Developing our Junior Classroom TInkercad Skills: 'Blocks and Bricks'

 

As we have mentioned previously we have used Tinkercad extensively with our students as a design tool, it is a adaptable, free web based browser that has excellent viability with a classroom setting and is able to be used by junior school students.

While we use it for 3D Designing, which we then print using our Snapmaker printers as we have mentioned in the past we have three operating machines in the school, a school of two hundred students.   This means realistically we cannot at all times print designs for students.

In this instance as we have detailed on this blog previously our students have used their Tinkercad designs to AR and VR their creations to create a context when they can make or create something and display it in a different way.  Two icons that are available from the main Tinkercad interface, as shown in the top left.

The tank shown left is an example of design that is not yet been printed but has been designed by a first time, seven year old creator.

The student is intent of potentially designing a tank, and the initial design is shown left.   The student in this case is designing this for a first time with a number of elements to it.

When the student was first designing aspects of the creation he was encouraged to AR/VR the design to see if he could manipulate it to adapt his design.

As shown left the design has now been put through the 'bricks' filter, which is similar to special kind of interlocking blocks that the students are very familiar with.

There are three levels of detail with the blocks, the design shown left is the most detailed.   

This design is again shown but using the 'blocks' design, which converts a students/adults Tinkercad design.    The filter takes a few moments to apply and then can be screen-shotted by the students.

Again as with the 'bricks' option there are three level of details available for the design.    We also can of course apply them to any design in the students design folder/accounts.