SketchUp – Modeling A 3D Toy Locomotive

This is a series of video screencast tutorials that demonstrate how to create a toy locomotive using SketchUp.

Students love doing these activities, but they don’t want to have anyone show them for 70 minutes on a projector screen and then set them free.  They also don’t want to have to figure out written directions (did you ever open up the shrink-wrapped manual?).  They just want to jump in and create. This format allows students to start from the beginning and model as they watch.  If they skip a step or have trouble, they can go back and rewatch that portion of the tutorial. If they find another way to do the same thing, that’s even better.  If a student misses a day, they have not missed any instruction.

The screencast is indexed giving students the advantage of quickly find out where they left off from the day before or go back and rewatch a segment for better understanding.

 

 

 

Directions, supplemental files and SketchUp files saved at various stages can be found by downloading the document below.

Complete Locomotive Lesson Download

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SketchUp – Modeling a 3D Doghouse

This is a series of video screencast tutorials that demonstrate how to create a doghouse using SketchUp.

Students love doing these activities, but they don’t want to have anyone show them for 70 minutes on a projector screen and then set them free.  They also don’t want to have to figure out written directions (did you ever open up the shrink-wrapped manual?).  They just want to jump in and create. This format allows students to start from the beginning and model as they watch.  If they skip a step or have trouble, they can go back and rewatch that portion of the tutorial. If they find another way to do the same thing, that’s even better.  If a student misses a day, they have not missed any instruction.

The screencast is indexed giving students the advantage of quickly find out where they left off from the day before or go back and rewatch a segment for better understanding.

Directions, supplemental files and SketchUp files saved at various stages can be found by downloading the document below.

Complete Doghouse Lesson Download

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SketchUp and Chromebooks in Schools

A year or two ago, Trimble released a web-based version of SketchUp. Branded as SketchUp Free, it was somewhat limited compared to the desktop version but now has blossomed into a decent version.  They discontinued free desktop version (Make 2017), but it can still be downloaded for a few more months.

Trimble then adapted the web version for education as SketchUp for Schools.  It is 95% the same as SketchUp Free with the main difference being that it uses Google Drive for cloud storage instead of Trimble Connect cloud storage(free).  The user/student must have a google account AND your district IT department must set it up for your school(s) to work with G-Suite for Education or Microsoft Education.  For most users, either version will do whatever you want it to for school, so just choose what works best for you.

 

The full-blown version of SketchUp Pro is still available for schools in states participating in the free grant program, so this is great news for schools that have more developed programs with computer labs.

For schools using Chromebooks, SketchUp Free or for Schools are the only options.  Files are freely interchangeable regardless of the version, but since software can’t be installed on a Chromebook, the web-based version is the only option.  As long as you have a basic 3-button mouse, it runs well.  From what I’ve read, using just the trackpad really slows down the experience.

The interfaces and menus do differ between the versions.  Most of the same keyboard shortcuts work as well which is about all I use whenever I can.  I did create an indexed demonstration for students of most of SketchUp’s commands with the web version to help translate the commands between the versions.

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Build a Big Backyard Playset With SketchUp

Just what the title says.  This series of screencasts will take your students through the entire construction, one mouse-click at a time.  It assumes a basic understanding of SketchUp’s commands and some experience, but otherwise, this pretty-much has it all.  As their teacher, you can decide just how far they go and for those that finish first, there are plenty of features they can add to make the ultimate backyard toy.

 

The supporting files can be downloaded below.

Playset SketchUp Files

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