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Moving from 2D to 3D using Tinkercad and Google Drawings

The concept of 3D modeling can be a challenge for young students. They may have little to no experience with the idea of 3D. To change this, teachers can build upon the prior knowledge students already possess.

what-is-3d-sm
An Introduction to Dimensions (Get these slides)

However, almost all of our students have experience with crayons, markers, and colored pencils. Creations done with these tools are done in two dimensions. Starting with a drawing is an excellent place to introduce the term dimension and the directions labeled X and Y.

The next step is to give students an experience with computer aided drawing (CAD). I like to use Google Drawings because it is free to use, easy to learn, offers a vast variety of fonts, and is already available to many schools as a part of Google Apps for Education.

Before diving into a tool like Google Drawing, I feel it is important to have a discussion with students about how the features in computer aided drawing (CAD) programs can help the creative process. For example, last year I worked with fourth graders that were creating a variety of U.S. maps. We encouraged the students to experiment with different styles and colors. The students learned that trying out different ideas in a digital drawing was much easier since it didn’t mean that that they had to start over.

To move to the third dimension, students need to move their 2D drawings into a 3D modeling tool. For 3D design, I like to use Tinkercad. It also is free and easy to use. Works created in Google Drawings can be saved as a .svg file that can be imported into Tinkercad. Once in Tinkercad, designs can be stretched in the third dimension- the Z direction. Below is a video demonstration of this process.

Fewer students feel overwhelmed when they enter gradually into the world of 3D designing and modeling. By providing students a way to transition from drawings on paper to Google Drawings to Tinkercad, they develop a foundation that often strengthens their confidence to attempt more complex designs.

Editable sign in screens for Chrome

UPDATE 3/24/18: Get New Sign in Screens – Google has updated the Chromebook sign in screens with a new look. The style used in the old screens are still used for signing in to the Chrome browser, so I made a few adjustments to them so they can be used to create custom Chrome sign in documents. I have created new Chromebook sign in screens and you can find them here.


Chrome sign in screenI can never get good pictures of the Chromebook sign in screens so I decided to recreate them.

The screens are:

  • enter email
  • enter password
  • failed email example (with CAPTCHA)
  • first time users (Accept Terms of Service)

They were all created in Google Drawings so you can edit the text to display your school’s domain.

See them all here.