Learning & Leading Through Technology

The combination of a classroom fablab and a network allows schools to exchange digital designs for physical objects. How does this union empower students to experience authentic, active learning?

The Smithsonian X 3D Initiative

Anticipating this question, last fall the Smithsonian launched a 3D charter collection ( 3d.si.edu) featuring iconic, scientific, cultural, and historical objects. Students now have the opportunity to access, view, and in many cases download and reproduce selected objects in three dimensions. Using the website’s 3D Explorer, students can analyze every angle of an object, take true-to-life measurements, manipulate material properties, analyze cross sections, and take curated tours to understand an object’s context. The Smithsonian plans to build inquiry-based missions and activities using this 3D data.

With this goal, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is partnering with the University of Virginia to explore this 3D data’s educational potential. In an initial pilot, students at Sutherland and Buford used Samuel F. B. Morse’s journals and 3D printers to reconstruct a Smithsonian artifact, the Morse-Vail telegraph.

Students at Sutherland recreated a telegraph relay based on the original

1844 design. A newer design, an 1846 patent model from the National Museum of American History collection, was the basis for exploration at Buford.

The contrast and reasons for the revised design provided a natural historical inquiry and context for exploration of science and engineering design.

In short, the process of building early inventions and the transparent nature of their functionality and underlying scientific principles make their reconstruction an ideal mechanism for learning basic engineering and physical science. The success of the initial proof-of-concept pilot served as a basis for a planned series of explorations based on discoveries and inventions from the Smithsonian and Princeton University collections. Possibilities under consideration include an early motor (an “electromotive machine”) invented by the first secretary of the Smithsonian, Joseph Henry; a phone system ( microphone, speaker, and amplifier); an electrical generator and transformer; a working radio; and other inventions that transformed the world.

Thinking about the Future

We often overestimate the short-term
impact of an innovation and under-
estimate its long-term influence. That
was true of the first 4-kilobyte micro-
computer connected to a 300-baud
modem in the Curry School of Edu-
cation, and it will likely be the case
for digital fabricators in fablab class-
rooms. By examining the historical
evolution and impact of inventions in
the Smithsonian collections, we may
better understand the present and bet-
ter prepare for future innovations.

To learn more, look for the future online incarnation of the Connected Classroom, which will offer opportunities for educators and students to share digital files, student reflections, classroom video, and other resources.

Glen Bull is a professor of STEM education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. You can reach him at gbull@virginia.edu.

Carrie Kotcho is director of education and outreach at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

You can reach her at KotchoC@si.edu.

Matthew Hoffman is an educational specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. You can reach him at HoffmanM@si.edu.

CONNECTED CLASSROOM |

The Morse-Vail telegraph is believed to have been used to transmit the historic message “What hath God wrought!” from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., in 1844.