News Release
Homer CCSD 33C
Goodings Grove Luther J. Schilling William E. Young William J. Butler
Hadley Middle Homer Jr. High
Contact: Charla Brautigam, Communications/Public Relations Manager
cbrautigam@homerschools.org | 708-226-7628
For Immediate Release:
Feb. 8, 2016
STEAM lab equipment used to repair learning tool
Hadley Middle School teacher Jonathan Grill relies on his classroom ELMO to project lessons onto the board so students can follow along.
So when a student accidentally tipped the machine over, disabling the zoom feature when it hit the ground, Grill thought he would have to work around the projector’s limited abilities.
Then one night, after opening the machine and discovering a small piece of broken plastic, Grill thought of the school’s new 3D printer — a high-tech gadget used by students in the STEAM lab to create computer-generated plastic objects.
Could it possibly be used to craft a replacement piece for the ELMO? Grill asked himself.
The next day, while eating lunch with STEAM lab teacher Andrew Dole, Grill explained his dilemma.
“The ELMO works, but doesn’t work,” he said.
Dole decided to see if he could replicate the broken plastic piece — a tiny nub resembling a miniature bolt.
Using the same computer program and 3D printer that students use in class, Dole replicated a new plastic piece.
The first one was a little too thick, so he tried again. This time, he was successful.
“It took two tries and 2 cents to print,” he said.
Thanks to the 3D printer and Dole’s ingenuity, the ELMO is back to zooming in and out for classroom demonstrations.
Hadley Middle School teacher Andrew Dole used the same computer program and 3D printer that students use in class to design this replacement piece for a classroom ELMO. He added the quarter to show the size of the replacement piece.
“It works like it always did,” said Grill.
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