Engineering Think Tank Club: TinkerCAD 3D (Seasonal Themed Designs ages 8-13)
What's included
4 live meetings
3 in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Each week we will have some kind of design challenge that we will work on during class after reviewing the previous weeks designs. Learners are encouraged to continue the work at home on their own time to complete their design for the next week's sharing session.Assessment
Informal assessments from the teacher and peer feedback via the Harvard Protocol.Class Experience
Engineering Think Tank Club is designed for learners who are familiar with the basics of the TinkerCad 3D design program. This is the perfect follow up class to the Beginning TinkerCad courses offered by me, or for learners who have used TinkerCad on their own, or in another class for 3D design and printing. This fun club style class, will revolve around learners interests while encouraging them to pursue the passion for problem-solving and design with group and/or individual design challenges. Part of this club will be peer sharing and evaluating in-progress and completed projects guided by the teacher. We will be using the Harvard Protocol (I think, I notice, I wonder) to keep feedback positive. This is a safe place for learners who are new to sharing their work and we will focus on supporting each-other through our feedback so that every member of the club can create their best designs. Although specific activities will vary from week to week, every 4 weeks will include: team building, engineering design process, at least one design project, and a learner project showcase for completed projects. Please note that during the Fall and Winter breaks the class may meet every day for one week rather than once a week on four separate weeks. Please check your schedule when you enroll. The next round of specific topics are: Week/day 1: Team Building: Introductions and current/past project share. Interactive team building activity "Jump into spring" and quick question and answer session. Week 2: Engineering Design Process: Introduce and review the engineering process. Put the engineering process into action by creating something inspired by Flowers. Week 3: Design Challenge: Build a vehicle (students choose to work in groups or individually) Week 4: Learner Project Showcase: This "show and tell style" utilizing the Harvard Protocol (I think, I notice, I wonder) and Not a ___ challenge where students are tasked with using a shape or object in an unusual way.
Learning Goals
Learners will become familiar with the engineering design process and gain confidence in working as a team and sharing their work with others.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
We will be utilizing TinkerCad 3D design software which includes a search function to search projects other designers have shared. As with any search engine, I have no control over what learners will search for or what may come up. Please discuss with your learners before class appropriate search terms and what to do in case something inappropriate should be returned unintentionally. We will also discuss this in class. As an option we may use break out rooms. If you would not like your learner to be part of a team using a break out room please inform me before the first class so I can make sure to plan accordingly.
Supply List
Learners will need an Individual TinkerCad account from TinkerCad.com. It would be beneficial for learners to have a notebook to document their work. TinkerCAD is COPPA Compliant resource see this article for more information: https://blog.tinkercad.com/2013/07/30/whats-up-with-education-accounts. If a temporary account is needed while waiting for a parent-approved account for kids under 13 please message me for information. These temporary accounts will be deleted without notice frequently to ensure student safety and to comply with Outschool standards.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Teacher expertise and credentials
Texas Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
After 11 years of teaching I have become skilled at redirecting students when accidental inappropriate comments have been made during brainstorming or internet searching.
Additionally, I have been working specifically with TinkerCad for about 4 years with students at my brick and mortar school in an interdisciplinary enrichment class. I have also presented about using Tinkercad to the Texas Computer Educators Association in February 2020 as part of a workshop highlighting our Game design project.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$60
for 4 classes1x per week, 4 weeks
45 min
Completed by 44 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-13
3-12 learners per class