Tag: Google Sketch Up

This Week In the Shop1 Comment

This Week In the Shop: In-Progress Bed Design and Build

woodshopcowboy

You may have noticed a distinct drop off in the frequency of posts here on WoodshopCowboy since the beginning of the year.  In that great crucible of life, demands of life has reduced my shop time. Mostly, though, a majority of woodworking time has been caught up in a commission from my wife: a bed. I’m chasing the look of Crate and Barrel’s Atwood platform bed in a queen size.  It looks something like this: And here’s what I have so far – racked in clamps.  I’ve dovetailed the corners of the case.  The back panels and frames float in … Continue reading This Week In the Shop: In-Progress Bed Design and Build

CAD Lab, Classroom Project, Education, Technology3 Comments

Course Curriculum: Computer Applications:CAD

woodshopcowboy

After my quick reflections on the Tea Box project and my computer science course, I’d like to take a spin over to my most successful, challenging and rewarding class(es) this semester.  I had the opportunity to teach 2 CAD courses with a great, energetic group of young men (and one woman).  As the year progressed my classes split into three distinct groups – a developmentally young (think elementary-school-age brains) group, a progressing (middle-school-age brains) and a developmentally-ready (high school or middle school) group.

My CAD course description:

In this course, students will create and build physical and digital representations of the world around them. Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development will frame the instruction to the appropriate cognitive developmental level for each student. Computer Assisted Design is the use of computers and specialized software to create digital objects; be they animations, skyscrapers or the interiors of engines. Students will use Google Sketch Up 8 to re-create and re-imagine the world around them, beginning with a floor-plan of their bedroom and ending with a self-directed project.

What made this course successful?  My answer after the jump.

Continue reading “Course Curriculum: Computer Applications:CAD”