This week, I chose to dive into Tinkercad. I don’t have any experience with 3D printing or design, so I knew this would be a challenge. I was correct! I started out with a blank grid and tried my luck at designing a tag for my dog. After about 20 minutes of failure, I decided to use one of the tutorials available. I chose to make my house. While the tutorial was helpful, it still took a lot of time to create one section of my result. I struggled with aligning the roof. When I grouped it, I thought it was aligned; however, after I turned the finished project to take a better view, I can see they are still a little off. I was able to duplicate my original design, but since it was flawed, it left me with a very flawed result. If I hadn’t set a timer, I’m certain I would still be working on it. This was a really fun experience, and I can see the benefits of creation in many subject area for students.

Moen (2016) states “Computational thinking, math, design, engineering, and data analysis are considered essential skills to prepare students for the high-paying technology jobs that are open and currently unfilled” (para. 2). After my hour in Tinkercad, I can see just how much higher order thinking is involved in all aspects of CT. The use of turning basic numbers and shapes into a larger product is certainly a must have skill for the tech jobs now and in the future. I think if I had been exposed to many of the tools we have explored, such as Tinkercad and Hour of Code, I would have been more apt to explore and understand STEM.

I also fully agree with Sekinger’s (2019) statement that “After researching 3D printing and the principles of the Iterative Design process, I felt convinced that by adding 3D technology to our library, we could both support numerous classes and inspire many” (para. 1). The possibilities of 3D design and printing in numerous classes would be endless. From using mathematical angles, measurements, and shapes to reading comprehension, creating a response using 3D printing is a fascinating concept. I feel like the mathematical uses would be more obvious than literary uses, but I could quickly brainstorm many ways to include all subject areas. When I began designing my house, I had the idea of younger students creating fairy tale and story settings. Now that I have spent an hour in design, I’m not sure if it would be easily achieved by younger students on their own, but I think it would be a very neat classroom project. With input from students, a teacher or librarian could man the controls to create many projects.

References

Moen, M. (2016, September 30). Computer coding and literacy: Librarians lead the connection. International Literacy Association. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2016/09/30/computer-coding-and-literacy-librarians-lead-the-connection

Sekinger, N. (2019, February 28). Making a place for 3D in our school library. IMADE3D. https://www.imade3d.com/2019/02/making-a-place-for-3d-in-our-school-library/