Tips for Educators in Challenging Times

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I was fortunate to be the keynote at the SolidProfessor Virtual Education Summit.  Now I want to share with all educators some topics to help you prepare for the upcoming semester.

SOLIDWORKS Student Access Licenses

Qualified schools with SOLIDWORKS subscription can provide their students individual licenses of SOLIDWORKS Student Access.  Students can install SOLIDWORKS on their own home computers.

3DEXPERIENCE Cloud 

3D Designer for Education provides a cloud-based solution for educational institutions all with a connection to SOLIDWORKS desktop.  The roles, Business Innovator, Industry Innovator, Project Planner, 3D Creator (xDesign app) and 3D Sculptor (xShape app) are all cloud-based. They work on tablets and Chrome books too.

We have a great video series for educators on how to set up your classroom, collaborate, and communicate with your students.  Keep your students on track with the Project Management app.

MySOLIDWORKS for Students

Students have access to virtual lessons, certification learning paths, and training in both SOLIDWORKS desktop and 3DEXPERIENCE platform products.  With the SOLIDWORKS Student Access serial number, students can register for a MySOLIDWORKS for Student account providing 1000’s of tutorials and the Career Resource Road map for students.

SOLIDWORKS Users Group

All educators and students can join a virtual SOLIDWORKS Users Group. Any educator or student can join SWUGN.org. It is a great place to meet SOLIDWORKS users in your area and beyond.

SOLIDWORKS Blogs

The SOLIDWORKS Blog, SOLIDWORKS Tech Blog, and SOLIDWORKS Education Blog provide great stories and tutorials.  There are hundreds of videos on the SOLIDWORKS YouTube channel.

Check out SAE Aero Playlist. For the artist, try Gingerbread Train.  For the analyst, try Improving Productivity with Simulation.

SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids

Apps for Kids provides fun Science, Technology, Engineering and Math apps for children ages 4-14.  Apps for Kids is free, web-based for computers and tablets.  There is also a Apps for Kids classroom for teachers.  You can sign up at SWAppsForKids.com.

SOLIDWORKS Student Team Sponsorship

SOLIDWORKS provides competitive student teams with sponsorship with both SOLIDWORKS desktop and 3DEXPERIENCE apps.  Student Teams can apply for sponsorship at www.solidworks.com/studentsponsorship.  Additional 3DEXPERIENCE EDU challenges for students can be found here.

3DEXPERIENCE Lab Open COVID19 Community 

The 3DEXPERIENCE Lab has created an Open COVID19 Community that anyone can join for free.  See how engineers, doctors, educators and students are making a difference in the world.

SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider Program

Qualified schools can apply to become SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification exam providers.  Students, with parent/guardian as proctor, can take exams at home during this time.  Exam questions are random and automatically graded.  MySOLIDWORKS contains certification virtual lessons.

Sustainable Design and Additive Manufacturing Certification for All

For Fall 2020, the Sustainable Design certification exam and Additive Manufacturing Certification exam are available free for all students.  Sustainable Design preparation materials are here.  Additive Manufacturing prep materials are available on MySOLIDWORKS.com with a Guest Account.

MySOLIDWORKS CSWA Exam Learning Path is now Closed Caption.

Thinking Differently

If you cannot teach your class the way you did last year, think differently.  What other topics can help students with tools you do have at home?

  1. Concentrate on fully defined sketches and design intent.
  2. Use SOLIDWORKS Composer to develop assembly procedures to understand how equipment goes together with simple language.
  3. Unfold a cracker box to explain sheet metal techniques.  Use a ruler, calipers to understand units. Remove a label from a soup can to discuss linear and cylindrical coordinates.
  4. Use SOLIDWORKS Simulation Tutorials to discuss advanced topics in strength of materials, stress analysis and FEA.

Thank you for being educators and helping so many students.  Marie

Marie Planchard

Marie Planchard

Senior Director, Early Engagement, 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systemes
Marie Planchard is an education and engineering advocate. As Senior Director of Education & Early Engagement, SOLIDWORKS, she is responsible for global development of content and social outreach for the 3DEXPERIENCE Works products across all levels of learning including educational institutions, Fab Labs, and entrepreneurship.
Marie Planchard

@marieplanchard1