3D Printing

New for me this year was teaching 3D printing.  Naively I thought it would be an easy tool to add to the tools I use in the classroom.  What I learned is that using a 3D printer is very time consuming.  The maintenance required to keep the plate level and the print nozzles calibrating was very time consuming.

Was it worth the time?  YES.  My students used TinkerCad to design the 3D prints.  Teaching students grade 4 and older to use Tinkercad was easy.  Opportunities to teach the engineering design cycle were endless.  My students were really excited to get their first 3D print, but mostly surprised that the object printed was not the size they expected.  This provided many opportunities for re-design that helped students to understand iteration process.

Click here to read the story about my class that ran on Mindshift.  The story talks about how I blend game design and entrepreneurship using Gamestar Mechanic.

Computer Science for Girls

During this past year,  eleven girls from my school were interested in creating an app for competition.  Five girls entered the Technovation Challenge and six girls entered the ProjectCS Girls competition.  There were a total of three teams.  The Technovation Challenge required that the girls create a working app and a business plan.  Project CS girls required a prototype and report.  Each of the teams stepped up to the challenge and submitted an entry to the competition.

While reflecting on the successes of these projects, all the girls commented that they really enjoyed working as part of team.  They actually enjoyed giving up their lunch time, study halls, and "Friday Fun Time" to work on "another assignment."

I believe strongest reason that the girls enjoyed these projects was because they were working in a "girls only" environment.  They never had to defer to ideas from boys and didn't need to do any posturing.  Each girl used her strengths to contribute to the team effort.  They were comfortable with themselves and their contributions.  As the teamwork progressed, it turned out that some girls had a natural aptitude for coding, while others found writing or art to be their strength.  They all realized the importance of the contributions of each member of the team.