Hi Pior,
I know the noun+verb thing might seem a bit quirky to those with technical mindsets; but, there is some history behind the Noun + Verb approach that I adopted. :)
It has to do with the actual focus of my course. It isn't to simply teach 3D design. It is to change the trajectory of young lives through learning something most nevr thought they could learn. And, it is to convince educators that it actually is at-risk kids that benefit most from learning these skills.
In the educational community, the most prevalent 3D application teachers to to is Tinkercad or, in some cases, Fusion360. That is first and foremost because "FREE" is the prevailing characteristic. And, in the case of Tinkercad, the perception was "EASY".
Tinkercad is actually HARDER to use than MOI3D. I know, because I am teaching two classes right now.
From day one my target audience has been at-risk students. And, in my case, these students had dropped out of school or been kicked out of school prior to coming to a Youth ChalleNGe site to get their GED. Teachers drawn to this mission are rarely technical at all and certainly the students had little or no background in either math or engineering. In fact, recent news reported that NOT A SINGLE STUDENT FROM 23 BALTIMORE SCHOOLS WAS PROFICIENT IN MATH.
The bulk of our Maryland students came from Baltimore. The schedule only permitted us to have one after school class per week for a maximum of 16 weeks in which to learn MOI3D. So, we definitely had to try to start with where the kids were and work from there.
When we started the classes, the intention was, broadly, to teach critical thinking skills, using 3D design and printing to teach evaluation. But, most of the students were apprehensive about their own abilities to learn it.
Learning can't start in a vacuum. We realized that if we altered our approach by beginning with something they knew, it lessened their apprehension. It also gave the teachers confidence that they could explain the process in terms they used in other classes. I'm happy to say that it worked.
The most important thing we found was that at-risk kids actually benefit more from learning MOI3D than the highest achievers in that the ultimate thing they learn is how to deal with and overcome failure. They may never go to the best engineering schools because of our class. But, they DO learn to not give up. And, that will make them better plumbers or electricians, etc. One of our students in our very first class had to attempt his GED 3 times and take the electrical apprentice test more than 3 times before passing. But, he did no give up and credits what her learned in 3D printing for that tenacity. Who know what he would be doing had he not taken the MOI3D class. But, today he is a journeyman electrician. Read the firs two paragraphs in this article about him.
http://www.fairfaxconnection.com/news/2015/jun/18/youthquest-runs-thinklink/
The goal of my classes, which may or may not be met, is to encourage educators focused on at-risk kids, to consider the benefits of using MOI3D's unique interface, to teach resilency and the life principle that "Failures are Not FInal" to kids that have traditionally crashed and burned when faced with what they perceive is failure. Nouns and verbs turned out to be good starting points. :)
Tom
