3D boot camp available for educators

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Applied Systems & Technology Transfer, with support from W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at the University of Texas-El Paso, is offering a hands-on boot camp for educators interested in 3-D printing in the classroom.

The 3D Boot Camp “Train the Trainer” in Additive Manufacturing will take place June 21-24 at the Avalon Inn Resort and Conference Center in Warren.

“Few technologies have the power to impact learning and education as 3-D printing,” John Scott, AST2 president, said. “However, unleashing this potential is not without challenges. Hundreds of 3-D printers sitting idle in the corner of classrooms across the country testify to this challenge. Although simple in concept, 3-D printing in practice can be a challenge for many teachers that often leads to frustration and technology intimidation.”

In addition to building the INVENT3D Printer, attendees will have an all-inclusive four-day experience of focused, hands-on learning in an active, workshop setting.

Experts will share ideas about how to impact education through the Maker Movement and emerging technologies.

Attendees will learn how to create 3-D projects for the classroom, learn how to use computer-aided design programs and tour innovative additive manufacturing labs at America Makes, the national laboratory for additive manufacturing and Youngstown State University, which offers student and industry-accessible 3-D printing capacity.

Educators who train other educators in schools and learning environments are invited to register for the training. “The goal of this boot camp is to increase the number of educators who are capable and comfortable in teaching this technology,” Scott said. “They have the opportunity to fundamentally affect this industry’s workforce and future.”

Attendees will build an INVENT3D Printer, which they will keep. The INVENT3D Printer is a fused-filament printer that is built from a kit and is specifically designed for educational settings and students.

Designed by AST2 and manufactured in Youngstown, the INVENT3D Printer kit allows users to build, use and disassemble the printer multiple times and comes with a curriculum detailing the operational and electromechanical properties of 3-D printers.

“Additive manufacturing is an emerging, dynamic industry that is creating meaningful employment opportunities and influencing major industries to at-home hobbyists,” said Ryan Wicker, director of the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at UTEP. “Key to this transformation is educating educators who are teaching today’s students who will be tomorrow’s workers, innovators and consumers.”

Learn more and register at www.3dbootcamp.net Attendance is limited to 16 participants.

The 3D Boot Camp “Train the Trainer” in Additive Manufacturing is being funded, in part, through a contract with UTEP, which received an award from America Makes to develop an integrated system of equipment for low-cost, flexible 3-D electronics printing. AST2 is providing educational support to the award.