Update: On Dec. 16th, Autodesk announced they would be shutting down the 123D App family in “early 2017”. Most apps will become incorporated into their 3 powerhouse apps: Tinkercad, Fusion 360, and ReMake. This week I took some time to explore Autodesk’s 123D family of CAD/surface modeler/maker-magic software. 123D uses cloud-based social community and project storageContinue reading “The Home Makerspace: The Autodesk 123D Suite”
Category Archives: Classroom Project
The Home Makerspace: The Museum Display (Dioramas To Win the Science Fair)
Here’s a cool project that takes an old standby, the diorama, and adds a little Maker flair to it. The diorama incorporates a MakeyMakey, laptop and Scratch programming environments to turn a stand alone display into something interactive and easily modified. I developed this project for my school’s eSTEAM Fair (environmental, science, technology, engineering, arts,Continue reading “The Home Makerspace: The Museum Display (Dioramas To Win the Science Fair)”
This Week in the Classroom: A MakerEd Pathway Into Computer Science
This year, I invested more time than ever to developing a pathway into coding for my most reluctant learners. I also researched extensions for the handful of young people who can really stretch my teaching capacity inside the STEAMworks Makerspaces. Many of my students begin their coding journey with small, concept-oriented courses and explorations, suchContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: A MakerEd Pathway Into Computer Science”
This Week in the Classroom: DIY Wood Covered Lab Notebooks
This fall, I opened the classroom with a very simple (sort-of) multi-media project for my students. Last year, I piloted a number of different end-of-project reflection formats (long form, short form, written and typed) as well as online and offline versions. I lacked a reasonable and effective in-process journaling format. This year, I wanted toContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: DIY Wood Covered Lab Notebooks”
This Week in the Classroom: 3D Printed Pinhole Camera
Last spring, I had the opportunity to teach one of my dream units: Light and Waves. We completed three projects during this time: camera obsuras, cajon drums and a pinhole camera. This 3D-printed pinhole camera combines three centuries worth of cutting edge technology. First, the body follows the basic design of a camera obscura andContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: 3D Printed Pinhole Camera”
This Week in the Classroom: Cajón Drums
Cajón drums are wood drums native to South America with deeper roots in the Africa. The cajon is a wood rectangular prism, with two thin faces. One of the thin sides, usually the back, has a large hole to allow sound to travel out. The front face can be struck with the hand, mallets orContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Cajón Drums”
This Week in the Classroom: The Camera Obscura
The camera obscura is a old, old project which illuminates the nature of light. Students can discover some major scientific principles: light travels in straight lines, transparent surfaces allow light to travel through while translucent surfaces let some light through, the principles behind photography, scale, proportion and a whole host of other things. Essentially,Continue reading “This Week in the Classroom: The Camera Obscura”
Top Five Maker Projects for the Beginning Maker Ed Teacher
Do you want to get into Making and Maker Ed? Don’t know where to start? Don’t have a makerspace? No problem! Here’s five ideas, classroom tested, which can be built using a minimum of tools for students in the K – 8 grade scale. If you are wondering how to connect these projects back toContinue reading “Top Five Maker Projects for the Beginning Maker Ed Teacher”
This Week In the Classroom: How to Build Electromagnets!
Hans Christan Orsted’s discovery that electricity generates a magnetic field led to the development of electromagnets. Electromagnets are bundles of wires wrapped around a ferrous core. When electricity flows through the core, the iron magnetizes. When the electric flow ceases, so does the strength of the magnet. Electromagnets are integral parts of trash-lifters, alarms, cars,Continue reading “This Week In the Classroom: How to Build Electromagnets!”
This Week in The Classroom: The Simple Coffee Table in Spalted Red Oak
Earlier in the year, the great folks at Canyon Mesquite donated a number of spalted red oak boards to make furniture out of. It took a while, but we finally made some great use of them. Finished with Howard’s Feed-N-Wax. Make it safe & keep the rubber side down this week. Thank you for visitingContinue reading “This Week in The Classroom: The Simple Coffee Table in Spalted Red Oak”
WSC Designs 