Note from Mr. Long…
As Kellogg’s former STEAM teacher from 2012-2020, I ran a 3D Design and Printing Lab during 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020. Kellogg’s STEAM Lab curriculum is now determined centrally at the district level for all GUSD schools, and no longer independently created by each school’s STEAM lab teacher. To my knowledge, GUSD is not offering a 3D design and printing program at this time.
Running a 3D Design and Printing activity takes quite a lot of teacher time to manage, so this is probably not something students should expect their classroom teacher to offer in their classroom.
Tinkercad (an online 3D design platform) requires that children under 13 years old be moderated by a teacher or their parent(s). Upon request, I will be happy to send teachers or parents the information they need to transfer existing or create new Tinkercad accounts for their students/children.
If previous year’s students graduating 2021, 2022, and 2023 would like to access their Tinkercad designs and/or transfer their Tinkercad account moderation, then their parents can email me at dlong@gusd.us.
Additional Background Information about our former program…
When I supervised student’s use of Tinkercad, for safety and digital wellness reasons, we steered clear of Tinkercad’s gallery searches/browsing, community features, such as posting designs to the public or commenting on or copying other’s designs. Our precious STEAM time was focused on creating and developing ourselves as 3D designers and problem solvers – free from social media-esque distractions and enhanced by the challenge of limiting our design tools to only basic geometric shapes (no prefab design elements) except for a few exceptions. This focused approach emphasized skill development and growth instead of digital entertainment – reaching for more than a copy-paste level of engagement.
If Kellogg teachers wish to allow students to log in to their Tinkercad accounts that they still have tied to me (as their former teacher) during free-choice time, that’s fine, but they shouldn’t expect teachers to troubleshoot any issues or give permission to use community features. My former students can use their old Steam Lab Google Classroom they had with me to ask me questions in the comments section of their 3D Tinkercad assignment.
Since Tinkercad does offer community engagement with the public, please be aware that students should be routinely monitored (teachers or parents regularly reviewing their student’s/children’s account activity online) if they are to use Tinkercad. Please email me if you have any questions:
dlong@gusd.us
Best wishes, Mr. Long