Artificial reefs built through 3D printing.

This is a module to introduce to non-expertise audience to acquire some knowledge about artificial reefs and 3D printing.

Artificial reefs have emerged as a technology in marine conservation and habitat restoration projects worldwide. These man-made structures are designed to mimic natural reef systems and provide adequate habitats for marine life. Traditional methods of creating artificial reefs have included the use of concrete, steel, and even repurposed materials such as sunken ships and decommissioned oil rigs. However, the advent of 3D printing technology has revolutionized the approach to build artificial reefs, offering new possibilities in terms of design complexity and material composition.

This short course will allow you to acquire some basic knowledge of what an artificial reef is, what 3D printing means, and also to explore a little bit about ongoing research projects about artificial reefs done through 3D printing.

What do you know right now about 3D printing? Scan the QR below and answer the questions in the test.

And now, let's see what do you know about artificial reefs. Scan the QR below and answer the questions in the test.

You should look for some information in relevant sources provided in this course to be able to carry out the following tasks:

Activity1: Imagine that you need to provide a short definition of not more than 30 words of what an "artificial reef" is.

• • Check in wikipedia and produce your summary (individual submission).
  • Use chatGPT and copy-paste its produced text  (individual submission).
  • After you finish, put in common with you colleagues and agree with a common definition of 30 words each maximum about "artificial reefs". Use the digital pad below to write your responses.  

Activity 2: Also provide a short definition of not more than 30 words of what "3D printing" means.

• • Check in wikipedia and produce your summary (individual submission).
  • Use chatGPT and copy-paste its produced text  (individual submission).
  • After you finish, put in common with you colleagues and agree with a common definition of 30 words each maximum about "3Dprinting". Use the digital pad below to write your responses.

Activity 3: Which are the main functions of artificial reefs? Visualise the presentation and then answer the following questions.

Activity 4: There are some ongoing research projects run by University of Cantabria about 3D printed artificial reefs. Have a look at those web pages and answer the tests contained in Activity 4.

Activity 5: Watch the following video and answer the questions:

Working in groups of 2, you have to produce a power point presentation (or Prezi) that includes information of other research projects worldwide that are related with artificial reefs in general and also 3D printing in particular. You need to present it in front of the teacher and other colleagues. Each of the student that form part of the group has to participate in both producing the document but also in the oral presentation. The rubric of this assessment is posted here:

The final grade of this course will consist of the assessment of the three tasks considering these weights:

Activity 1: 10%. 

Activity 2: 10%. 

Activity 3: 10%. 

Activity 4: 10%.

Activity 5: 10% 

Final task: 50%

Click in the buttoms of the 5 activities and final tasks in the botton bar band they will take you to either a Moodle (Task 1, Task 2, Final task), to the LearningApp platform (Task 4) or to EdPuzzle (Task 3, Task 5).