Collaborative CAD Design

Overview

Students practice collaborative OnShape workflows while working on an engineering-style triangle-and-measurements design task. They learn how collaboration supports planning, improving accuracy, and communicating choices using diagrams and writing.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to collaborate in OnShape by sharing a document, assigning roles, and using comments to coordinate work.
• Students will be able to draw or edit a geometric figure using given angle/side conditions and notice when the triangle is unique, multiple, or impossible.
• Students will be able to use a scale drawing to compute and compare lengths.
• Students will be able to write a short, organized update that links design decisions to evidence from their model and measurements.

Success criteria

• I can share an OnShape document with teammates and use collaboration tools appropriately (comments/updates).
• I can construct a triangle (or explain why it cannot be constructed) using given angle or side information.
• I can determine whether my measurements produce a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
• I can produce a brief written update with clear organization and include a graphic from my design.

Curriculum links

• Geometry — Draw geometric shapes from given conditions and decide whether they determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.
• Geometry — Solve problems involving scale drawings, computing actual lengths from a scale drawing and reproducing at a different scale.
• English Language Arts — Use technology to produce and publish writing and interact/collaborate.
• English Language Arts — Organize ideas with an introduction, clear structure, and formatting/graphics to aid comprehension.

Lesson structure (45 minutes total)

1. 0–5 min · Launch & roles. Teacher shows a completed example OnShape collaboration (no audio needed) and reviews how teams will work together; students identify their role (Designer, Reviewer, Recorder) for today.
2. 5–12 min · Mini-lesson: collaborative moves. Teacher models how to create/share a document and add comments tied to a specific feature or drawing area; students follow along by opening their team workspace and adding one “progress” comment.
3. 12–25 min · Design task: conditional triangles in OnShape. Teacher gives each team a card with either three angle measures, or two sides and included angle (or three side lengths) and a clear prompt: “Construct the triangle or justify why it can’t be constructed.” Students build/edit the triangle in OnShape and record the construction details.
4. 25–32 min · Decide: unique, multiple, or impossible. Teacher prompts a quick reasoning check: “What would change if you tried again?” Students compare their model to the given conditions and decide whether the triangle is unique, multiple, or no triangle; the Reviewer adds a comment stating the reason.
5. 32–40 min · Scale drawing check (math connection). Teacher provides a simple scale factor (example: 1 cm represents 4 cm in real life) and asks students to compute an actual length from a dimension on the OnShape drawing; students compute and then confirm by adjusting scale or comparing in their model.
6. 40–45 min · Publish a team design update. Teacher explains the 5–7 sentence update requirements (clear introduction, organized ideas, include a screenshot/graphic, cite at least one measurement result). Students submit their update using the agreed technology workflow for the shared project.

Resources

• Devices with OnShape access for all students
• Team OnShape documents created for Lesson 13
• Teacher-provided triangle condition cards (angle/side sets) and scale factors
• Worksheet or digital template for recording: “unique/multiple/impossible” + key measurements
• Screenshot instructions (how to capture the drawing or model view)
• Comment sentence starters (e.g., “I adjusted feature X because…”, “This construction is (or isn’t) possible since…”)
• Timer visible to students

Assessment

• Teacher circulates during collaboration checks: verifies teams can share the document, add comments, and reference specific model features.
• Quick formative check at the 25–32 minute mark: Reviewer comments must explain uniqueness/multiple/no-triangle reasoning using the given conditions.
• Exit ticket embedded in the written update: students must include (1) their triangle outcome (unique/multiple/impossible), (2) one computed length from the scale drawing, and (3) one evidence-based sentence linked to their model screenshot.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a one-page “decision guide” for triangle feasibility (if side lengths violate triangle inequality, explain “no triangle”; if angles create a definite shape, explain “unique”; if SAA/SSA ambiguous case, explain “multiple”).
• Support: sentence starters for the collaborative comments and the design update structure (intro sentence, two supporting sentences, evidence sentence, conclusion sentence).
• Extension: teams receive a second condition card and must explain how changing one measurement would change the number of possible triangles; they also compare two scale factors and note how lengths change proportionally.
• EAL/SEN: allow students to use audio-to-text or graphic-first updates (captioning the screenshot) and provide a word bank for math reasoning words: unique, multiple, impossible, scale, actual length, measurement.

Extension (optional)

• Skip (not requested).