You see it every time someone discovers the magic of 3D printing: A charmed expression and fascinated stare on the nozzle building the real 3D object. A zillion creative ideas are running through their brain. That is one of the reasons why 3D printers are so popular in schools.
Here is another picture: A sole 3D printer collecting dust on the shelf where it was put aside after half a year of use.
Secondary Technical School Prosek, Czech Republic, was in exactly the same place a few years ago. But it didn’t give up on its initial goal to leverage 3D printing so that its graduating students had the design and computer skills associated with making 3D files to meet employer’s needs. Thanks to the determination of Lukas Prochazka, Deputy Headmaster, the school continued to look for the perfect way to use 3D printing technology in education since 2011 when it purchased its first printer.
In 2015, after partnering with Y Soft, the school came closer to reaching its goal than ever before. At that time, the school created a special classroom initially equipped with 10 YSoft be3D 3D printers (today it is 15) and opened the classroom to all of the school’s students and teachers. Finally, the school was able to fully integrate 3D printing with its own general 4-year curriculum. The school added a course on 3D printing not only as an individual subject, but also as a complementary technology that helped to improve the interactivity of lessons in other subjects like CAD or Machine Construction.
And, while students were allowed to use 3D printers for their personal purpose and fun, the highest portion of their printed objects were relevant for education. Moreover, most of printed projects were used towards the students’ graduation projects.
Read our
case study to find out how Technical School Prosek is using the classroom and what they learned in the one year field-test in order to operate their fleet of 3D printers effectively.
Today, Y Soft and the school, open the classroom for other school teachers in Prague to learn how to use 3D printing in their educational curriculum.
David Miklas, CEO be3D division of Y Soft (left) and Jiri Bernat, Headmaster of Prosek Technical School cut the ribbon to official open the 3D classroom lab to all teachers in the Prague area.
Students and teachers can enter the lab from the classroom or from a hallway. Entering by hallway gives the entire student body access to use the 3D printers without disturbing a lecture in the classroom.
The classroom has fifteen 3D printers provided by Y Soft.