I was only 13 when I fell in love with coding, and my school had just become one of the first in the country to acquire computers. The machines were huge and slow, without even a screen—but they still fascinated me. My friends and I spent hours writing code and feeding it into the computer. Computer science changed my life, and I recently visited a high school hoping to do the same for young people in New York.
The Academy for Software Engineering (AFSE) is a public high school in Manhattan that opened in 2012 and has a fantastic curriculum, using computer science concepts to help prepare students for college. All students learn the fundamentals of computer science in their first two years, and as they become juniors, they choose to focus on coding or front-end design. However, not every student who graduates from AFSE will become a programmer or software engineer, so they also need a complete general education curriculum (such as English and social studies).
Unlike some specialized schools, there are no admission standards; new students in New York City are assigned to public schools through a random system. Any student can apply to attend AFSE, and their grades and attendance records are irrelevant to their chances of being selected, which makes the student body from all over the city very diverse (though they are trying to get more girls to apply).
I had the opportunity to observe a design course offered to seniors, where the teacher divided students into groups and asked them to design a stand for headphones. Using modeling software and a 3D printer (pictured is the Ultimaker 3), they had to design a product that considered function, durability, and user-friendliness.
Each team took a different approach—some chose to attach headphones to clamps on the edge of the table, while others tried stands fixed to the table; every design was well-thought-out and impressed me. (You can see some of their results in the video above.)
The school's unique curriculum is particularly beneficial for some students who struggled in middle school. English language learners and students with disabilities also thrive at AFSE, as computer science emphasizes data more than speaking skills. These students can even benefit from computer science concepts in non-specialized courses—for example, a history teacher might ask students to design a webpage introducing the War of 1812 instead of preparing an oral report.
The school enrolls fewer than 500 children, so class sizes are small, and students are allocated more resources. Everyone receives a tailored graduation plan. Teachers can log into a shared platform to track student progress. When a student becomes a senior, the school uses this platform to identify gaps and complete incomplete areas; it's used not only for AFSE but also for a network of schools in New York called New Visions for Public Schools, and our foundation recently announced that it would help fund New Visions' efforts to expand this data portal.
As freshmen, students are also assigned a counselor to help them adjust to high school and consider post-graduation plans. These counselors act as contacts for families and ensure that every student is taken care of. This is an impressive system that helps ensure no one is overlooked; this individualized attention is exactly what people imagine when they talk about small high schools.
I think everyone can benefit from learning the fundamentals of computer science. It teaches you to think differently—how do you complete a task? Can you find a pattern? What kind of data do you need?—and it's useful wherever you go; computer science shaped my view of the world, and I hope it does the same for the students I met at the Academy for Software Engineering.
It's great to see such significant breakthroughs in education in other countries. In addition to amazing teachers, they have also introduced Ultimaker 3D printers, whose high quality and stability are recognized worldwide, while also paying attention to society and education. Many universities and colleges in Taiwan are also introducing 3D printers, and we are delighted to see this as we continue to follow 3D printing technology and development! If you have any needs for 3D printers or printing services, we will provide professional consultation and services; and the latest news will be on our fan page, welcome to follow us.
Original source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-3d-printers-preparing-students-life-after-high-school-bill-gates/
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