TinkerCad Reflection

The 4th grade students have been creating miniature golf courses in TinkerCad. The teachers are tying in geometry to the lesson by having the students incorporate right triangles, obtuse triangles, acute triangles and various other shapes. The students are designing their golf courses on paper first, then are modeling them in TinkerCad. Once the students have completed their models, the teachers are going to 3D print them.

Some things we learned:

• Give the students some "free" time to investigate the TinkerCad software. There is a learning curve to navigating and creating objects in the program. This will take a day or two.
• Reduce the 3D standard build size of TinkerCad to 85mm x 85mm. This will make is print directly on the 3D printer without having the scale down the final model.
• Match up their hand drawn designs to the 3D model by adjusting the scale. We used a 1/8" scale and 1/4" scale on paper. This makes it so the students can directly line up their shapes from the graph paper to the 3D model.
• Create a ground layer that is a ~3mm thick rectangular prism
• Have the student "sink" their shapes into the "ground" before they group everything. This should prevent the shapes from being detached when printed.

GCISD Expo Reflection

I attended the GCISD Expo as a representative for Cannon and GMS. We did a great job of highlighting the STEM programs at both campuses. For Cannon, there was a table for every grade level to display some of the projects they have done throughout the year. GMS had tables displaying the student projects created during their design days. We had great questions and feedback from the parents visiting our tables.

Some thoughts for next year:

• Test print a model to ensure the 3D printer will function the entire evening.
• Avoid the projects that require water. This wound up being a mess.
• Find out how many tables will be provided. We brought extra tables that weren't needed or used.
• Come up with a plan for packing up at the end. The mad dash to leave caused some pieces to go missing for a while

The venue:

• The gym had a ton of space and we did not feel cramped.
• The gym had a good sound system, but it was too loud. We had difficulty hearing the parents talking to us.
• Give a better explanation of the performance groups. Many parents were confused as to why there were singing and dancing acts, when we don't have a "performance school." I believe these performances were to highlight the "Leader in Me" program, but that's just a guess.