Award-Winning Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community Now Available for Middle and High-School Students and Teachers at www.autodesk.com/school
“Autodesk created this community to support a number of STEM initiatives happening throughout the country, such as Project Lead the Way and FIRST Robotics,” said Paul Mailhot, senior director of worldwide education programs at Autodesk. “We hope teachers will take advantage of resources on the community site to help them integrate relevant and engaging projects in the classroom. And we hope that students who explore the site will realize how exciting design and engineering can be.”
Teachers who join the Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community get access to popular 2D and 3D design software and teaching and learning resources that will enable them to become familiar with new design technology and incorporate project-based learning into the classroom. Teacher members also have the opportunity to share coursework and discuss projects and best practices with peers to find the best ways to inspire their students.
Middle- and high-school students who join the community will benefit from access to the same 3D design software used by industry professionals, and gain general exposure to the fields of architecture, construction, mechanical engineering, industrial design, civil engineering, animation and gaming. In addition to free(a) student versions of Autodesk software, the community provides students with tutorials for these applications, a “getting started” area and information about design-related college and career paths.
Autodesk understands that it takes more than integrating technology into the classroom to engage and motivate students to learn challenging STEM concepts. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Education on the effectiveness of technology in the classroom proved that teachers need adequate training and support in order to effectively use technology to improve student performance. The Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community provides much-needed assistance for middle- and high-school teachers looking to learn design software by providing step-by-step tutorials that teachers can access from any computer with an internet connection.
“Teachers’ jobs are hard enough without having to learn new technology, which can be intimidating,” said Mailhot. “Autodesk hopes this community will develop into a support network for teachers, where they can explore resource materials and connect with peers to share teaching tips, such as how to keep kids motivated and engaged in the classroom. We also designed the site to make learning new software less challenging, so teachers can focus on what really counts in the classroom—teaching.”
To sign up for this new community, participants can register online with a school-issued e-mail address. Students without a school-issued e-mail address can still access the community by asking one of their school’s faculty members to join. The faculty member can then authorize access for participating students without a school-issued e-mail address. Middle- and high-school teachers and students can register now at www.autodesk.com/school.
