Abstract
Digital fabrication uses next-generation computer-controlled manufacturing systems to translate electronic designs into 2D and 3D physical objects. Advances in technology are making educational applications and classroom use of digital fabrication increasingly feasible. The combination of digital fabrication with engineering design integrates mathematics, science, and engineering concepts into a highly motivating context. Students can use digital fabricators to quickly prototype ideas and create sophisticated designs that satisfy mathematics- and science-based criteria and constraints, encouraging students to imagine, invent, collaborate, and construct solutions to complex and authentic problems.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. The authors appreciate helpful comments from the University of Virginia Children’s Engineering research group and thank the teachers and students involved in the projects.
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Chiu, J.L., Bull, G., Berry, R.Q., Kjellstrom, W.R. (2013). Teaching Engineering Design with Digital Fabrication: Imagining, Creating, and Refining Ideas. In: Mouza, C., Lavigne, N. (eds) Emerging Technologies for the Classroom. Explorations in the Learning Sciences, Instructional Systems and Performance Technologies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4696-5_4
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