MODULE C - THE MAKER PHILOSOPHY, PROTOTYPING AND 3D PRINTING
The module will explore the maker philosophy, that is the philosophy that unites and distinguishes makers, the "digital craftsmen", i.e. those inventors, authors and artists who out of passion design and self-produce in their laboratories, called "Maker spaces" or "FabLab", mechanical, electronic equipment, open source software, robotic creations and everything that stimulates their desire for innovation.
The main objective of this training slot is to share and experiment with teaching methods that imply prototyping methodologies, digital manufacturing and tools for the acquisition of key skills in integrated, formal and informal environments, through distance learning tools, virtual environments, social platforms and other collaborative ones.
The training will privilege the pedagogy of the task (task based) which aims to develop the ability to construct and apply the knowledge possessed through concrete and adequate products, in line with the educational and training goals of the various learning paths.
Specifically, the module will develop applications related to prototyping and 3D printing.
Today prototyping (making a prototype) has taken a new direction and a new meaning: developing ideas, validating concepts, collecting feedback, exploring technologies, making decisions, discovering other opportunities for improvement! All this thanks also to new technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, but also thanks to special software that everyone can use, and the possibility of using 3D printers.
The 3D printer is an additive manufacturing process, which differs from the classic, subtractive manufacturing processes: as in the furniture creation process, where the craftsman forges his model from a piece of wood, or the factory machinist who creates his piece from a larger metal base. Just the opposite of these processes, the 3D printer works with the localized addition of material, with the sole aim of creating the functional final part. To manufacture a three-dimensional physical piece, all the devices must have a support plane on which the piece will be created and a print head, or nozzle, which, moving on the plane, in several stages, creates layers which will make up the volume of the piece.
3D printers are to all intents and purposes the new frontier of teaching, since the possibility of creating three-dimensional models of objects designed by students opens up new scenarios with extraordinary developments, such as giving substance to one's ideas, transforming them into real objects.
The 3D printer is one of the tools, as well as educational robotics, Arduino, and the maker philosophy in general, which accustoms children to having a "problem solving" approach, defining for each order and level tasks suitable for the students' age.