In a recent blog post, e-NABLE Community Volunteer Jen Owen, who runs the e-NABLE website, revealed that a journalist had asked her recently why she was so passionate about the community, and what she was most proud of. The response was simple: that “there are no borders” when it comes to the e-NABLE community, and that the whole network of over 10,000 volunteers is “filled with people who are only influenced by the available colors of filament that can be fed into their 3D printers and not by the rainbow of colors of the hands of the volunteers.”
Owen told 3DPrint.com, “Expect to see more diversity in design challenges from me this year – e-NABLE is bigger than hands, we have the capacity to tackle so many things and I am looking forward to challenging my community members and e-NABLE Family to see just what they can do!”
Last year, their collaborative Within Reach design challenge with MatterHackers, Pinshape, and Ultimaker resulted in over 200 entries and new open-source tools, like a simple nail guide, a zipper aid, and a keyboard typing tool, for those who need them the most. e-NABLE is excited to announce that they will again be partnering with MatterHackers and Pinshape, along with LulzBot, for a completely new design challenge this year, and even more excited to see what new tools people will come up with. The contest will begin in mid-March, and classrooms all over the world are expected to participate; subscribe to the e-NABLE blog to make sure you don’t miss the deadline! The challenge will take participants from the global e-NABLE community in a new direction as they “explore the power of ideas” while making a difference in other peoples’ lives; stay tuned for more information.
e-NABLE will be releasing its new digital badging system soon, which they’ve been working on for several months. The badges will let volunteers share their gifts, contributions, and achievements with the e-NABLE community on their own social media pages. It will give volunteers incentive to challenge themselves to learn and try new skills, give e-NABLE the chance to thank their amazing sponsors, volunteers, and supports, and keep students and teachers engaged in the e-NABLE community. K-12 and home school students who may not have access to a 3D printer, but are interested in joining the e-NABLE movement, will be able to earn these digital badges by participating in fun activities and educational games.
According to Owen’s blog post, “We are working on much, much more, but we need your help to keep us moving forward in the right direction!”
Discuss in the e-NABLE forum at 3DPB.com.