Twas the week before Thanksgiving when all thro' the school, not a person was stirring, not even a child. Ms. Gray's students were nestled all snug in their desks as visions of turkeys danced in their heads. Not just ordinary turkeys, but ones that had life, thanks to Merge's AR and Tinkercad's variety of shapes. In this video, as one can see, Tinkercad students build with glee. As unique as the students themselves, the one-of-a-kind Tinkercad turkeys filled the design cloud.
Engineering Design process is pivotal in Ms. Gray's STEM class. Students build models of turkeys via Tinkercad. Merge's AR Object Viewer app brought each prototype to life (see image below) as turkeys were held, twisted, and turned students lent an examining eye. Questions abound. Do they attach to the base? Is each turkey up to design specifications? Are they too big? Time to go back and improve. The beauty of Merge Cube's Object Viewer app? It acts as a 3D printer print preview. Who doesn't love a helpful print preview? Another benefit of the app is its capability to act as an augmented reality project preview for schools that don't have access to 3D printers.
A special thank you to Ms. Alicia Gray, STEM Teacher, Paulding County School District for sharing her lesson. Follow Ms. Gray on Twitter and Instagram @stemdaywithgray
