“The students are excited and very motivated about using the Glowforge.” said Stacey Lamb (4th and 5th grade LED and one of the teachers who facilitates use of the Glowforge). The Glowforge is a 3D laser cutter and engraver. The Glowforge is one of the main tools that 4th and 5th grade students use on campus. It really helps us students try new things. Ms. Lamb said that you can laser print on many different mediums, like wood or acrylic. According to glowforge.com, you can also laser print on glass, coated metal, marble, anodized aluminum, wood, fabric, leather, titanium, phones, tablets, laptops, and even chocolate! The Glowforge can also really help the kids grow and learn how to use new tools. All of the students who are using the Glowforge, whether it’s for business or for class projects, enjoy using it.The kids in 4th or 5th grade use the Glowforge for Deep Dive, Exploration, business, and just for fun! Kids really benefit and enjoy the process of using Glowforge. In this article, we will go over how the Glowforge works, and its pros and cons.
Student making a black and white design for the Glowforge program.
The Glowforge is a 3D laser cutter and engraver. The way it works is that you use Glowforge’s software to make a design. Here are the steps for making a design on the glowforge. For example, let’s say you wanted to use the Glowforge for a logo. The first thing you would do is make a black and white design (as shown in the photo below). The next step you would do is to clean the logo up a little bit. For instance, taking out unnecessary parts that won’t be needed. The next step is to submit it to the app and then print it. Depending on the design it may take from a few minutes to a couple of days. But in the end, kids are very satisfied with their results.
Photo of the Glowforge in 4/5
The Glowforge has its pros and cons. First, let’s start with the pros. One of the good things about the Glowforge is that it really motivates a lot of kids. The way the Glowforge works just fascinates all of the kids working with it and therefore promotes interest in the Business Deep Dive. “It’s a way to produce art in a 3D way,” Ms. Lamb (4/5 LED) says, “a lot of the kids are using it for many creative projects.” But now, there are some cons. For example, although the Glowforge is a very awesome tool, it also costs a lot to buy the expensive resources. The final con is that no matter what you do, you HAVE to use Glowforge’s software program.
The Glowforge is an amazing tool. It helps kids and makes them excited to try new things. Kids get so excited to print things out on the Glowforge. The Glowforge can also become an amazing resource for different things. For example, last year, we began to do Business again after the COVID-19 shutdowns and we saw many, many people use Glowforge for their products: bookmarks, wooden journals, logos, bracelets, board games, and much more. Kids here at D39C used the Glowforge for plenty of things!
Some final products from the Glowforge.