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Design Thinking Thought Leadership

Be inspired by our expert learning team as they share the latest on Design Thinking

  • Father and daughter using a tablet device together at home

    Learning at Home | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | Resources for Teachers and Parents

    To the worldwide Makers Empire community, At Makers Empire, we've been shocked and concerned as we've witnessed the distressing effects of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Makers Empire is used by 1+ million users in 40+ countries who create 90,000 new 3D designs every day. Many of these countries are already experiencing or planning for school closures....

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  • Failing to Succeed: 6 Habits of Successful 'Failers' That Teachers Should Know

    This post is by Mandi Dimitriadis, Makers Empire's Director of Learning (pictured above, left).   I spend a lot of time talking with teachers about the important role failure can play in learning. Backed by Carol Dweck’s mindset research and armed with all sorts of anecdotes about the power of design thinking, I can often...

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  • Competitions, Challenges & Experiences Your Students Will Love | Design Thinking | STEM

    At Makers Empire, we want to help children become creators, innovators and problem solvers so they can adapt and thrive in a dynamic world. We do this by equipping educators with the tools, resources and support they need to embrace creativity and making in education for improved student performance, engagement and learning. We've created this...

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  • Want to be inspired? Watch These 5 Great TED Talks for Teachers

    Looking to motivate and engage your students? Wanting to dive deeper into pedagogy? Keen to be inspired by a new idea? Feeling tired and in need of a mental pick-me-up? May we suggest watching a TED Talk or 5? TED is a not for profit that shares pioneering ideas through short, engaging talks. The TED...

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  • 8 Ways Teachers and Students Can Benefit From Gamification in the Classroom

    Makers Empire 3D is not a video game. It’s specialised 3D modelling software carefully designed to help K-8 students develop Design Thinking skills in order to solve real-world problems. Our 3D design app and Learning by Design program were recently the subject of a 12-month Macquarie University study into primary schools makerspaces, so we are...

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  • What is Design Thinking? A Handy Guide for Teachers

    In this post, Mandi Dimitriadis, Director of Learning at Makers Empire, will help you understand more about Design Thinking. You’ll get to know what Design Thinking is, why Design Thinking is important, the phases of the Design Thinking process and how you might teach your students how to use Design Thinking to reframe problems and...

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Lesson Plan Library with 130+ Lesson Plans

Aligned to Australian Common Core Standards, Australian Curriculum, Next Generation Science Standards

    • ENTREPRENEURS UNITED

    • Grade/s: 7, 8
    • Subject/s: Tech., Economics
    • Type: Lesson Plan

    Students investigate the attributes and skills of successful entrepeneurs. They use design thinking processes to plan an entrepeneurial venture and develop 3D printed prototypes of their ideas.

    • BUILDING RENOVATIONS

    • Grade/s: 7
    • Subject/s: Maths, Engineering
    • Type: Unit Plan

    Students design a 3D model of a house. They are then required to make renovations to their house design by making selected geometric changes to their houses.

    • DESIGN A PRODUCT

    • Grade/s: 6
    • Subject/s: Technologies
    • Type: Lesson Plan

    In this lesson, students will learn how to design, make and sell a 3D printed product. A great exercise for students to learn about product design, prototyping, entrepreneurship and marketing.

    • NATURAL DISASTERS

    • Grade/s: 6
    • Subject/s: Science, Technologies
    • Type: Lesson Plan

    Students identify and study problems caused by natural disasters. They devise solutions to these problems and then design and 3D print their practical remedies.

Learn more about the lesson plan library

School Case Studies

Discover how these teachers and students are using Makers Empire in the classroom

Design Thinking Competitions

Browse our past Design Thinking competitions and check out the winning entries

  • We've Redesigned Our Monthly Competitions Page

    We've redesigned our monthly competitions page to make it easier to see the details of this month's competition and to view the winners and runner ups of previous competitions.Browse the 40+ monthly design competitions we've run since we launched the Makers Empire app in 2014 for lots of great design challenges and lesson ideas that...

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  • Winners of the Car-Free Zone 3D Design Competition | Design Thinking Challenge

    Every month, Makers Empire runs an in-app competition so that students can test their Design Thinking and 3D design skills against their peers from all over the world. We are glad to announce the winners of Makers Empire's Car Free Zone competition, which ran in September 2020. This was the Bully Busters design brief for...

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  • Winners of the Bully Busters 3D Design Competition | Design Thinking Challenge

    Every month, Makers Empire runs an in-app competition so that students can test their Design Thinking and 3D design skills against their peers from all over the world. We are glad to announce the winners of Makers Empire's Bully Busters competition, which ran in March 2020. This was the Bully Busters design brief for students:...

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