High School Students 3D Print Face Shields for Medical Workers
2020-05-03
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1Students across the United States are using three-dimensional, 3D, printing equipment to make face shields for medical workers.
2Some of the students are attending Camdenton High School in Camdenton, Missouri.
3They have been using 3D printers from a nearby middle school to produce hundreds of shields for working battling the coronavirus.
4When teachers learned of serious shortages of personal protective equipment, they got the idea to use the printers to make the much-needed devices.
5The project began with a request from a local hospital for 150 face shields, but production quickly rose as demand kept increasing for equipment to protect health care workers.
6The 3D manufactured shields differ from traditional face masks worn by doctors and nurses.
7The shields are placed on top of the head and have a long piece of plastic in front to completely cover the face.
8They guard against particles coming from an infected person's mouth or nose.
9Camdenton Middle School received the 3D printers as part of a project with the University of Missouri's College of Education.
10The aim was to show middle school students how to use modern technology to solve problems affecting their communities.
11Johannes Stobel is a professor of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the university.
12He says the project was successful in more ways than one.
13He said the effort helped fill a great need for protective equipment.
14But it also gave the students experience in using technology to attack a problem and serve the community.
15"Doing hands-on projects that solve real-world problems gets students more interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics [or STEM]," Stobel wrote.
16His comments appeared on The Conversation website.
17He added that research has shown that students, especially girls and students of color,
18"become motivated and interested in engineering when it is tied to working for the social good."
19Zane Foulk is a senior at Camdenton High School and a member of a local youth robotics team.
20He told the University of Missouri's Mizzou News he was pleased to see medical workers wearing the new face shields.
21Foulk added that support in the community had been strong and the team planned on continuing production.
22"We have been making roughly 40 face shields a day and will keep going until we run out of material or the hospitals get what they need," he said.
23In the Washington D.C. area, another high school senior helped to organize volunteers to make face shields with 3D printers.
24Jonah Docter-Loeb said the idea came to him as he watched news reports and heard that supplies of protective medical equipment were fast disappearing.
25Doctor-Loeb is in his final year with the private Georgetown Day School.
26He decided to contact members of a local online community of 3D printers for help.
27He found a publicly available design for face shields that people could use to print from home.
28In less than a month, his idea grew into an effort called Print to Protect, involving about 100 3D printers, mostly in individual homes.
29The group has been producing face shields for medical workers in D.C. area hospitals.
30In Amarillo, Texas, another high school student is using his own 3D printer to make face shields and donate them to medical workers.
31Adam Uszynski, who attends the iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas, says his idea came out of a discussion with his father, who is a doctor.
32Uszynski said he has already printed more than 150 face shields and has a goal to produce more than 1,000.
33A report on his activities appeared on the website of Responsive Ed, a not-for-profit group that provides support to the school.
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Students across the United States are using three-dimensional, 3D, printing equipment to make face shields for medical workers. 2Some of the students are attending Camdenton High School in Camdenton, Missouri. They have been using 3D printers from a nearby middle school to produce hundreds of shields for working battling the coronavirus. 3When teachers learned of serious shortages of personal protective equipment, they got the idea to use the printers to make the much-needed devices. The project began with a request from a local hospital for 150 face shields, but production quickly rose as demand kept increasing for equipment to protect health care workers. 4The 3D manufactured shields differ from traditional face masks worn by doctors and nurses. The shields are placed on top of the head and have a long piece of plastic in front to completely cover the face. They guard against particles coming from an infected person's mouth or nose. 5Camdenton Middle School received the 3D printers as part of a project with the University of Missouri's College of Education. The aim was to show middle school students how to use modern technology to solve problems affecting their communities. 6Johannes Stobel is a professor of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the university. He says the project was successful in more ways than one. He said the effort helped fill a great need for protective equipment. But it also gave the students experience in using technology to attack a problem and serve the community. 7"Doing hands-on projects that solve real-world problems gets students more interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics [or STEM]," Stobel wrote. 8His comments appeared on The Conversation website. He added that research has shown that students, especially girls and students of color, "become motivated and interested in engineering when it is tied to working for the social good." 9Zane Foulk is a senior at Camdenton High School and a member of a local youth robotics team. He told the University of Missouri's Mizzou News he was pleased to see medical workers wearing the new face shields. 10Foulk added that support in the community had been strong and the team planned on continuing production. "We have been making roughly 40 face shields a day and will keep going until we run out of material or the hospitals get what they need," he said. 11In the Washington D.C. area, another high school senior helped to organize volunteers to make face shields with 3D printers. Jonah Docter-Loeb said the idea came to him as he watched news reports and heard that supplies of protective medical equipment were fast disappearing. 12Doctor-Loeb is in his final year with the private Georgetown Day School. He decided to contact members of a local online community of 3D printers for help. He found a publicly available design for face shields that people could use to print from home. 13In less than a month, his idea grew into an effort called Print to Protect, involving about 100 3D printers, mostly in individual homes. The group has been producing face shields for medical workers in D.C. area hospitals. 14In Amarillo, Texas, another high school student is using his own 3D printer to make face shields and donate them to medical workers. 15Adam Uszynski, who attends the iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas, says his idea came out of a discussion with his father, who is a doctor. Uszynski said he has already printed more than 150 face shields and has a goal to produce more than 1,000. 16A report on his activities appeared on the website of Responsive Ed, a not-for-profit group that provides support to the school. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, the University of Missouri's College of Education, The Conservation and Responsive Ed. George Grow was the editor. 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22three-dimensional - adj. appearing to have length, depth and width 23shield - n. a piece of equipment used as protection 24mask - n. a covering for the face 25motivate - v. to make someone more interested in doing something 26senior - n. a student in his or her final year in college of high school 27roughly - adj. about