Teaching a Class at the Design Innovation Lab

You’re welcome to use the space in Wendt or ECB for a few of your lab sessions subject to availability. However, neither space works well as a regular meeting space (e.g. every M-W-F from 1-2:30pm). It’s best to ask your students to use the space on their own time during regular hours (e.g. spread out the use throughout the week).

Let us know your needs and we’ll do our best to help.

Please email us ahead of time to ensure space and equipment is available: maker-contact@engr.wisc.edu

This depends on the equipment/spaces you’d like to use.

The Wendt space can handle more spontaneous work, while the equipment in ECB often requires pre-planning and reservations. Please reach out to us with your ideas well in advance so we can help realize your vision for your course.

For our Wendt space, we recommend the following:

[1] Tailor your labs around our equipment. Provide students freedom and flexibility on particular lab assignments. Encourage them to collaborate with others and be creative using the space. Decrease the structure of the assignment so students may choose to deviate if motivated to do so.

[2] Have your lab sections meet in Wendt once to introduce the students to the equipment. To prepare, we can train you and/or the TAs of your class so they can run the class with minor support from our staff.

[3] Encourage students to come back on their own time to leverage the staff and equipment within the CoE shops. It’s difficult for Wendt to support groups >~ 25 on a regular schedule, though we can accommodate a very large number of students spread out over the entire day and week. If specialized or a significant amount of assistance is needed by your students, please have your TAs hold office hours in Wendt (for your students only). Our student staff can help train your TAs so they know how to use the Wendt equipment and can assist your students as needed.

[4] Leverage the workshops offered within Wendt: Each week we offer workshops on topics that might align directly with the learning objectives of your course (e.g. 3D printing, microcontrollers/electronics… and we’re always open to new ideas); feel free to advertise these events as supplemental instruction for your students. Events/workshops are posted here.

Yes! We offer instructional content for most of the equipment in the space (e.g. 3D printers, laser cutter, electronics, etc.). These “Learning Modules” may be used by instructors and/or students freely without approval.  Click here for the Canvas page where all the content (except quizzes) is available. Please contact us if you have any questions and/or would like help migrating one or more of these Learning Modules to your Canvas page: maker-contact@engr.wisc.edu.

You could also encourage and/or require your students to attend our Workshops (link).

• In short, no; however, our staff will:
  • Train you and/or your TAs beforehand on the equipment.
  • Be available in a limited capacity during your lab to ensure you have the equipment needed + oversee safety.
• You and/or your TA will need to:
  • Generate the instructional content yourself or use our “Learning Modules” – see above.
  • Teach the content to your students.

The instructor and/or TA team will need to come into our facility beforehand to be trained by our shop staff on the relevant equipment. This will allow the instructors/TAs to give demos and be the first source of support. Our staff is available to help, though it’s not possible to provide the complete instructional development and delivery for all of the classes using our space.

*While the instructor and/or TA must handle any instructional activities during set lab times, instructors are welcome to assign modules to their students and have their students come in during Project Support times (listed at the bottom of each equipment page) for assistance from the student staff.

Wendt

To use the laser cutter, waterjet, CNC router, or to schedule a tour, you must make a reservation. All other equipment doesn’t require a reservation, therefore you can just walk in and get started, if the steps above have been completed.

If you anticipate a large number of your students using the Wendt lab, please contact us so we can coordinate: maker-contact@engr.wisc.edu

ECB Shops

Please contact us well in advance if you need equipment (mills, lathes, welders) reserved for your class. This generally works best early in the semester when there are fewer students affected by the blocked reservations.

In Wendt, this is possible only during your lab session when you and/or your TAs are present and leading the instruction. As long as you and/or the TA are leading the instruction, no training or fees are required of your students. However, if your students will come back on their own outside class time, they must have the appropriate training described here.

*You and/or your TA must receive prior training from our staff.

In ECB, students must always have proper training, even if they only plan to observe. Fees are not required if the students are not using the equipment, but if they plan to return on their own, they must have paid the Access fee.

In short, yes! We are happy to provide tours of our facilities. You’re welcome to see Wendt, ECB, or both, depending on your interests. Wendt and ECB are about a 5-minute outdoor walk from each other. Tours cover the equipment used in the space, our collaborative work areas, and resources available to users.

Tours of ECB or Wendt typically take 15-20 minutes. If your class is 10 people or fewer, no reservation is needed – just come to the front desk (Wendt) or check-in window (ECB) and ask for a tour – simple as that! If the desk worker has stepped away, please ring the doorbell mounted on the desk and wait for them to return.

If your class is larger than 10 people and/or you have a question regarding tours, please contact: maker-contact@engr.wisc.edu

If you want your students to experience more than a short tour, please see the options listed above: Project Support, Workshops, etc.

We look forward to seeing you at the DI Lab!