

The teacher dashboard could be a little more useful, but it gets the job done for monitoring students. 3D Slash removes that software hurdle by simplifying the elemental palette to cubes only, giving creations a charming, low-fi, pixelated look that's probably plenty for most primary or secondary classroom purposes.ģD Slash's tutorials and workshops are very well done and easy to follow, which makes integrating the tool into your classroom even easier, letting you get right to the rich problem-solving, rapid-prototyping, and design-thinking exercises. This takes time away from whatever physics, engineering, or other curricular content teachers want to cover in lieu of teaching complicated software tools (such as AutoCAD, Blender, or SketchUp). One of the biggest hurdles to bringing design tech (especially 3D modeling) into classrooms is an initial steep learning curve.

In general, 3D printing is a great way to show your students how ideas can quickly translate from digital designs to real-world creations, which could inspire students to get more creative in their everyday work. This could be the first tool to use at school if your building has one, or you might investigate ways to get access through your local public library or a local makerspace.

If nothing else, use this tool as your gateway to getting connected with 3D printing.

For engineering, science, or physics classes, there's no shortage of ways to integrate this tool, but creative teachers can come up with compelling uses in math, social studies, and English classes (do a quick search for Minecraft-based lessons for some ideas most of them will work here, too). 3D Slash is a shortcut to classroom experiments that hone these skills. Design thinking, rapid prototyping, and learning by creating are hot topics in education right now, and for good reason: These practices all promote curiosity and experimentation, skills that strongly predict academic performance and persistence.
