This workflow will also work when students are designing for their Cricut Cutter. Although both these tools do offer a subscription based design tool, I recommend that students learn to design files using non-proprietary software for designing vector files needed when using a laser or cutting maker tools - like Cuttle.xyz. It's a great choice for schools for several reasons.
In this residency, both the teacher and I used our laptopss to display the SPREADSHEET associated with the Google Form used to submit their SVG files. One of us circulated around the room assisting students with designing their vector files while the other supervised students cutting their files at the laser cutter.
Students quickly learned the following steps and were teaching each other the sequence of
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- It's browser based - so it even works on Chromebooks.
- Cuttle.xyz has signed data privacy agreements with several schools
- It's accessible for middle grade students
- They have affordable K-12 pricing
- You can try before you buy with 3 free projects.
One Day 1, we lead each students to creating a hanging constellation disc of the Big Dipper cut from cardstock. We carefully went over safety protocols for using the laser cutter and explained that prototyping often starts with paper and cardboard before moving to wood, acrylic and other materials for the final version.
This tutorial video features the steps we used to provide sixth grade students the foundational skills they needed to design laser cut files for all three project choices available for this residency.
The next step was to get the downloaded SVG files from the students' Chromebooks to the laser cutter. My favorite workflow for this is to create a Google Form using the ADD File question. The link to this Google Form is made available to the students via their Google Classroom or other LMS Students quickly learned to submit and resubmit new iteration of SVG files to the laser cutter with helpful comments.
Students quickly learned the following steps and were teaching each other the sequence of
1. Submit SVG file to laser cutter using the Google Form (above).
2. Download their SVG file from the spreadsheet (Google form response) to computer controlling the laser cutter
3. Upload the SVG file to the Glowforge app.
4. Order the cut layers so the inside cuts before the outside.
5. Change the setting to match the material in the laser cutter.
6. Use AutoFocus to measure depth of the material.
7. Press Print and check the estimated time to make sure it feels reasonable.
8. Make sure you have a fire buddy with spray bottle on standby, then press TEAL GO button on laser cutter.
9. Always supervise you cut. Never walk away from the laser cutter.
10. Wait for the laser cutter to cool down . Open Lid and remove your cut.
By the 2nd or 3rd iteration students felt confident with the sequence and were independently switching materials between cardstock, cardboard, and draftboard as they revised their designs.
It was amazing to watch the projects come to life as students safely used real world tools and developed the growth mindset necessary to iterate their way from prototype to a successful project.
Stay tuned for three more posts that showcased the steps featuring each of the 3 project choices during this integrated STEAM based MAKER residency.
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| Project options (paper circuit journal cover, interactive constellation poster, projection device) |
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And if you'd like to learn how to design your own integrated STEAM infused project using creativity, circuits, & stories this summer, join me and other creative educators for a fun filled week of hands on learning at the Project Design Lab June 23 - 27 in Burlington Vermont. (includes lodging and graduate credit)
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