Like 3D printers? Beautifully shot videos? TEDx? Then hit play to check out TEDxCoMo’s wonderfully whimsical event promo, which features University of Missouri student Alex Madinger’s living-room-assembled 3D printer in action.
From the organizers:
TEDx magnetizes the creativity in a community, drawing together a convergence of modern thinkers who wish to create a better future…Seeing this reaction, time and again, makes the theme of next month’s TEDxCoMo [“Feedback”] entirely too relevant as the speakers will only fire up new ideas by sharing their stories. Come to the Missouri Theater on April 6, 2013 to be a part of the next cyclical growth of ingenuity.
Credits:
DIRECTED/EDITED: Chelsea Myers
MUSIC: Tim Pilcher
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Jacob Derryberry
For more on TEDxCoMo, visit their website.
Photos: Kids experiment in FabLabs — spaces in schools designed for project-based STEM learning (via FabLab@School and TEDxManhattanBeach)
Paulo Blikstein is head of the FabLab@School program, an extension of Stanford University’s Transformative Learning Technologies Lab. FabLab@School aims to install “low-cost digital workshop[s] equipped with laser-cutters, routers, 3D scanners, 3D milling machines, and programming tools” specially-designed for children in schools across the world, so that children will be able to learn by doing, not just hearing.
At TEDxManhattanBeach, Paulo spoke about the project, and the importance of DIY in education. From his talk, “A school for makers”:
In a world where we are surrounded by technology — technology shapes the world around us — [most of our students] know nothing about how those things work.
We dissemble something — we don’t know what’s inside. We look around — we don’t know how things work. It’s all magical. And it’s amazing that school is not doing more to teach us about how to understand science, how to understand technology, how to understand what’s around us.
…You can’t teach sports unless you have a gym. And it’s the same idea for the 21st-century skills we want to teach kids: innovation, creativity, critical thinking, deep understanding of science and technology. If you don’t have a place to teach these skills, you can’t really do a good job.
[So we build labs with] 3D printers, laser cutters, robotics, science equipment, sensors, all sorts of construction and science materials for kids to build projects, build inventions…
[A student] spent six months [in one of our labs] building [an invention of her own design.] Here, I don’t want to talk much about the technological skills that she acquired, but how this changed the way she looked at the world — not looking at technology as something magical, but looking at technology and science as a tool to improve the lives of others.
For more information on FabLabs and STEM education, watch Paulo’s entire talk below:
You can print that?! 5 TEDx Talks on the wonders of 3D printing
It’s not hard to realize that 3D printing is a big deal. Articles about the technology pop up every day, telling stories of scientists printing human ears; pens that write in three dimensions; and NASA robots that, once launched, could create entire 3D-printed bases on the moon. It’s hard not to want to learn more.
At TEDx we have you covered. Behold — 5 great TEDx Talks on the amazing new possibilities created by our favorite new technology — 3D printing:
3D printing for everyone: Ben Wynn at TEDxYouth@SanDiego
At TEDxYouth@SanDiego, research scientist Ben Wynn breaks down the mystery of modern 3D printing and explains just why this new technology is so exciting — and not just for the experts. From a means to recycle old soda bottles to a way to replace parts that are no longer manufactured, Wyatt tells us why 3D printing is an innovation worth spreading.
Why I have a 3D printer: David F. Flanders at TEDxHamburg
David F. Flanders is a 3D printing guru and the host of PIF3D, a collective dedicated to hosting “build parties,” during which 3D printing experts help curious outsiders build personal 3D printers. In this talk from TEDxHamburg, he discusses the development of the technology and the implications of its mass use, including 3D printers’ role in recovery relief, architecture, and the office supply closet.
3D printing in nano: Jan Torgersen at TEDxVienna
Jan Torgersen developed the nanoprinter — a 3D printer that can print sculptures 40 micron smaller than a human hair and models of racecars small enough to park on a blood cell. In this talk from TEDxVienna, he introduces us to this technology and discusses applications in the real world.
Printing with sand: Markus Kayser at TEDxGhent
How to create art in the desert? Using the sun instead of a laser and sand instead of resins, designer Markus Kayser’s solar-powered 3D printer allows him to transform ordinary sand into beautiful objects.
A school for makers: Paulo Blikstein at TEDxManhattanBeach
Paulo Blikstein thinks we learn best when we do. Through his work with the Stanford University Transformative Learning Technologies Lab, he’s made it a point to turn school classrooms into spaces for creation rather than memorization. In this talk from TEDxManhattanBeach, Blikstein explains how he uses 3D printers, robotics, and computer modeling to put learning into the hands of the student.
Q&A: MakerBot’s Bre Pettis at TEDxSiliconAlley
At TEDxSiliconAlley this week, KoPoint interviewed TED Fellow, founder of MakerBot, and two-time TEDx speaker, Bre Pettis about the future of 3D printing. Listen above, and find more of KoPoint’s interviews at their website: http://kopoint.com/
