Design Thinking Thought Leadership
Be inspired by our expert learning team as they share the latest on Design Thinking
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Delivering 3D Tech to Denver Public School District | Custom Professional Development
The Makers Empire team recently spent some time in Denver, USA, to deliver customised professional development and Makers Empire to schools in the Denver Public Schools district. 54 teachers representing 38 schools from the Denver Public Schools district attended the Makers Empire training days held at Mind Spark Learning, a purpose-built facility for teacher training and...
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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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5 Videos for Students that Show the Design Thinking Cycle in Action | 3D Printing in Schools
At Makers Empire, we are privileged to witness the extraordinary problem-solving and creative innovation that K-8 students are capable of when equipped with intuitive, age-appropriate 3D design software and guidance from their well-resourced teachers. Recently, we've seen how Roseworthy Primary School students helped wheelchair sports athletes by designing an arm guard, and how Littlehampton Primary...
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How Roseworthy PS Students Help Wheelchair Sports Athletes with 3D Printing
Matt has Muscular Dystrophy, which affects all of his muscles and causes further deterioration every year. When he plays wheelchair sports it can get rough and sometimes the force of the wheelchairs hitting each other can cause his arms to fall off his chair. This is a problem as Matt doesn't have the physical strength...
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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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How Littlehampton PS Students Helped A Boy With Cystic Fibrosis using 3D Printing
Students at Littlehampton Primary School in Australia were asked to solve a real-world problem using Design Thinking, 3D printing and Makers Empire. Will, a student at the school, has Cystic Fibrosis. He has to use a nebuliser everyday and it can be tricky drying the apparatus. So the students decided to use Makers Empire to...
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Lesson Plan Library with 130+ Lesson Plans
Aligned to Australian Common Core Standards, Australian Curriculum, Next Generation Science Standards
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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School Case Studies
Discover how these teachers and students are using Makers Empire in the classroom
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How a Teacher Uses 3D Printing To Teach Entrepreneurship & STEM | Design Thinking | PBL
Luke Drain is a classroom teacher at Carlingford West Public School in Sydney. Luke came to teaching after studying IT and was fortunate to secure a position at Carlingford West shortly after he finished his degree. We spoke to Luke recently about how he is using 3D printing and Makers Empire to engage students in...
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How a teacher and his entrepreneurial 9Y0 use 3D printing at school and in their business
Jay Wright is the SET, STLAN and Technologies Teacher at Vale View State School in Queensland, Australia and a new Makers Empire ambassador. Previously, Jay worked at Freshwater State School and Bambi Bilingual Kindergarten in Japan. We recently spoke with Jay about his teaching career, his 3D printing journey, how he's using Makers Empire in...
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How Grade 5 Canadian Students Helped People with Disabilities using 3D Printing
Jeff Hennigar is a grade 5 teacher at BLT Senior School in Canada and a Makers Empire ambassador. We previously published Jeff's guest post about how 3D printing helped unite his class and raise money for a local hospital. Today, we're happy to be sharing Jeff's latest 3D printing project, which saw his students helping...
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How 3 Teachers are Finding New Ways to Use 3D Printing & Design in the K-8 Classroom
For teachers who are new to 3D printing, Makers Empire's school products include everything you need to successfully integrate 3D technology into the classroom. With our 150+ lesson plans, professional development, class management tools, training and ongoing support, you'll be able to start using 3D printing and 3D design as authentic teaching tools efficiently and...
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So You Have a 3D printer - Now What? A Frank Account of 3D Printing in the Classroom
This guest post was written by Christopher Burdman, a grade 3-5 STEM teacher at Joseph P Tyan Elementary School in Boston and Makers Empire Ambassador. Here he shares a frank and engaging account of his 3D printing journey, through unexpected windfalls, false starts, new beginnings and eventual success. This is a must-read for any teacher or educator wanting...
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Students' 3D Designs Shine in MOD.'s Waging Peace Exhibition
Fiona Graff is a Year 7 Homeroom Teacher at Cabra Dominican College in South Australia. She has been using Makers Empire with her students for one term. Some of her students designs created using Makers Empire were recently accepted in the Waging Peace exhibition currently on at the MOD. MOD. is Australia’s leading future-focused museum, provoking new ideas...
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Design Thinking Competitions
Browse our past Design Thinking competitions and check out the winning entries
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Winners of the Flushed Away Design Thinking Competition
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 Design Thinking competition from November: Flushed Away. November 19th was World Toilet Day so we challenged students...
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Winners of the Spooktacular Design Thinking Competition
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 Design Thinking competition from October: Spooktacular. In this competition, students were challenged to design the spookiest, kookiest,...
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Makers Empire X Toyota Dream Car Competition
Makers Empire is partnering with our friends at Toyota Australia for their 14th annual Dream Car Competition. [su_spacer size="30"] The Toyota Dream Car Competition [su_row][su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column] [su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column][su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column][/su_row] [su_row][su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column] [su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column][su_column size="1/3" center="no" class=""][/su_column][/su_row] The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is a chance...
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