From Zero to Architect in One Unit Flat: SketchUp in the Classroom

I will never forget the summer before I transitioned to teaching high school technology.  I had spent the previous four years in an elementary school teaching math and reading to grades two and three.  I was ready for a change, and I jumped at the possibility of taking my interest in EdTech to the next level.  There was only one problem...what do I teach?

It is the blessing and the curse of teaching technology that there isn't much of a fixed curriculum.  The few documents that do exist (usually in perpetual draft form) are broad and unhelpful.  The textbooks are laughable.  They're the equivalent of reading about basketball in gym class without ever actually touching a ball.  Then again, your typical principal isn't going to pay a visit to my room and ask why I'm teaching what I'm teaching.

So, there I was, facing a brand new subject area and students who were 8-10 years older than the ones I was used to teaching.  Needless to say, I was nervous.  So, one fine summer morning I was walking around Barnes and Noble back when book used to exist as physical objects and you needed to go to a store to buy them.  I came across "Google SketchUp for Dummies."  I came to understand that SketchUp is a free program that was mostly for architecture (no longer owned by Google, FYI).

Architecture was always one of those professions that held a sort of mystical awe for me, as though the people who practiced it lived on some higher plane.  This book made it seem like architecture was something accessible to me, the proverbial common man.  I was transfixed.  Two hours later, sitting in my living room, using the book and the accompanying YouTube videos (by Aidan Chopra and highly recommended), I was creating basic shapes and structures.  For someone who never considered themselves artistic or creative, I was had a powerful experience.  Right then, I knew that one of my units would center around SketchUp.  And so it has for each of the last four years.

The basic premise of the program is thus: you draw flat two-dimensional shapes and "pull" them into the third dimension.  This simple concept has surprising power.  The wonderful thing is that my students have the same reaction to the program as I do.  The typical response to my "does anyone know what architecture is" usually sounds like  "archi-what?"  Before the first period class is out, though, students have created their first house.

The simple house students create in a single class period

I like to include the SketchUp unit early in my curriculum because it helps students understand a few basic tenets of my class:

1. Technology is powerful and allows us to do things we otherwise couldnt' do
   
   
2. You are powerful and can create beautiful things from nothing
   
   
3. Being artistic and creative is so much more than "being able to draw"
   
   

Very quickly, we move from the simple houses to the interiors of the structures.  The kids go crazy for this when they get to decorate the inside of their dream homes.  One of the most fun aspects of this is that the young men especially enjoy this assignment.  I think that's largely because they don't understand that interior design is typically considered a feminine profession, much as the young ladies don't understand that architecture is traditionally viewed as a masculine one.  That being said, here's a nice example of the interior of one young lady's home.

One young lady's interior design project

A closer look at the living room

For fun, we use some of the tools that allow the designer to create terrain.  We talk a little about geology as we do.

A mountainous terrain created by a student

One of most fun way to publish and display our work is by using a SketchUp plugin that allows us to turn our creations "holographic" using augmented reality.  The video is of me showing off the model of my actual kitchen.  I made that model because we were adding the island in the middle.  The designer and contractor were blown away when I showed it too her.  Also, it was a real world application of what I taught in my class!

The final project culminates with student designing their dream house, both inside and outside.  We use various tools to create cross-sections and live animations to show it off.  Here's a good example (couldn't convince him to change his bedroom decor!).

SketchUp has become an integral part of my teaching.  I can't think of another unit that inspires the students more.  If you're interested in giving it a try, it's a totally free download.  I'll include my first video tutorial below that will help you to create your own simple house.

I simply must show off this image.  It's one of my favorite examples of student work during this unit.  I've lost touch with this student, but I like to think she's on her way to becoming an architect.

As we enter the era of 3D printing, the possibilities of using this technology are endless.  I can't wait to see what's coming next.

One of my favorite student creations