Objects to Think With

Editors: Glen Bull & Ryan Novitski
Technical Editors: Jo Watts & Rachel Gibson
Editorial Board: Jason Trumble, Liz Whitewolf, Michael Littman & Lauren Seigel

Contemporary Issues in Educational Design and Fabrication (ED&F) is sponsored by the International Technology and Engineering Education Association (ITEEA). During the past decade, many schools have established maker spaces with 3D printers, digital die cutters, and other fabrication tools. The educational effectiveness of fabrication tools in K-12 maker spaces requires access to useful Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) models and associated instructional supports. ED&F provides a site for review and publication of CAD models designed for K-12 education. Each submission should include:

1. an open-source educational CAD file or files and associated instructional materials such as fabrication and assembly instructions, instructional videos, and lesson plans, and

2. an accompanying article describing instructional use of the model and results of a pilot implementation in a classroom in a manner that will enable K-12 teachers to replicate this use.

Articles submitted for review may address the elements such as: (a) educational objectives and alignment with educational standards, (b) prior instances of use of related models and historical connections, (c) design considerations and challenges (d) fabrication and assembly instructions, (e) recommendations for revision and remixing, (f) explanation of ways in which students will demonstrate their understanding, and (g) description of pilot use in a K-12 classroom. Additional materials such as associated instructional videos can also be submitted. Once accepted, the article will be published in the journal with a link to the corresponding model in an educational CAD Model Repository.

Send inquiries about submission of articles and associated CAD models to: [email protected]