A Teacher's Review of STEM Software & Curriculum - BlocksCAD for Education

Brief Background:

My name is Bill White and I am an Applied Engineering and Technology teacher in my 19th year.  Currently, I teach grades 7-12; however, I also have experience teaching grade 6 as well.  My content area has naturally given me a lot of time to dabble in various software packages as well as a ton of tools and machines.  Over the last 19 years, I have utilized various CAD packages with the main one being Autodesk.

[To see more of the inspiring educational projects, live speaking sessions, and reviews of 3D printing tools and resources created by Bill White as a featured MatterHackers Education Ambassador, visit his collection page on the MatterHackers website here.]

Sign Up and Get Started - BlocksCAD introduces teachers to 3D Modeling software:

The BlocksCAD for Education page has been set up quite well in my opinion.  All of the important details about why a district/classroom would want to have BlocksCAD incorporated in their classroom(s) is there.  I love the fact that they mention the ease of accessibility for those who have a lack of coding and/or CAD experience.  For many teachers, having to learn a new skill set can be intimidating or isn’t necessarily on the top of their priority list.  Although I have an extensive background in various software packages, I would by no means say that I am an expert in coding.  Knowing that the resources to succeed are there for myself as well as my students is super important.  

Why Choose BlocksCAD for Education?

With my limited coding experience, I am naturally apprehensive about trying something new like BlocksCAD.  I have software and content that teaches this content, why try something unfamiliar?  Well, it’s important because not all students learn the same way.  Giving students another tool in their toolbox is only going to help you as well as your students.  Here are my 3 main reason why I think BlocksCAD for Education could be a good choice for your district:

1. Standards Alignment

• Common Core aligned lessons
• Multiple grade levels

As a district, having BlocksCAD tie lessons to the Common Core standards will easily allow you to make a decision based on your district's goals.  For me, these lessons create a solid foundation to build on.  The lessons provided vary in grade level as well as complexity.  

2. Teacher Support

• Skill videos
• Professional development for schools/teachers

With the skill videos that are linked in BlocksCAD for Education, you and your students will be on your way in no time.  The nice part about this as well is that learning doesn’t have to end in the classroom, students can work on BlocksCAD at home.  BlocksCAD also has their own YouTube channel to help you and your students get started.  Another resource that is available is a self-paced teacher tutorial once you join BlocksCAD for Education. 

3. Classroom and Project Management

• Ease of access
• Classroom features

For me, the third main reason why I think BlocksCAD for Education will be a great fit for your district and/or your classroom specifically is how they utilize the classroom feature.  Not only can you directly import your classroom from Google Class, but you can also create a new class without that Google information.  This feature makes it much easier to manage your classroom as well as projects that you may be working on.  I personally appreciate the way they incorporate creating lessons in each class.  You can set your lessons up directly in there and even give students some sample code or at the very least a good starting point to get them off and running.

BlocksCAD for 3D Printing

Being an applied engineering and technology teacher, we naturally do a lot of design work that typically leads to 3D printing.  After checking out several of the lessons that were catered towards middle school students, I was impressed with the level of detail put into these different lessons...all of them that I checked out were extremely well done. 

As I have mentioned, I am not a great coder/programmer at all.  The lesson that I demoed was the earphone holder.  Many of the skills that I teach in Fusion 360 can directly transfer over to BlockCAD.  The activity/lesson provides directions, but it also allows for design flexibility.  If students were to struggle with the lesson, there is a solution guide that can be used to assist.  Not all students are wired to understand Fusion, so BlocksCAD is just another tool that I can use to engage my students to reach the desired outcome. 

For me, I like to know that I can take a design and then easily be able to 3D print it.  Once the design work has been completed, it is pretty easy to click on the generate STL button to create a file for 3D printing purposes.

Final Thoughts 

In conclusion, BlocksCAD for Education provides solid content through all grade levels.  The platform itself provides many thorough learning opportunities and it also utilizes YouTube.  Providing various resources to not only help students but also educators is a priceless commodity.  As a classroom teacher, providing my students with multiple ways to complete a task is also important to me.  BlocksCAD for Education is another tool in my toolbox that allows me to engage my students.  I highly recommend BlocksCAD for Education and would suggest checking it out further.