also have a similar design focus. I found all the examples you gave really interesting and was intrigued reading about the different ways these technologies can be used in the classroom and how they can help students. Overall thought it was a really great blog post.
Shira Charif