3D Printing

   3D Printing in Schools.  Sounds like something from the future.  But as technology and availability increases we will see it in schools.  Some of the most obvious areas would be through engineering and design, medical and other sciences courses.  But it could be used in almost all classes if teachers are willing to think outside the box.  As a Culinary Arts teacher I had to do some thinking on how exactly I could use this technology with my students.  At first thought my mind went to "there's no way I could use it."  But as I continued to ponder on the possibilities I was able to come up with some ideas.
   First, my students study management as well as the techniques of culinary arts.  Part of that management plan is to create a proposal for their future food service establishment.  In that proposal they are to create a floor plan on how they want their restaurant, food truck, etc to be laid out.  The 3D printer could make a replica of their floor plan so they could troubleshoot problem areas as well as provide a life like replica to show their ideas.
   Secondly, students could create replicas of food.  We have projects where they are to research and show such things as types and parts of sandwiches.  Instead of drawing out the replicas or hand making the 3D prototypes by cutting construction paper and other art supplies they could create their prototype with the 3D printer.
   Thirdly, as the teacher I could produce some samples of knife cuts to show  the sizing of different cuts.  These samples, being made out of paper, would stay "fresh" and not decompose as would real food replicas.  Therefore, could be used from class to class, semester to semester, year to year.
   These are just a few examples of how I could use a 3D printer in my classroom/lab.  I think with how I would be using it the 3D printer would be a benefit over the Rapid Prototype machine.  The Rapid Prototype machine is larger and produces larger prototypes than the 3D printer.  It works faster and makes larger replicas than a standard 3D printer.  It also costs more to buy and operate.  Because of budget constraints and how I would be using it a  good quality 3D printer would be the best fit for my classroom.  However, for engineering and medical type classrooms that could use the machine for more projects, the rapid prototype machine may be a better fit.