Open-ended toy using digital fabrication: a project that combines education, technology and sharing
Education is essential for intellectual and personal human development. Nowadays, education as we know does not meet the needs of the students, society and the market. The hands-on education methodology adapts to the current needs proposing educational solutions that promote a light, fun and more productive learning process developing students as critical thinkers that have many different skills and are easily adaptable to different scenarios. The idea of active and fun education came from constructionism and influenced the creation of the Maker Movement, a knowledge-building community. Digital fabrication machines are an important enabler of the Maker Movement, enabling one of the pillars of this movement: hands-on projects that can be shared. This work presents an open-ended toy in which the student is active in the learning process. This toy explores the modularity and multifunctionality of an open-ended toy as an educational tool for early childhood education, using a 3D printer and a laser cutter. From the perspective of educators, the project is analyzed in terms of usability and opportunity for use.