Learning at Home Course: Teacher FAQs

Q: Do I have to pay anything for the Learning at Home course?

A: No, the Learning at Home course is 100% free for teachers to use. Current Makers Empire customer teachers can access this course as part of their subscription and non-customer teachers can sign up for a free, 4-month trial to access it. The Makers Empire app is free for students to download and use at home.

Q: Is the course for beginners?

A: The course has been designed for students of all skill levels. Those with Makers Empire experience will be able to do more advanced designs but students don’t need any prior experience.

Q: How long does it take to complete the course?

A: The course consists of 30 Design Missions for each grade level group. Each Design Mission takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. So the whole course should take 30 days x 30 minutes per day = 900 minutes or 15 hours in total.

Q: What do my students need to access Learning at Home?

A: A computer, laptop, tablet or device that they can access and an internet connection (wifi) so they can see the design mission instructions as a message from you (and you can monitor and assess their work in the Teacher Dashboard). Students will also need to update their app to the latest version via their usual app store or the Makers Empire site, or install the Makers Empire app on their device if they haven’t already done so. The Makers Empire app can be used in offline mode if students occasionally lose access to their internet connection (wifi).

Q: What will my students be learning with this course? 

A: All our Design Missions are aligned to international curriculum and standards including the Australian Curriculum, American Common Core, UK Curriculum and Next Generation Science Standards.

Q: How do I assess my students’ work? 

A: You can assess your students’ designs in the Teacher Dashboard as Makers Empire customers usually do.

Q: How do I supervise and keep track of my students’ progress?

A: You can view and assess students’ work in the Teacher’s Dashboard as Makers Empire customers usually do. We are currently working on a new reporting system to deliver regular, aggregated reports on student progress to you.

Q: I don’t have any experience in 3D design or CAD software. Will I be able to manage this?

A: We have designed our Learning at Home course to be as simple as possible. We understand that these are extraordinary times and that teachers and families are facing all sorts of pressures and uncertainty. Our course is designed to help make using Makers Empire at home as easy as possible. In most cases, K-8 students can learn to use the Makers Empire app without assistance from an adult.

Q: My students are already using Makers Empire in school. How do I get them set up? What should I tell parents?

To be able to engage with your students online using Makers Empire, you’ll need your students to use the accounts you created for them. So simply follow the step-by-step instructions on page 4 of the Learning at Home Guide for Teachers.

Here is some suggested text that you can adapt to suit your individual circumstances:

“Hi, parents.

We will be using Makers Empire’s Learning at Home course to continue our learning in Design Thinking and STEM via 3D design.

I will be setting Design Missions for your child, which he/she will be notified about within the Makers Empire 3D design app itself. So please help your child install Makers Empire onto an available computer or device if they haven’t already done so or update the previously installed Makers Empire app to the latest version. Full step-by-step instructions can be found at Learning at Home Guide for Parents.

Makers Empire is aligned to Australian/American/UK/International curriculum and standards and certified by the Education Alliance Finland for pedagogical quality. It is a highly engaging and fun learning tool for kids – kids often think that they are ‘playing’ Makers Empire and you may find that your child is very happy to continue beyond the suggested time.  

Thanks for your help with this and your continued support!”

Q: My students are completely new to this. How do I get them set up? [ps2id url=’#parentsletter’ offset=” class=”]What should I tell their parents?[/ps2id]

A: Please follow the step-by-step instructions on page 2-3 of the Learning at Home Guide for Teachers.

Here is some suggested text that you can adapt to suit your individual circumstances:

“Hi, parents.

We will be using Makers Empire’s Learning at Home course to expand our learning in Design Thinking and STEM via 3D design.

I will be setting Design Missions for your child, which he/she will be notified about within the Makers Empire 3D design app itself. So please help your child install Makers Empire onto an available computer or device. Full step-by-step instructions can be found at Learning at Home Guide for Parents.

Makers Empire is aligned to Australian/American/UK/International curriculum and standards and certified by the Education Alliance Finland for pedagogical quality. It is a highly engaging and fun learning tool for kids – kids often think that they are ‘playing’ Makers Empire and you may find that your child is very happy to continue beyond the suggested time.  

Thanks for your help with this and your continued support!”

Q: Can my students do this course without an internet connection (wifi)?

A: This course requires an internet connection so that students can receive notifications regarding new design challenges from their teacher, and teachers can view their students’ design work in the Teacher Dashboard. The Makers Empire app itself can be used in offline mode if students occasionally lose access to their internet connection (wifi).

Q: Do I have to have access to a 3D printer to use this program?

A: No – this course is designed to be used by teachers with students learning at home without access to a 3D printer.

Q: What if my students are older than K-6? What can my students do then?

A: For customers: Students can continue learning with Makers Empire at home with you using whatever communication and group work tools that you are using with your students. You can access the Teacher Dashboard as usual from your computer and set students age-appropriate design missions for them to complete within the app on their home devices.

A: For non-customers: Check out our blog for free lesson ideas that you can adapt for home usage. Students can also enter our monthly Design Thinking competitions, create and play 3D mazes, customise their avatar or create their own designs using design modules like Shaper or Blocker. Check out our How to Design videos for step-by-step guides.

Q: Do you have any design challenges related to the coronavirus?

A: Yes, please see 10 Coronavirus 3D Design Challenges For Students and 10 Social Distancing & Self Isolation 3D Design Challenges.

Q: I need the support of my school principal to use this with my students/class during home learning. How should I explain it to them?

A: You can adapt this suggested text in your email to your school principal:

“Hi,

As you know, we have been busy making the move to remote learning for our students. During my research into suitable remote learning tools, I recently came across an excellent and free program that I’d like to use with my students/class.

Makers Empire is a global EdTech company headquartered in Australia. They currently have 1+ million student users and 22,000+ teachers in 40 countries including ours. 

To help support teachers dealing with school closures, they are currently offering a free Learning at Home course for teachers and students. It is designed to help students develop skills in Design Thinking and knowledge in STEM via 3D design.

Using the Learning at Home course under our current Makers Empire subscription/a free 4-month trial (remove the irrelevant one), I will be able to set daily Design Missions for my students remotely; the students will see the daily Design Mission as a message from me on their devices within the Makers Empire 3D design app. Full step-by-step instructions can be found at Learning at Home Guide for Teachers.

Makers Empire is aligned to Australian/American/UK/International curriculum and standards, backed by Macquarie University research and certified by the Education Alliance Finland for pedagogical quality. It is a highly engaging and fun learning tool for kids – kids often think that they are ‘playing’ Makers Empire, so I think it would be a great addition to our school’s remote learning tools. 

I hope you will support my use of Makers Empire with my students. Thanks for your help with this.”

Q: I need some help. Is there someone I can contact?

A: Yes. Please email us at info@makersempire.com with ‘Learning at Home Support Needed’ in the subject heading.
You can also call us to speak to someone. For the United States and Canada please call USA (415) 652 0206. For Australia and all other countries please call: AUS 61 (0)8 8120 3150