Fly-Thru

The architects for our next school building project sent along some fly-thru videos of their proposals. It brought to mind the fly-overs Middle School students created in the library with SketchUp back in 2013 or so. #proud

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Today

Switched out my key fob today.  Made 'em both.

Prototype

An innovative key-chain design by a 7th grade maker: a detachable model.

Sound bite for Danny D.

So I got my sound bite in 3D Printing: An Introduction by Stephanie Torta (full disclosure: Stephanie is the daughter of one of our ACS teachers; hence, my invitation to participate!)

I am proud of what I said in the interview because I believe every word of it.

Thanks again to all the Tortas for the opportunity.

Leveraging technology

We have been learning how to leverage technology while designing in Tinkercad.

Students have been using app functions like Duplicate/Group/Ungroup, to make iterations of designs we have critiqued; learning not to settle for the first idea when the program allows modifications so easily. Importantly, we keep ALL the designs so that we can see the decisions and alternatives we have tried.

Our daily routine also involves learning to take and file screen capture images, exporting STL files, and sharing these with me as email attachments (just as you would with a co-worker across the country); using a suite of tools to create, explain, and share their work.

Our analysis of work includes functionality, attention to detail, and further possibilities. For instance moving from lower-case to upper-case letters for legibility.

Practicing the process of what tech tools can do, using them in concert with each other, and sharing ideas with them have been as important as the actual printed product. We have been working on and assessing the skills of "getting there",  not just on the destination.

BTW, the project we decided on was to design medallions for our school's Crimson Crest recognition program.

Medallion: a reader/maker connection

A prototype off our 3D Printrbot; a customized medallion for Elementary Library reading recognition later in the year.

Snow trek

So I'm closing in on the climax of Dan Simmons's arctic novel, The Terror. I am sharing the exhaustion, hunger, and perseverance of their four year ordeal for survival against the elements and "terror" of that desperate world; in the pit of our own January, no less.

It was with some relief that I stumbled an article in WIRED magazine about an upcoming Antarctic expedition featuring a nifty 3D built and solar powered vehicle, the Solar Voyager. Plus, I like the one of their text subtitles:

Test. Fail. Learn.

Custom holiday gifts

Our MakerSpace is doing a brisk holiday "business" getting students up to speed on the basics of creating objects for the 3D printer. The allure of making a custom key fob for a holiday gift has been a popular gateway enticement.

ACSLIB source code?

Some of my most recent titles from Salem Press arrived with a pre-printed QR Code and URL linking to their online versions.

Wondering if my June 2017 Salem Press/QR Code mash-up inspired them?

Tops

These two students teamed up to investigate Tinkercad together. They configured a top design. Adding supports worked pretty good on the print job. They see that they have several modifications to make.

Just sayin'

Saw this article in the current School Library Journal about a Short Story Dispenser gizmo being marketed to pacify line-waiters with a three-minute hard-copy story.

Just wanted to say that in January 2016 (on the 21st, to be exact) I printed this dispenser on our school 3D printer to accommodate a receipt-tape printed story; the technology for which had been recently explored by and then configured by a friend of the library ... ahead of the curve.

What self-directed discovery, research, and analysis looks like in the ACSLIB MakerSpace

It has been over two weeks now since a 7th grade student, infatuated with the electric fan in our littleBits kit, asked if he could make a fan-powered boat. That's a persistence factor of about 8 visits and counting. I offered foam core board.

His initial layout of materials was not to ... efficient. We then talked about and sketched out some alternative ideas which led us to alot of questions: how high should the sides be and why, do we need to use glue or can we use nails/pins ("that's easier to change our mind"). So he measured out some new pieces which I cut out.

During assembly he initiated several queries about the strongest way to join pieces together, then tried them out. We ended each period with a closing discussion: what to try next time, what I needed to do in the interim.

After about five sessions on his project, he accepted the help of another student; a collaborator. They tried different locations for the fan, they tried rubber bands and cut-outs for securing it. Then wondering about the balance, they added pieces for an out-rigger. Questions and option became exponential.

At this point they had really settled into raising and solving problems more than "let's get this done."
When the question of a rudder came up, available LEGO pieces did not offer a solution. I suggested that they design and print what they needed on the 3D printer. So during the next three visits they got themselves up to speed on Tinkercad skills (entirely on their own, at their own speed) and designed their first 3D piece.

This morning I printed it and on their next visit I suspect they will test it, suggest and make changes to their prototype and print it again.

 The discovery, research, analysis, and redesign continues.

Lunch Hero Day

I made HERO keychains and earrings on our 3D printer for our cafeteria staff for our celebration of Lunch Hero Day this Friday.

Hard right rudder

One week into constructing a fan-powered boat in the MakerSpace we decide we needed a rudder. Used the opportunity to demonstrate Tinkercad and the 3D printer. We analyzed the resulting piece and the team decided it need to be larger to accommodate other components.

What a relief

I dropped a high-contrast B&W photo into a “photo” template at  www.tinkercad.com and printed this 2” x 3” relief portrait on the ACSIB 3D printer. Love the "drawn" line quality (my face looks line the Bingham Canyon copper mine)!

I was testing out Tinkercad as a go-to place for beginning students to practice manipulating 3D shapes into printing projects.

Making it

Had the old library commons humming with video production, some 3D printing, and bridge-building today.

Back in business

Our Printrbot Simple is back in business after a restorative visit to a friend of the library who is our go-to person for all things 3D. Right out of the box we installed the config settings and are getting a swell first print on a Bezier vase. Cool beans.

Hope to be printing some custom wheels for the Engineering class in the near future.

Construction kit hack

 Outside this afternoon to take some building elevation photos

so that I could scale them to the same size as the generic panels on our Girder & Panel kit.
We can build our school now and better understand what is behind the facade.

Like bees to honey

Some cupboard-clearing yesterday by a staff member made for a donation to our library today. Students got right to constructing buildings with a circa 1957 Kenner Girder & Panel set. We are thinking of taking some photographs of our school exterior and making "panels" for a custom ACS building. Students also took measurements with our digital caliper so that we might fabricate some diagonal bracing on our 3D printer; bridging the decades, as it were.

The best part

The best part of this young man's first 3D print was that while he was watching it print another student came in to watch also; and to explain how he made it, they adjourned to our adjacent library collaboration station where he fired up his drawing, then directed the other student to watch on "the big screen" as he walked him through it.

I could not provide a better testimonial for what this library is designed to do: engage student interest, provide tools and venues with open thresholds for accessibility, and provide a forum for discovery and teaching each other.