Week03

1. Are you planning to use the fabricated object in your classroom? If so, how?

I created a hinge as my 3D-printed object, which I plan to incorporate into my classroom activities. This hinge can be used in multiple ways to support the learning of engineering concepts and practical applications of digital fabrication. It can help students understand mechanical movements, articulation, and the importance of tolerances in design.

2. Think on a learning activity involving 3D printing. How could it be aligned with your curriculum / standard? What are the challenges?

A possible learning activity would be designing a simple mechanical object such as a folding book stand or something more advanced such as an Arduino based project where something is required to bend such as a robotic claw.

This aligns with our STEAM initiative by introducing the principles of motion and simple machines. Students could document their design process and write a reflection on how they improved their hinge designs over several iterations.

Challenges include ensuring all students have a basic understanding of the CAD software (in this case Tinkercad), managing their time efficiently within a limited class period (1 hour), troubleshooting design flaws that might arise (I myself realized that a perfect fit for different parts doesn’t allow objects to function optimally and so some slack/wiggle room needs to be calculated), and allocating my time to each student who may require assistance or help.

3. Have you started an educational portfolio? Why or why not? In your opinion which are the advantages of having these education portfolios? How do evaluate success a learning activity and how do you keep track of possible modification/improvements ideas?

I do not have a formal educational portfolio, but I do maintain a folder with lesson plans I’ve created. I’m not sure if that qualifies as the same thing, but if an educational portfolio involves documenting student work, project outcomes, and reflections, I may need to expand my approach.

Having an educational portfolio offers several advantages. It helps track student progress and assess the effectiveness of lessons over time. Additionally, it serves as a valuable reference for refining and adapting lesson plans based on what works best in the classroom. A portfolio can also act as a showcase of student projects and teaching methods, which can be useful for securing grants, professional development, or networking opportunities with potential partners and/or educators.

To evaluate and improve learning activities, I focus on student engagement, project outcomes, and feedback. I observe whether students are excited about the activity and actively problem-solving, which indicates their level of interest and understanding. The quality of their final projects also provides insight into how well they comprehend the concepts. Additionally, gathering student feedback helps identify areas for improvement and I try to take notes accordingly so as to see how I can address the issues that arise such as time management or design.

Example links

• Mkdocs Material theme
• Markdown
• GitLab Markdown

Code Example

Use the three backticks to separate code.

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
}

Gallery

** OR ** using HTML

Example image with caption

Example video

From Vimeo

Sound Waves from George Gally (Radarboy) on Vimeo.

From Youtube

Example Table

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Text	Text	Text

You may also embed HTML in your markdown files