Posted in Industrial Technology, OnShape, Project Ideas, resources, Teacher resource, Woodwork

Simple School Projects for Creative Students

I was going to call this my Project 2025 but I guess that’s taken now 😦

So, my plan is to get all the basic school projects I have cleaned up and simplified enough to provide students a solid starting point. Given that as educators, we know that the initial phase of any project can often be the most daunting for students. It’s crucial that we create an approachable and encouraging environment for them to thrive.

Students tend to either set their sights too high, reaching beyond their current skill levels, or choose projects that are overly simplistic, failing to challenge themselves. Our goal is to help them find that sweet spot, where they can think creatively while still pushing their boundaries and developing their design and practical skills. I don’t want to produce factory workers in my classes; rather, I aspire to nurture little designers and critical thinkers who can innovate and solve real-world problems.

By streamlining these projects, I aim to foster an environment where students feel empowered to explore their ideas, engage in collaborative discussions, and take ownership of their learning process. This foundation will not only enhance their confidence but also encourage a growth mindset, inspiring them to continue evolving as designers and thinkers long after they leave my classroom.

In essence, the vision for this initiative goes beyond merely completing assignments; it’s about cultivating a culture of creativity and exploration, where students learn the value of persistence and adaptability, setting them up for success in various future endeavors.

Download the plans

Posted in Design and Technology, OnShape, Project Ideas, Teacher resource, Timbers, Workbook, Worksheet

Crafting a Timber Candle Holder Workbook

I spent some time over the summer break putting together a workbook full of resources. This year, we’re going to work on making a cute little wooden candle holder, but feel free to switch it up and do your own thing! Use whatever parts you like. Hit me up on Bluesky if you spot any typos or have cool ideas or stuff I should add. It’s still a work in progress! If there’s enough interest, I could share some of the Affinity Designer/Publisher files I put together so you can tweak them however you want.

Download the workbook

Posted in Behaviour, Forms, Teacher resource

Classroom Contracts: A Tool for Emotional Regulation

Well, it’s a challenge to get kids on track early in the year and help them learn to regulate their emotions. A calm, happy, and fun classroom environment benefits everyone involved. I’ve created a classroom contract that might just be the solution you need. This is an interactive PDF for you to download and use.

Download PDF

Posted in Graphics, Teacher resource, Worksheet

Minecraft inspired Graphics Tech worksheets

Just finished 2 new worksheets inspired by Minecraft, happy to share.

Oblique Steve     Isometric Creeper

GR06_THUMB

Posted in Graphics, Teacher resource

Design a Postage Stamp

I’ve recently started to get interested in self contained units of work delivered by interactive PDFs. Here’s the design a Postage Stamp unit for my graphics class with a new tutorial which is shorter and clearer. Click on the Stamp below to download it. The pencil on page one controls the marking tools on page 7-8, you click the tip to show them and the eraser to hide them. Not that it’s a great concern if students figure this out, I’ll still mark it even if they have already self assessed. I mostly wanted to experiment with the possibilities of using layers in a PDF document. If anyone knows how to add security or permissions to individual layers I’d love to hear from you.

This document is full of my own self promotional rubbish (just delete it) sorry, if you would like access to the original InDesign documents just drop me a line and I’ll package it up and stick it in my Dropbox for you.

Stamp

Click on the Tony Abbott stamp to download the Interactive PDF (55mb)

 

 

 

 
Due to demand a series of Australian Politician stamps is included here for your enjoyment…

AusPol

Posted in Sketchup, Teacher resource, Toy, Woodwork

New Sketchup Model and Toy Making Project

Just finished a few touches to a newish project for my Year 8 woodwork class. I found the basic plan a few years ago in an old Makita school resource and used it to help a casual teacher get through a tough patch last year. The students seemed to like it so I used it myself this semester and had some great results. I’ve completed the 3D model using Sketchup and placed it on the 3Dwarehouse for anyone to download, use and modify. The model contains 5 variations on the basic model just click through the scenes. I haven’t been too picky with layers, it’s all pretty basic. The majority of the work is with 19mm and 12mm stock, with a 50mm holw saw for the wheels. I’ll prepare some PDF working drawings soon so stay tuned.

Download the model from the 3dWarehouse

Toy Truck1Toy Truck6 Toy Truck5 Toy Truck4 Toy Truck3 Toy Truck2
1B2467AA-C90E-4282-B482-9EC70EC1669D_thumb
058D8725-A768-4216-9077-A702A70B5401_thumb 75CEEF49-D93E-49D9-8345-3437EBB429EF

Posted in Documentary, Teacher resource, Video

How It’s Made Plastic Bottles & Jars

The resources that are freely available online (sometimes of dubious copyright) amaze me. It’s no wonder modern students can sometimes feel overwhelmed. Never fear, I hope that this blog can find and share some of the most useful for your studies in Design and Technology.

Here’s a great video on the manufacture of bottles and jars.

Now see those bottles recycled into polyester.

Posted in Teacher resource

Dropbox and Office 2013

Are you using Dropbox and Office 2013 on your PC at home or school? If you are, then below is a small batch file to help Office 2013 programs to save straight into you Dropbox folder and get sync’d to the cloud(you will need the Dropbox desktop client installed). Download this batch file,  right click on it and run as Administrator. Follow the simple directions on screen.

Once the setup has completed, start a blank page in Word or Excel file, go to Save As and choose Add a Location. You will see an icon for Dropbox, choose it and you’re done. You can now save a document to the cloud and access it from any device. This is a great time saver going to and from my school. Remember as far as I can see Dropbox is the only cloud storage service which has a client with the ability to set the Proxies manually.

Unfortunately if you are using anything other than Windows 8.1 behind Proxies (like the NSW Dept of Ed.) then using the Microsoft cloud option Onedrive (formerly Skydrive) is not going to work. It will work through a browser but NOT directly through the Word or Excel application.

Posted in Design and Technology, Documentary, Teacher resource, Video

Barcodes, how they work.

I blogged a few years ago about my early experiments with QR Codes. Well here is a great detailed explanation of how Barcodes work, very interesting.

How Do Barcodes Work?

Posted in Design and Technology, Documentary, Industrial Technology, Teacher resource, Timbers, Video, Woodwork

Veneers and Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)

Two excellent resources I found on Youtube recently that show the manufacture of several timber products. Although a little long in the tooth they make excellent resources for student and teachers covering Industrial Technology and Design and Technology.

How Timber Veneers are Made.

How Medium Density Fibreboard is Made.