Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Innovators Tribe - Thinking Like An Engineer Review




Lydia has been super excited about our most recent review product.  She is getting to review the Thinking Like An Engineer program from Innovators Tribe.  Boy has she been having fun with this program!!



Thinking Like An Engineer is an online course written for students in grades 6 - 12.  It has been created to open up the minds of your student(s) to the expansive world of engineering as a possible career choice.  It encourages students to learn to design and build using not only materials around the home, but also using 3D Software.

Students learn:
  • What engineers do
  • What types of professions rely on engineering skills (this opened up Lydia's eyes as she saw the potential dollar signs in salaries...lol)
  • Introduces them to the math and science involved in engineering
  • Problems that engineers need to solve when designing and building
  • Introduction of 300 years of engineering feats, including the amazing buildings we see around the world
  • How to think like an engineer
Lydia has been able to use Thinking Like An Engineer completely independently.  She logs in and works on her assigned projects.  The program starts out with hands-on work.  Each lesson contains a video lesson that ranges from just a few minutes in length to roughly 30 minutes.  After watching the lesson, certain groups of lessons contain a challenge. 

I really like that the first few challenges were all-hands on.

Lydia building a tower using only 4 sheets of paper and masking tape.  She had to get it as tall as she could and it had to be self-standing.



She hit just under 40 inches.



Her second challenge was to build a stand that could be no higher than 12 inches.  It had to contain 4 pedestals and hold a stack of books without collapsing.







(I just wish that she would have put the books away when she was done..😂)  She had a blast building that tower!

Another hands-on project was to build a water purification system.  I literally helped her print the instructions, and walked away.







She did it all on her own!



The first two units are the Hands-on Lessons.  Then the kids are introduced to CAD drawing.  The software for this is included in the Thinking Like An Engineer program. 



The software was super easy to download.  In fact, Lydia was actually able to download it with minimal help from us (simply had to type in the password we keep on her laptop to control what she downloads).  (Click here to double check the computer requirements for your personal machines.)







A couple of the lessons she has worked on so far also have included downloadable worksheets to help reinforce the material that she was watching.  And for once....zero complaint about working on a worksheet!!  The worksheets were very easily to download, and Lydia was able to do that completely on her own also.

Lydia loves the various challenges that she has been working on with the CAD software and can't wait to get started on the roller coaster science section and also designing of bridges.  I am going to estimate that she spends a minimum of 4-5 hours a week currently on Thinking Like An Engineer.  This is by her choice, and I haven't discouraged her extra time she wants to spend on lessons and designing.  You really can go at your own speed with this program.  Your purchase from Innovators Tribe gives you 18 months access to the course that you purchase. 

Thinking Like An Engineer contains approximately 30 hours worth of video instruction, and that does not count the hours of hands-on and computer building experience.  It covers such a wide range of topics in your classroom.  Designing and building helps to improve math, science and critical thinking skills.  I love that Thinking Like An Engineer actually is reinforcing her pre-algebra math skills and introducing her to even more complicated math concepts in a fun way.

Thinking Like An Engineer can be purchased for $149.  But through this week is on sale for $96.00!!  I know it seems a little pricey, but if you have a high school student any of the programs offered by Innovators Tribe would make a great addition to your kids high school transcript.  Also you cannot underestimate the fact that software for the programs are included, and supplies are included for the hands-on projects in Thinking Like a Carpenter.  

Innovators Tribe also offers other wonderful classes:



Lydia has fallen in love with her Thinking Like An Engineer program.  In fact, I have a hard time keeping her from working ahead on her assignments and skipping out on her other responsibilities.  I definitely see a double major in her future!!  She says that she needs to use engineering skills to help out with her love of horses!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review products from Innovators Tribe, including Thinking Like an Engineer and Thinking Like an Architect.  Click on the link below to see how they used these products in their home, and their recommendation for them.

Thinking Like an Architect or Engineer {Innovators Tribe Reviews}

Crew Disclaimer


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