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Course Support

Course Support Options

This 30 minute session is the best way to get your entire class registered to use the Design Center.

Once your class has completed their safety orientation, you can book a tool-overview workshop with us. These might range from 1 hr-1 hr 30m in length, and would involve full-time staff teaching your students how to use one of the following tools:

  • 3D printers (hardware only)

  • Laser Cutter

  • Carvey

  • Vinyl Cutter

  • Screen Printing

  • Sewing Machines and/or the Serger

  • Power Tools (including the jigsaw, orbital sander, screw guns and impact drivers, bandsaw, miter saw, and/or the router)

  • Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi boards*

*Please note: these tools require students to have significant experience understanding how to use and modify programming languages. Consult with the Design & Technologies Librarian to determine whether these tools are right for your class.

The Design Center provides direct support to faculty who aim to incorporate experiential and embodied learning in their courses. Design Center staff are available to discuss options for collaboration so faculty can introduce their classes to the tools and resources available at the Design Center. In addition to offering safety orientations and tool and program demos, Design Center staff can offer instruction and support in applying design thinking and knowledge of materials, processes, tools and equipment to course projects. Please email designcenter@barnard.edu to inquire about course support.

Limitations to our course support: 

  • While we support projects occurring in the Center, we can't keep an eye on how each of your students are progressing with assignments. After attending our workshop(s), your students should follow up with you about assignment specifics, or about best practices for completing their work.

  • Our offering a workshop(s) for your class does not provide your students with priority status when it comes to equipment. If your assignment requires students to use tools like the laser cutter, 3D printers, or others, you should consider getting them safety trained at other makerspaces around campus, such as Columbia University or Teacher’s College.

  • The Design Center has the capacity to support a limited number of tool-related workshops per course. Workshop formats beyond these (such as traditional lectures, or other formats) cannot be accommodated. If you have questions, we're happy to discuss those with you during individualized course support consultations.