This week we worked on 3D printing using Tinkercad! Following along with Rich’s tutorial made creating a keychain a lot less intimidating than it seemed at first! Rich also introduced us to Thingiverse! This website has readymade models to import into Tinkercad, which I think would be useful for implementing in a K-12 classroom!
As a future English Language Arts teacher, I think a great use of this would be to include it in a novel study, especially at a middle school level. Students could use a 3D printer to create a few artifacts that are important to a character, and then explain their significance. We had a similar component, minus the technological aspect, for a book report assignment when I was in grade six. I think incorporating 3D design and printing would be an interesting way to help them build new skills while engaging with text!