The Google Sketch Up Lab

This year, I’ve been working closely with another colleague to create, a project-based CAD course.  When I was presented with the challenge, I dove in head first.

This week I have been presenting various perspective/drawing challenges to my students in an effort to assess their current capabilities.  I’ve been enjoying a curriculum challenge, and after two days, I am pleased by the success and interest posed by my students.  The room has been split into three themed stations: a perspective/assessment area, a guided-step project area and a digital manipulative lab.

The assessment area has produced some fascinating results.  When confronted with three solids placed as so and asked to draw a different orientations –

some students returned this,

and others struggled to grasp this concept.

Students also built maps of the Math/Sci room.  I think I’ll use this one as an official planner.

Next up, the students will measure the length of the sides and create a floor-plan in Google Sketch Up.  I will post some results when they happen!

As for “digital manipulative”, I created a rudimentary block set in Google Sketch Up.  The students move the shapes to match a block sculpture. I’ve only created puzzles which explore the move and rotate function in Sketch Up, but I expect more labs (I’ll probably make these challenges once or twice a week) which explore other functions.  Here’s the Sketch Up file. Recreate this object with the blocks provided.  You should only use the Move and Rotate tools. My fastest student moved  from loading the file to instructions to completion in fifteen minutes. It took other students an hour and half.  How did you do?