The winning entry for the Santa Barbara County Education Office‘s 3D printer contest came from Karen Hamner, a fifth grade teacher at La Honda Elementary in the Lompoc Unified School District.
The county invited teachers from all over the county to submit lesson plans outlining how they would use the 3D printer with their students, with the winner receiving one for their classroom, said Matt Zuchowicz, Director of Educational Technology Services for the SBCEO.
The contest, open to any K-12 teacher in the county, judged the entries on clarity, ingenuity, creativity and correlation to state standards, as well as creatively incorporating 3D printing into the assignments.
Hamner will use the 3D printer with her students as part of an eight-week unit focusing on a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) Design Challenge where her students will work with younger buddies to create a prototype solution for a real-world community problem, Zuchowicz said.
The 3D printer, which was made by MakerBot and donated to the SBCEO by Troxell Communications, is valued at $2,800.
Zuchowicz said he hopes this contest will bring innovative technologies to schools in Santa Barbara.
— Noozhawk intern James Fike can be reached at jfike@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.