I love seeing what the kids at our school create using the 3D printer. I personally found the Tinkercad website to be challenging. Originally, I was trying to create a sun, but I had trouble figuring out how to use any of the tools to make a straight line. Next, I was going to try a flower, but I couldn’t find any tools that I could use for that either. Then, I tried to make a house. I was a little more successful with that, but it took me a really long time to figure out how to get the prism on top of the cube. Once I figured that out, I tried to add a door to my creation. I found it difficult to change the size, and it took a while for me to get it to go where I wanted. I really struggled with it!
Since I couldn’t figure out how to view the download on my computer (I am missing some program to view it), I took a screenshot of my attempt. I was not thrilled with my creation, but at least I got some experience playing with the website. I’ve seen some pretty amazing creations come from a 3-D printer, and I am so impressed that students have been able to create what they have. I might have to let them teach me more about it!
I decided to look at the hour of code website to see if they had anything for Kindergarten. I found a cute game called Kodable. I was able to choose my level. The game has you direct a fuzz ball through a maze by choosing which direction it needs to go. You move the arrows (left, right, up, and down) in the correct spaces to make the fuzz ball go the direction it needs. You earn stars and levels as your progress. It’s a cute game, and there looks like a few other cute games that younger students could enjoy and get an introduction to coding.
I have seen emails from my school mentioning the hour of code, and I’ve never really understood what it was or why they mentioned it. After reading the articles this week, I now can see the importance of helping students develop computational thinking literacy. “Computer coding helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and these are at the core of our professional mission: to help people understand how to solve problems using information effectively, which are skills that support people as lifelong learners” (Moen, 2016). Now that I have more knowledge and have looked into the code website, I know that it is something I could teach to my Kindergarten students.
“Computational thinking involves identifying problems, breaking apart or decomposing the problem into smaller parts, finding patterns, and designing solutions” (Libraries Ready to Code, 2018). These are all important skills for students to develop, and coding can be a fun way to incorporate these skills into the classroom. Libraries Ready to Code also states that “when kids tinker, create, design, build, code, and make, they engage in computational thinking” (2018). The 3D printer is a great addition to developing computational thinking skills. It was very challenging for me, but I know that it is great for allowing students to be creative, and design something that could possibly solve a problem.
References
Libraries Ready to Code. (2018, November 26). How computational thinking fits within library services. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/tools/readytocode/how-computational-thinking-fits-within-library-services
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
I like your house! I struggled with Tinkercad, too, so I feel you. It was very frustrating at times to not be able to manipulate the shapes the way I wanted to, but I definitely think that with more practice, (and maybe a bit more time spent with the tutorials) I could become a little more comfortable with it.
I’m also going to check out Kodable, as well. Thanks for the tip!
I think your house turned out great! I appreciate your candor about where you faced challenges. Makes me feel better about my own! I didn’t look at Kodable but it sounds great. I’ll take a look! Thank you!
You had a lot better luck creating a house than I did. Looks great!
So awesome you are going to be coding with your kindergarteners. I am sure they will love it.
Very nice work!! I also struggled to figure out how to place things where I wanted them in Tinkercad, which is why I ended up scrapping a lot for a simpler design.
Hey Sierra- nice job with your 3-D house! Tinkercad was really challenging! I can’t say I’m a fan. I wish it was a little more friendly. You must have been feeling ambitious because you also tried out coding. Way to dip your toes in the water. Nice work!