Design Thinking and Tinkercad in the classroom

Hello friends,

This week a watched a guest presentation from Jared on design thinking and using Tinkercad in the classroom. I had no idea what Tinkercad was before this presentation, or that it was associated with 3D printing. I knew that some schools were getting 3D printers, but I never thought about how I would incorporate them into lessons.

Jared gave a great presentation on how to get students thinking about design and creating engineers for the future. His design thinking model involved empathy, and I like how he related this aspect of the model not only to design, but as a social skill for teenagers to develop. Thinking about others is an important concept in designing something useful.

Jared also discussed how Tinkercad could be useful in designing concepts from any subject. Not everything designed on Tinkercad needs to printed, it can be a great tool to bring ideas to life, while also implementing knowledge in measurement.

Jared showed us the stages of design thinking, from testing and designing, to prototypes, to building real models in class. I think it is a great process for students to be able experience an idea coming to life. And some of the ideas turned out great and were actually useful! I hope I have the opportunity to one day implement 3D printing or at the very least Tinkercad into lessons to expose students to design thinking.

Peace + Love, Ki

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