On our third session, we tried a different program call SketchUp.
I had no experience with this program and had no idea what to do when I
first opened the software. As I looked
closely at the tool bar, I realized that some of the icons looked very familiar
to Geogebra, a software I used frequently as a math teacher. From there, I knew that I was creating shapes
that would eventually make up a three-dimensional shape.
Click here
for a quick video of an example of using SketchUp
For that specific class session, our professor told us that
we would make a house. We started with
basic rectangles to get the foundation on the object. Then we pulled the rectangles out with the
push/pull tool to create the outer walls of the house. It was a little challenging at first and I
made a lot of mistakes that required myself to start over a couple of
times. However, it was rewarding when I
saw the end product and even created a swimming pool in the back to enhance the
house.
We continued to work with SketchUp the next week and created
an apartment from a floor plan. I
thought this was pretty amazing to be able to turn a two dimensional floor plan
into a three dimensional apartment. I
saw this very useful for contractors, interior design, real estate agents,
…etc. I personally did not see this
software to be useful in my profession, but I did show this program to our site
technology instructor and she loved it!
She thought that it was easy enough for middle school students to
understand and create a simple house. The
instructor was excited to show her students and the students were able to
create their own houses just in time our Open House. The students were excited to be able to share
something they created on the computer that was personalized with different colors,
designs, and decorations. Parents were
also amused by the fact that their child was able a piece of artwork that
looked very complex and professional.
Overall, I thought this was a great tool to introduce students and
other new users the basics for creating a three dimensional shape.
Students can definitely extend their knowledge into more difficult
programs after mastering SketchUp.
Click here for some
excellent tutorials to help you get started with the software.
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