With the increasing budget of the Tech Department at Laura Secord, the school has finally invested in new technology. Laura Secord’s tech classroom introduced a 3D printer and laser cutter to the class for the first time. This futuristic technology has given tech teachers Kyle Nickel and Jacob Piett new teaching opportunities for their students in both Construction and Tech Design.
Although not yet accessible for student use, the 3D printer has received a fair amount of use as Nickel calibrates it and learns the ins and outs of the machine. Nickel says, “there are some kinks that have to be worked out when understanding what would print properly and what is a waste of student's time.” This preparation period has allowed Nickel to come up with new projects expanding his student's knowledge of the design process outside of the computer programs he teaches today.
Depending on the size of the object Nickel says the 3D printer takes approximately 2-3 hours to print. This is referring to objects his students have been experimenting with such as a spaceship prototype (reference 2). The laser cutter on the other hand has a much faster time of use depending on the project. Nickel's recent project allowed him to cut out his student's designs for a coffee logo using the laser cutter. This project took approximately 15 minutes per design.
Both Piett and Nickel have used this new technology as a way to revisit previous projects such as phone stand creation. In previous projects, students were meant to design and then construct phone stands and this year they have now been able to 3D print these stands after the design process.
“Tech isn’t the only department interested in using the new technology,” Nickel said. He explained, “multiple members of the science department, including Mr. Bell, have expressed interest in using the equipment for future projects in their own classrooms.” Bell, the science teacher for primarily chemistry students, sees the 3D printer as an opportunity to allow students to assemble and explore molecules and structures.
Tech is providing Secord with many opportunities to explore, creating a great deal of excitement for the future students of Laura Secord Secondary School.
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