Attending a Live Webinar:  Autodesk Fusion

In all honesty, I usually get an invitation to several live webinars each month for one of my various

CAD softwares.  I also normally do not attend them due to class scheduling or other reasons.  With this assignment, however, I actually found it difficult to find one that ascertained to my specific field of instruction.  While I could have gone to one of the ones posted in our assignment (I actually did sign up for one on Saturday, but I was asked to facilitate at a funeral for a Masonic brother, so I will be going there instead), I wanted to try ones that fit more of my curriculum.  Unfortunately, most of them were either held last week, or next week.  I did, however, find one which focused on an Autodesk software which I have been investigating for use in my classroom:  Autodesk Fusion.  Fusion is a parametric modeling software that is relatively easy to use, and which also can act as a CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software that assists in programing automated mills, lathes and cutters.  The more that I research this software, the more amazing it is to me...

The program was set up using GoToWebinar (www.gotomeeting.com)  It was a rather simple format, with the two instructors / presenters seated behind a desk to begin with, then shifting to the computer screen showing the software.   The site had a q&a button along the right side, where questions could be asked by various people.  It also allowed the presenters to turn on or off the microphone system for anyone who was watching the presentation live.  I look on that as being both a positive and negative aspect of things, as it kept people from interrupting the session, yet it didn't allow for instant questions.  Written questions were also visible only to the presenters (at least from what I could tell), who then answered when there was an appropriate time.

With the conclusion of this webinar, I looked into others that were being hosted by this company, as they definitely know their software, and they seemed to have a good progression of topics coming up for the future.  I will definitely be looking into attending more of these in the future as they were a great influence on my learning even the two or three simple topics that were covered today.

If I were to incorporate this type of webcast into the classroom, I would most likely contact the company first, and determine if they would be willing to engage the microphone for q&a sessions with the students.  I would also see if they would send me sample files of the parts and pieces that they used in the webinar so that I could incorporate them into follow-up lessons / problems using the software.  In this instance, the students would be attendees, and the webinar itself would most likely be projected onto a large screen or Promethean board, with the students writing relevant questions to be asked / posted as the lesson progressed.  The students themselves would watch the webinar, post questions, then proceed to attempt the work as shown (with my assistance and files for the first try). 

Another way that I would consider integrating such a program into the classroom would be for the students themselves to research and produce a webinar depicting the development of one of their projects, or a method of creating something either on the computer or by hand.  I could easily see using it as a way to do a robotics lesson for elementary students where we describe and run a robot, describing its function and purpose then answering questions posted by the younger students.  This would also probably work with our 3d printing system, and maybe a few other projects as well.  It would be a neat way to bring STEM from a senior high setting into an elementary one without actually taking students and equipment out of the classroom.  It would, however, take some better equipment than what we currently have to make a good production.