SUNY New Paltz hosted three “mini-courses” on topics related to 3D printing for a select group of secondary educators across the state, on Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, as part of its service as the Mid-Hudson Valley host site for the New York State Master Teachers Program (NYSMTP).
Master Teachers from districts as far as Yonkers attended the courses, which were also broadcast to other Master Teachers across the state using lecture capture technology managed by Instructional Media Services (IMS) at the College.
Daniel Freedman, dean of the School of Science and Engineering and director of the Hudson Valley Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) at SUNY New Paltz, presented the first course as an introduction to 3D printing education; Katherine Wilson ’14g (Metal), assistant director of the HVAMC, gave a course on software and computer literacy skills needed to set up a 3D printing build; and Aaron Nelson, support tech with the Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF) program, demonstrated fundamentals of 3D computer-aided design (CAD).
“The staff of the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center is very happy to participate in the Master Teachers Program by sharing our expertise in 3D design and printing,” said Freedman. “We believe that design skills paired with 3D printing will have a wide impact on K-12 education, most immediately in science, technology, math and the arts, but eventually in almost every area. The participants in the Master Teachers program are a great audience to start the discussion on how 3D design and printing can be integrated across the curriculum.”
“The Master Teacher Program allows the state’s best teachers to work together in professional learning teams,” said Michael Rosenberg, dean of the School of Education, whose faculty and staff administer Master Teacher Program courses and programming at New Paltz. “It not only enhances the Master Teachers’ own development, but has an impact on other educators in their districts and assists in developing the next generation of great teachers.”
The Master Teacher Program is an initiative launched by Governor Cuomo in 2013 to partner colleges and universities with K-12 educators in New York in hopes of strengthening and expanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education across the state. New Paltz is one of four original SUNY host campuses (along with SUNY Plattsburgh, Buffalo State, and SUNY Cortland). The initiative has since expanded to 10 host campuses.
More information about the NYSMTP is available at http://www.suny.edu/masterteacher/.
About New Paltz’s 3D Printing Initiative
Since launching the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center in spring 2013, the College’s effort to fuse learning and manufacturing, science and the arts has continued to gain momentum. In February 2014, the College partnered with Brooklyn, N.Y. – based MakerBot, the leading manufacturer of desktop 3D printers, to open the nation’s first MakerBot Innovation Center at SUNY New Paltz. The 3D Printing Initiative received additional funding in fall 2014, including a $10 million NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant to help establish an Engineering Innovation Hub and $850,000 in capital funding for a new 3D Printing Laboratory. In December 2013, the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council and Governor Andrew Cuomo awarded the College $1M in state economic development funds. Currently, the HVAMC is providing digital design and fabrication expertise to about 50 businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the region. The Center also engages the local community and educates the public about the possibilities of 3D printing. Workshops for K-12 educators have attracted a wide variety of teachers, from art to science, who have an interest in digital design and fabrication and are utilizing these new technologies in their classrooms.
