CUE 2013 was awesome!

I just can’t believe the outpouring of support we experienced at the Computer Using Educators (CUE 2013) conference these past few days!  This post is a big thank you to all the teachers, administrators, and support staff of the schools represented at the conference.  You guys were so much fun.  I think I can speak for Debby, Kandi, Emilee, Seth, Matt, and Riley when I say that the Windy Ridge Innovation (WRI3D) crew had a blast hearing your stories and ideas for 3D design and printing in schools.  Here are just a few of the interactions that stuck with me from the conference.

During one of the very few lulls on Friday, I noticed a young lady speaking with Emilee.  What caught my eye wasn’t that Emilee was speaking (she’s always quite articulate!).  It was that the young lady then turned to a friend and began signing.  I’ve had a few deaf friends and know just enough ASL to really embarrass myself.  I couldn’t help myself, signed “ASL?”, and the young man’s face brightened, to which I responded, “I sign a very little bit.”  With quite a bit of help from the young lady interpreting, I talked about our student projects and learned that the young man did tech for a local school.  He was quite excited about the possibilities of 3D design and printing in his school.  I’m still smiling because I love meeting interesting people like this.

I have a soft spot for math and science teachers since I am a physicist with a bachelor’s in math, so whenever a math teacher stopped by, they got a great big smile and a welcome from me.  I remember one math teacher standing at the booth and sort of giggling to herself as she turned our nautilus gears.  She kept using math-speak like “Phi”, “Golden Ratio”, and how these terms are related to spirals.  Another great lady stopped by and indicated she was a 6th grade math teacher, to which I responded that I had once been told by a gentleman from the office of the Under Secretary of Defense that middle school math was the hinge point for kids who wanted to go into a technical field.  She seemed a little chagrined, but I’m quite confident that she was being overly modest.  All the math teachers I know are dedicated to what they do–even on the frustrating days.

Math and science teachers weren’t the only ones interested in 3D design and printing, though.  I remember the English teacher who kept playing with the models on the front table and talking about how she “really needed” one of these printers!  Then there was the third grade teacher who came back a couple of times to the booth with that “I gotta have this in my classroom” look in her eyes, and the ultra techie fourth grade teacher who came back a couple of times to see the student projects and talk about all the cool possibilities.  This morning as I was thumbing through all of the responses to our “drawing” with your “drawings” on the back and noticed a professor from a psychology department came by the booth!  Everyone loves this stuff!

Most of the people we spoke with at the booth were teachers, but there were also administrators and support staff who came by to see what we were doing.  I remember a very interesting conversation with a buyer for one of the school districts who talked about all the possibilities for after school programs in her district.  I just couldn’t help but think about all the creative things kids in her district could be doing.  I also talked to quite a few principals who said things like, “A couple of our teachers came by your booth and told us that there wasn’t really anything else at the conference they were interested in, but I needed to stop by your booth to see what you are doing with 3D printing so we can get into 3D printing.”  We have been completely humbled by this type of response from you all.  I am looking forward to working with you all to inspire your students to great things.  The next two stories were my favorites.

On Thursday afternoon (03-14, “Pi Day”), a couple of teachers came by the booth, and I knew I was about to have some very rousing conversation when the taller guy turned to the shorter–but very lively looking–lady with him and said, “Am I going to have to head-butt you again?!”  We proceeded to discuss their interest and their school in which their major goal was to create “car thieves instead of murderers”!  Of course, I need to understand what that meant, and was told that they work at an Alternative School with students who already have police records.  At first, they weren’t sure how 3D printing could work in their school, but they quickly changed their tune and started picking up all our printed models and talking, joking, and apparently seriously considering how they might introduce technical concepts to students with our technology.  The taller guy kept looking at our “Big Pink Pi”, picking it up and suggesting that we should let him take the big one instead of the little ones we were giving away!  He came by several more times on Friday, and kept joking about the Pi.  Of course being a math teacher, how could he not want a “Big Pink Pi” for his classroom!?!  I finally told him that he should came back at the end of the day on Friday, and I “might have Pi for him.”  He stopped by 30 minutes before the end of the show and I said, “30 more minutes,” to which I got a roll of the eyes and a sparkle that said, “I’ll definitely be back!”  30 minutes later he was crowing down the aisle toward the exit with a “Big Pink Pi” for his math classroom in an Alternative School!  That’s the excitement we want to create!

 However, none of the other stories can beat this one.  Sometime mid-afternoon on Friday, Emilee pulled me aside to talk to a young teacher who asked if she could buy the Einstein we were printing.  I told her that we really hadn’t put a lot of thought yet into selling our models, to which she replied with a story.  At the beginning of the current school year she lined up all her students by birthday and asked if anyone had birthdays on a holiday.  Of course there were a couple, but then she pointed out to a particular little man that his birthday was also on a holiday.  He responded that he didn’t know his birthday was on a holiday.  This astute young teacher then straightened up a little and said with some authority, “Yes indeed, your birthday does fall on a holiday.  Your birthday is on Einstein’s birthday.”  At this the boy, fell down on the floor, aghast, for dramatic effect as kids will sometimes do.  Then a little later the little man pulled his teacher aside and said in all seriousness, “Do you think I could be like Einstein someday?”  How could I not send Einstein as a gift to this aspiring young physicist?  This is exactly the inspiration we want to offer together with amazing teachers!