[3D Printing] How is 3D printing changing education? Let's hear from a STEAM teacher!

Ultimaker 3D Printers for Education: An Analysis by a STEM Teacher
Which technologies have had the biggest positive impact on education across all levels and subjects? Projectors, printers, laptops, and personal computers? We believe that in ten years, anyone asking this question will unhesitatingly add 3D printers to the list.

STEM teacher and drone racing coach Jackie Derr partnered with Mara Hitner, VP of Strategic Partnerships at MatterHackers, to introduce Ultimaker 3D printers to her middle school students through project-based learning. In this article, she shares her experiences using the Ultimaker 2+ Connect and Ultimaker S3 3D printers in her classroom.

Starting with the dual-extrusion Ultimaker S3 3D printer and then adding a single-extrusion Ultimaker 2+ Connect 3D printer with Air Manager to her classroom, Jackie then joined Mara Hitner for a live demonstration. They discussed her experiences using the Ultimaker series machines and shared some exciting learning projects her students completed through additive manufacturing. You can view these free 3D printing projects here!

MatterHackers compiled some key points and insights from her evaluation to share with other educators looking to start using Ultimaker 3D printers in their schools and educational makerspaces!

Deciding to Buy a 3D Printer — Don't Be Intimidated!
Reflecting on her experience choosing a 3D printer, Jackie described her feelings before taking the plunge and her initial worries about setting up and using the machine:

"I was honored to get to test out the Ultimaker 2+ Connect... I got the Ultimaker S3 first, and I have to admit I was very, very nervous when I ordered it! Because I was worried, how do I set it up, and so on, but that was a mistake, because the setup was too easy!"


Unboxing and Setting Up a 3D Printer — Quick and Easy
When the Ultimaker 2+ Connect arrived, Jackie took the opportunity to record her experience unboxing and setting up the machine from start to finish. Watch the quick, easy unboxing process and preparation for printing with the assembled Ultimaker 3D printer:

Key Points

Regarding the setup of the Ultimaker 2+ Connect, Jackie offered one final piece of advice: "I recommend that you download the manual before you start the setup, as it will guide you step by step."

Or contact our 3DMart specialists for guidance!


Advantages and Considerations

After effortlessly completing the setup phase, Jackie continued to use her new 3D printer. After completing 3D printing projects and lessons with her students, she reviewed the overall advantages of Ultimaker 3D printers and important considerations worth mentioning.

"As I put these things together, I thought, 'Okay, I want to list the positive aspects of the printer.'"

Advantages

• Easy out-of-the-box experience — It's easy to set up.
• User-friendly experience — It's more user-friendly than other printers I've used.
• High print quality — The print quality is high, and there's no mess.
• Wide variety of materials — You can use a wide variety of filaments! Mara added that you can go from polylactic acid (PLA) to Tough PLA (Tough PLA), to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and flexibles, to carbon fiber (Carbon Fiber) and glass fiber, and these materials are also very safe to use in the classroom.

Jackie believes that if you list the pros, you must also list the cons. But she didn't see anything negative! So she decided to make a list of considerations for the printer:


Considerations

• Removing support material from prints — For the 2+ Connect supports, you have to peel or clip them off, but she had to do that with the previous four printers she used. So she didn't know what to do either! One solution is to have students design items that don't require as much support material, or items that don't need any support if you change the angle (model). This is actually a good challenge for them.

• Single vs. dual extrusion — She almost feels like a print-making maverick now because the S3 is dual-nozzle. So you can use support filament, and then when your item prints, you just put it in a bowl of water, let it dissolve, come back the next day, and it's done!

• Price considerations — She also reviewed her experience with 3D printing, but with limited funds, her view on printers was — she has 120 or 150 kids, how many printers can she buy with limited money? So that meant if it was the 2+ Connect, she could buy two, so she did.

Jackie's final thought on her Ultimaker 3D printers was: "Setup, print quality, ease of use, Cura software, everything is great!"

For educational discounts and to start 3D printing in the classroom with Ultimaker 3D printers, contact us at 3DMart today!

These two are older models, while the newer S5 and S7 models are compatible with more filaments and have larger print areas!
👉 For detailed differences, see this S series comparison article: Before choosing an Ultimaker 3D printer, check out these 10 major differences!

Ultimaker will be hosting a webinar to explore the practical uses of 3D printing in education, such as in classrooms, libraries, and laboratories. If you are an educator, this webinar is for you! Whether you are interested in 3D printing, or thinking about new technologies or fun tools to engage and teach students, come and see if this is what you need! You can also directly ask experts, which is more time-efficient than constantly searching for information online!