There are some things that need to be promoted without hesitation. Blender is one of those things. Now I could go into detail writing about what blender is and what it is capable of but that would be redundant as all the information you ever need is displayed on their site blender.org.
Below I will cover the many ways I support and advocate blender and my plans to continue supporting and advocating this amazing software into the future.
Talking: I talk highly of blender to anyone I have the opportunity to.
Introducing: I enjoy sitting friends down and getting their hand on the mouse for some basics lessons on how to navigate, spawn objects and manipulate them.
Purchasing: I bought some stickers, a shirt and a rocket USB as well as signed up for a year of blender cloud.
Advertising: I love my new blender shirt and wear it as often as possible. I have stickers placed everywhere and I jump at the opportunity to tell people about blender when they ask.
Blender In Every School:
I’ve been looking more seriously at promoting Blender to a larger audience. I want to see blender used in almost every school throughout the world and I’ve been thinking of a way to make this happen but I’ll need some help. If you’re passionate about blender and would like to create and perpetuate this vision here is the general list of steps to take in your area to get blender in the class room.
Step 1: Research
Research the schools in your community and surrounding communities. Some key questions we must consider are.
- What kind of relatable/computer classes are offered at present?
- Are the schools in the area short on funding?
- Who is the most effective person or people in a school to contact?
- What is the quickest and most effective way to contact all of those people in all of the schools in your area?
- Is it more effective to contact individuals directly via Email, a phone call, or in person?
- Is there an emailing list with the necessary contacts from all the schools in your region?
Step 2: Outreach
Make contact with the right people within the schools to bring blender into their learning environment.
This is an important step. It will be many peoples first introduction to blender and they might find it hard to believe so having links and reference is necessary. Here are a couple relevant articles and a video I’ve found that could help with this step.
- Why your classroom needs blender
- Free Curriculum For Teaching Blender 3D
- What is blender?
- Cycles Demo Reel 2016
At this stage you should be decided on what method of approach will work best for you. Whatever your approach it is important that you are collected and well prepared.
A friend of mine has helped me with some research on the Vancouver school board and has discovered some interesting information that will make my outreach more effective.
We have found a couple groups of people that would be beneficial to please.
- DISTRICT PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
- VANCOUVER DISTRICT STUDENT’S COUNCIL
- The Trustees
We have compiled a list of the most relevant departments and their contacts. Here are the departments.
- Learning and Information Technology
- Learning Services
- Office of the Superintendent
We have acquired a map of all the schools in the city.
Also we have discovered that BC is implementing a promising new curriculum for grade 10s this year and grades 11 and 12 next year.
“The flexibility of the new curriculum enables teachers and schools to offer courses, modules, thematic units or learning experiences that focus on students’ needs as well as interests or local contexts.” Pulled FromWhat does the new curriculum look like: An overview of BC’s redesigned learning
Here are some handouts that I designed and had printed to leave in Libraries, Schools and maybe pin up on poster boards around communities.
Here is the blender card I had printed to hand out on my travels to remind people to check it out.
Here is another card I made to promote CGCookie as I find their educational platform fun and motivating.
Independently 