Students Create with 3-D Printers

This year at Cesar Chavez Academy Middle School, 3-D printers have been noticed around the school and used by the Robotics Class.

One of the printers was donated by the Mr. October Foundation, led by Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson, and the other five were purchased from the school’s budget. They are being operated almost everyday by Robotics Class teacher Mr. LaMonica, who prints objects  for students along with others who have made a request. 

3-D printing can improve learning by giving students a chance to cooperate with their teacher and use creativity skills, according to 3-dprinting.com. It can also prepare a student for presentations and fun, creative projects. According to Mr Lamonica, “You can print all sorts of really useful stuff. For robotics class, we are printing a little piece that will be used in a robotics competition. You can print anything you want… people even print 3-D things like artificial limbs.” This shows how 3-D printers can be both creative and useful.

Mrs. Jenkins, the principal of CCAMS has worked hard to improve the school’s access to technology since she became school leader in 2015. According to an article on Wayne State’s Grade School website, one of her first orders of business was moving the budget to allocate $500k to a new computer lab. Before then, the entire school shared only three computer carts. Mrs. Jenkins stated, “I have nearly 650 kids. Imagine each and every one of them taking their time to sign in and out of those laptops.” This shows how she successfully managed to have a larger arsenal of technology to assist her students. Having the 3-D printers donated is just another sign of assistance with students’ education and creativity.