Ortwein Innovators

During the beginning phases of our club, the innovators are learning design techniques and developing confidence while building community in the tech room. Our advisors build relationships with our innovators by supporting them in instruction, design techniques, and fostering their independence. The club model is to ask the school community what they need help with. Staff then submit a solution request form, and the request is assigned to the junior graphic designers, who then start their creative process. Once the design is complete, a prototype is printed, and our innovators have the opportunity to conference and test their designs. The last step is to print the full dimensions and deliver the product to the staff member, hoping that this solution will be precisely what they need. 

All designers start as junior graphic designers as they learn the basics (e.g., measuring techniques, drawing and transferring the model to TinkerCAD, exploring different shapes to bring their ideas to life, etc.). They do this by using fun activities to explore the program and gain confidence in their skills. Scholars can request to move up to a graphic designer position after developing the prerequisite skills. At that point, they are ready to take on more of an independent role and are assigned requests that a staff member has submitted.