This month, I completed the last 3D printing workshop at Jamaica SDA utilizing Google Sketchup and the MakerBot, teaching the 6th through 8th grades basic 3D printing skills. Over a span of four sessions, the students and newly inducted STEAM participants performed the most basic lesson, using the rectangular prism tools, and creating name tags. The more advanced students began a more complex lesson, starting by creating foldable chairs, as well as learning the dynamics of the MakerBot Replicator printer and applying those rules to the building techniques.
Throughout the four sessions, the students learned how to navigate the SketchUp application and its tools, as well as learned the basics of dimensionality. They also learned how to find the midpoint, how to use the tape measure accurately, and how to properly solve their sizing problems on Sketchup without starting from scratch, the difference between printable and non-printable objects, how to operate the 3D printing machine, and lastly, the fundamental importance of dimensions.
The students were eager, courteous, and extremely excited to participate and equally as receptive, leaving behind a footprint on this facilitator’s mind forever.
-Ms. Semple
DIVAS (Digital Interactive Visual Arts Sciences) for Social Justice aims to bridge the digital divide by combining media literacy and cultural awareness along with a vast understanding of technology to encourage young women in under served communities to pursue careers in computer science and new media.
