Introduction, and one of my ideas

[Alex Franke]

This group was formed after a number of people in the #reprap channel
expressed interest in sharing ideas and develop strategies for
introducing 3D printers into schools. To start things off, I'd like to
share a bit about what I had in mind.

First of all, my son is in first grade and attends a project-based
charter school, where they already have a couple of cool clubs like
building stuff and ham radio. The clubs usually span grade levels 1-5.
If I can bring the cost down low enough and solve some safety and
usability concerns, I'd like to see if I can start up a new club there
with the idea that it would research, source, build, tune, and then
operate a 3d printer to use for school projects. I think the earlier
kids know what prototyping is and have prototyping tools at their
disposal, the better -- I think they are natural makers.

So we've started our own Prusa build at home with a $300 price target
to see how things go. (You can see some details here:
http://www.thefrankes.com/wp/?p=2617) I like the $300 price target
because I think it's reasonable to expect that each member in a club
of six could raise $50 for a build. We (my wife and I -- she is a
technical writer and also a member of this group) have been talking
about building a sort-of club curriculum that would guide students and
interested adult volunteers through the process of researching,
sourcing, and building a machine. Obviously, once we're up and running
ourselves, we'll have a better idea of how feasible it is, how the
curriculum might be structured, and what concerns need to be
addressed. So far I think the biggest concerns are safety and
complexity.

If the project looks feasible, I'll try to address some of the obvious
safety concerns by designing an enclosure -- hopefully one that the
kids themselves can make.

If you have any thoughts or concerns on this idea, or if you have
other ideas, please chime in!

--
Alex Franke
www.theFrankes.com