The use of 3D printer offers lot of possibilities in teaching. Our school has bought printers and they have been used in different subjects. Here I will show you how we have used them in geology.
We had students look at different kinds of
volcanoes in Iceland and they made a 3D model of the volcanoes and the
surroundings. The students worked in groups of 3 students and in their work
they had to made the design of the volcanoes in the right scale, in that part
of the work they had to use maps so it required them to have some skills in map
reading and interpreting what information you get from maps. Then they had to
use a computer program to make a drawing of the volcanoes that could then be
used to print out the model of the volcanoes. After printing the volcanos were
painted to reflect the vegetation or the average snow coverage during the
summer months.
This project has been useful in training the students in using maps, using their computer skills and given them a greater understanding of how they different types volcanoes in Iceland differ in shapes. This will also benefit future students since the models of the volcanoes will be used in geology classes when discussing volcanoes in Iceland.
