October 20, 2010 
With Technology growing at an increasing rate, it is now more important than ever to be teaching the students of today about the technologies of tomorrow. Until now this has been an extremely expensive exercise for High Schools, Tafes and Universities. Now with the development of affordable 3D printing system students are able to gain access to equipment that only a year or two ago would have been worth between $20,000 to $100,000 AUD.
The new 3D printing systems can be used for a number of studies from teaching Electronics and Robotics to Engineering and Design. Schools running the VCE subject Visual Communication and Design are now not only able to teach their students Design and 3D modelling through such programs as Google Sketch Up, but they can now manufacture the student’s designs in the class room with the aid of a 3D printer.
Today’s 3D printers are reasonably quiet and very clean so they are able to operate in a standard classroom without the need for any special equipment or fume extraction.
The use of 3D printers in education is now wide spread throughout the UK where they have had excellent results. Some UK schools have even included the assembly of a 3D printer kit into the curriculum. One product which has been especially successful in the education sector is the Bits From Bytes RapMan and 3000 3D printer models. The RapMan comes in a kit form and can be assembled by students, where the 3000 model comes as a fully assembled machine.
Australian schools have now started to pick up on 3D printing in education and over the next few years we would expect almost every school to have a 3D printer. 3D Printers will soon be common in the Australian workplace so it is important to teach the students of today the skills they will need for tomorrow.
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Wow, curriculum has come a long way in even the last 10 years. 3D printers in the classroom will give students yet another way to bring their creativity to life. Very impressive.