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Makers Empire Global Design Program | School Exchange

Makers Empire is used by 26,000+ teachers in schools in over forty countries around the world, including Australia, the USA, China, England, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

Makers Empire’s Global Design Program pairs together Makers Empire schools in different countries and challenges their students to work collaboratively to design solutions to real-world problems or needs.

As the students work together to solve their design challenge and meet their learning goals, the students gain a new understanding of another country and culture and forge new friendships.

“The learning that occurred from this project was invaluable and more than just curriculum-based. Whilst the students learned about livability from researching and designing parts of a city that adhere to Mercers Quality of Living Factors, they learned about what living and cities are like in China from first-person conversations and experiences – a far deeper intercultural understanding than they could possibly gain from textbooks and the internet.”
Jolanta Stephens, Grade 7 Teacher, Immanuel College

Benefits of Participating in the Global Design Program

  • Student engagement – students love working on projects with other students
  • Cultural exchange – the opportunity for students to learn about another country’s culture, customs and people
  • Global citizens – students develop empathy and understanding for students from another country
  • Student collaboration – students working together to achieve a common goal
  • Communication skills – students learn how to communicate effectively with people from another country, both orally and in writing, using online tools
  • Build friendships – students can continue their friendship both online in the app and offline
  • Teachers expand their professional network
  • Teachers learn together with colleagues from around the world
  • Opportunity for teachers to share their learning via interviews and case studies published on the Makers Empire website
“We started with a Google doc that we both edited along with emailing back and forth to make sure that we were incorporating common goals with our students. I think we were both surprised at how much our curriculum in the United States and Australia aligned. Our most important goal was creating, communicating, and sharing together… Our students learned so much more than what we ever could have anticipated about each other, Design Thinking, and the specific topic that we started with. My favorite part of this project are the surprises because we start with a rough planning doc that we mould as students start to share with each other, spark different ideas, and communicate their learning with each other… Watching our students connect with their partners across the globe and learn from each other is a powerful learning experience for both the students and the teachers.”

Karie Huttner, Design & Technology Teacher, Country View & Stoner Prairie Elementary Schools

Global Design Program Examples

Karie had a class that was learning about the 13 colonies of America and saw the Global Design Program as an opportunity to engage the students more deeply in the subject. So she reached out to Kate and their two classes connected to learn about the histories of the first colonies together. Each student then designed a relic or artefact from the relevant time period using Makers Empire’s 3D design app. Learn more.

Students from Immanuel College in Australia and ISA International School in China teamed up for the three-month City Exchange Project. The students worked together to investigate the key factors that make up a liveable city. Learn more.

In September and October 2018, students from Stoner Prairie Elementary School in the USA partnered with students from St Michael’s College in Australia for a Global Design Program project about water and aquatic animals. Students loved sharing their Makers Empire 3D designs and culture with each other by creating short videos for their peers to watch. Using video to share their work was a great way to manage the difficult time difference between the two countries and keep students engaged. Learn more.

Global Design Program Project Ideas

Research iconic buildings and structures from your own country. Then create a shortlist of landmarks and create designs of them using Makers Empire 3D software. Exchange them with students in another country to learn more about each other’s culture.

Identify a problem in your schools or communities and put your heads together to solve it

Design 3D creatures or monsters for students in another class to print out and vice-versa. The students could create a photo diary of activities that they do with their creatures or monsters to give their peers an insight into their daily lives

Sign Up for the Global Design Program

The Global Design Program is open to all current Makers Empire school customers. To sign up to the Global Design Program, click the button below. You will then be prompted to log in to the Teacher’s Dashboard (if you’re not already logged in) so you can access the Global Design Program sign up page.

If you are not already a Makers Empire customer and would like to subscribe, click on the request a quote button below. You will then be prompted to provide a few more details so we can prepare a customised quotation for you.

“The sharing of our different environments and creatures was important in this exchange and students learned in an empathetic way… I have actually learned a lot more about my own students by listening to their introductions to the American students that I could have by any other means it seems… There are many things that we take for granted in our environment and when we have to explain it to people from another country it really forces one to learn about and share what makes our land and country unique. The students enjoyed seeing how our physical environment really is different from the American students and explaining our unique physical environment in Australia. The American students got to see some special features of some of our aquatic animals such as the platypus and fairy penguins.”
Kate Tyrwhitt, Arts & Design Teacher, St Michael’s College

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