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SketchUp - Google

Grades
8 to 12
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With SketchUp, members can create 3D models of homes, shacks, sheds, decks, design wood work projects, and even imagine and visualize space ships. Once you have navigated this tool,...more
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With SketchUp, members can create 3D models of homes, shacks, sheds, decks, design wood work projects, and even imagine and visualize space ships. Once you have navigated this tool, it becomes fast to use, flexible, and fun! The pile of possibilities is sky high (and higher in the spaceship case!). Your creations can be shared online and/or added to Google Earth to get a picture of what your creation would look like in real life from the sky! For more information about Google Earth click here. Beyond a doubt, this is a very cool tool to use for learners, amateur architects, and professionals alike! Use your G-Suite for Education or Microsoft Education account for free access.

tag(s): architecture (64), design (82), drawing (60)

In the Classroom

To introduce yourself to the program, check out the training video. There are templates that you can use to create your designs and they are offered in both metric and English measurements. The application is reminiscent of basic paint programs. Perhaps the best way to learn how to create with this tool is to take some time to "play" with it. The editors at TeacherFirst strongly recommend working your way through a sample before you implement this in a class. It gives your students a great model to visualize your expectations, and it will give you the hands on experience that you can use to help them. Another way to implement this is to roll it out to your students and have them "play" with it. You may learn more from them than you could have ever anticipated. Another neat feature of this program is that it allows you to Google search for previously constructed 3D models and download them directly into SketchUp on your computer!

As part of a multidisciplinary unit in science, technology, economics, math, social studies, and English classes, use this site to create a culminating design project. In English classes, have students create a written grant or design proposal. In economics, have the students discover how to construct the project for the best possible cost. Have the final design project be a new museum or historical/tourist attraction to commemorate a local hero/heroine. In math and science classes, have the students "build" the project with accurate measurements. Then as follow up, have students use Google Earth reviewed here to predict the environmental impact of the new construction. Or, in technology education or industrial arts class, use this as a way to submit project drafts for construction.

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