Many school systems across the globe are searching for affordable opportunities to incorporate technology into their classrooms. In India, publishing company MBD introduced a K12 3D printing course at the New Delhi World Book Fair held last week. Meanwhile, Pitsco Education has been successful in incorporating the technology in U.S classrooms.
India, known for its large and fast-rising tech sector, has welcomed 3D printing and supported investment in educating students. According to 3D Print, a company based in US said that early education on the technology will bring students ahead of the technological curve as the tech industry grows.
“They [MBD] already supplies traditional text, work, and reference books, as well as teachers’ manuals, and they also lead in the digital education arena.”
MBD has been making its presence felt in the country’s education market for some time. The publishing group has released learning apps, e-Books, digital content, tablets, notebooks, and even an augmented reality app.
“It is MBD Group’s belief that almost every school subject benefits from 3D printing technology,” 3D Print stated. “They will provide printers and software to integrate 3D printing technology into already adopted K-12 curricula.”
The group is also hoping to bring its 3D education courses to higher education institutions and offer software to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
In the United States, Tech Republic’s Lyndsey Gilpin said, one teacher used Pitsco Education’s 3D printing learning programs through a simple setup for the children. Pitsco is a U.S-based provider of STEM learning programs for K12 schools and has been working to implement 3D printing learning into classrooms.
“Trudi Lawless is an engineering teacher at a junior high school in Orange Park, Florida,” Gilpin said. “Not long ago, she decided that she wanted to use a 3D printer in her classes, so she purchased a 3D printing curriculum through Pitsco Education”
According to Gilpin, Lawless said, the children did not initially understand the concept, but were able to grasp it over time. She said their understanding of how the technology works represent the “limitless possibilities” that students could imagine. As an example, Gilpin wrote about one student who created an iPhone case and decided to print it at school.
