Workshop | 3D Printing Technology – a New Mean for Improving the Education Experience

Workshop: 3D Printing Technology – a New Mean for Improving the Education Experience

 Organizing institution |  Valahia University Târgovişte, Romania

Co-organizer | LUMEN Association, Center for Research in Socio-Human Sciences, Romania

Guest workshop facilitator | Mrs. Gabriela Dinu, Inspector for Physics and Chemistry, Dâmbovița County Scholar Inspectorate;

Chairs |

Assoc. Prof. PhD. Ana-Maria Suduc, Valahia University Târgovişte, Romania, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology;

Assoc. Prof. PhD. Mihai Bîzoi, Valahia University Târgovişte, Romania, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology;

Prof. PhD. Gabriel Gorghiu, Valahia University Târgovişte, Romania, Teacher Training Department;

Assoc. Prof. PhD. Laura-Monica Gorghiu, Valahia University Târgovişte, Romania, Faculty of Science and Arts;

General presentation | 

Additive manufacturing – more commonly called “3D printing” – started about 40 years ago, but it became more popular in the last few years due to the constantly and rapidly decrease of the prices for 3D printers and 3D printing accuracy improvements. Those significant and very important changes offered new opportunities to the education sector, mainly for improving the lessons demarches, making them more interactive and technology-based, in order to get young students more interested in STEM education.

The European Parliament published in 2017 a document entitled “Three-Dimensional Printing, a Challenge in the fields of Intellectual Property Rights and Civil Liability”, stating that European Union gives priority to 3D printing.

3D printing has a great potential in education. The students can benefit in two different ways: (1) they acquire knowledge about new technologies – an important issue since technology is now present in all the areas of activity, and (2) they may understand better complex concepts and theories, offering to them the opportunity to be designers and exploiting their creativity.

The challenge is how to introduce 3D printing in school topics and activities. This workshop aims to introduce the participants to 3D modelling and printing and gives several ideas of how to use this technology into the classroom.

The objectives of this workshop are:

  • Presenting 3D printing technologies;
  • Familiarising with a 3D modelling software. Designing and 3D printing a 3d personalised object;
  • Solving a problem by means of 3D printing; Improving design through iteration loops; Learning about real life through a model; Understanding the cost-benefit relationship of solutions

Themes | 3D modelling, 3D printing, problem-solving, self-driven learning

Date & time | Wednesday, 21.11.2018, 14.00 (2 hours)

Participants | pre-university teachers, high school students, public interested in the proposed topic.

Contact person | Assoc. Prof. PhD. Ana-Maria Suduc (email: ana.suduc@ valahia.ro).