Invent to Learn Chapter 7

            In this chapter, Martinez and Stager talked about game changers in technology and creativity in the classroom. The first game changer is Fabrication and I found this part very interesting because I have never seen or even heard about 3D printers. These 3D printers are subtractive machines and they take various materials and create 3D pieces by layering them to make the new item. There are many parts to these printers and different filaments that make these printers very unique. These printers seem fairly easy to use and students can get very involved, if not completely in control, of this process. The students first design their ideas on the computer and make sure it all measures out correctly, next the students prepare to print their design by making it an .STL file and once that is complete this, they can print their object. The text stated that the most difficult part of this whole process is choosing the correct printer. The prices range from $1,000-$100,000’s and the best way to decide what printer is best for you is to figure out what are the most important qualities that you are looking and what projects you aim to use the printer for. This is a great product for our students because it gets them learning about graphic design and how to use these devices in our ever-growing technology-based society. The next game changer is Physical Computing and this part has people physically put these devices together. The students’ work with the hardware and software and it appeals to all kinds of students. These can also be much cheaper and there is a lot of help that people can receive if they choose to take the physical computing route. I really like the idea of physical computing because I personally believe that people learn best from hands on experiences. This type of learning lets students take charge of their education and they will become better problem solvers and active thinkers during the process. Finally, physical computing brings more attention to the use and importance of electronics and students will be able to understand how electricity truly works. Some examples of physical computing are Makey Makey, Drawdio, and Minty Boost. The last game changer is Programming and it gives people the opportunity to understand how a computer functions. This can be incorporated into our curriculum by having students program games to teach units, which has them learning the material while they are programming! This is a great idea because you are teaching your students without actually lecturing to them. I would like to incorporate this programming into a classroom, but it would take a lot of preparation since I am not the best with using technology. However, I believe that this can be very beneficial to our students and it allows them to learn using different methods and most importantly, they get to learn through experiencing and will have more success with storing this information into their long-term memory. Overall, I really like these different techniques for teaching our students and this can be a very productive and successful way to educate our students.