SchoolCAD is CAD that runs in a web browser, so there's nothing to install and students don't need accounts. This guide covers what you need to know before your first lesson: what students see, how to pitch the level of help, and the links that set everything up for a class.
What students see
When SchoolCAD opens, students land in the Part Studio. It's laid out the way industry CAD is: the feature tree down the left, the Top, Front and Right planes in the middle, and the modelling tools across the top. Parts are made in the usual order:
- Sketch a shape on a plane or a flat face.
- Dimension it until the lines turn from blue to black (fully defined).
- Make it 3D with Extrude, Revolve, Sweep or Loft.
- Add details such as fillets, holes, patterns and joints.
- Check and share with Check, Measure and Section view, then export a drawing, a laser file or a model.
Because the terms and the order of work match Onshape, Fusion and SOLIDWORKS, what students learn here carries over when they move on.
Choose how much help each student gets
The Guide panel on the right explains whatever a student is doing, gives the tool's proper name and what other programs call it, and shows a checklist that ticks itself off. It has three levels:
| Level | Good for |
|---|---|
| Full | New students and anyone who needs every step spelled out. |
| Hints | Students who just need a nudge: the next step shows in one line over the model. |
| Off | Confident students working like they would in industry CAD. |
Students can change the level at any time by clicking Guide in the status bar. You can also set it for them in the link you give the class (see below).
Tip
Start a mixed class on Full and let students drop to Hints when they're ready. Nobody has to stay at one level all term.
Standard or Advanced tools
The switch at the end of the toolbar picks the tool set. Standard shows the tools most school projects need. Advanced adds the rest, such as Coil, Bend, Draft, Dogbone, Split and Import, plus more export types. Advanced tools still work in Standard if a tutorial step needs one.
Find a starting point in Learn
Click Documents, then Learn, to see every tutorial and sample design as a card. Filter by Year (Stage 4, 5 or 6), Focus area (such as Timber), how it's Made with (such as Laser cutting) or a Tool you want to teach.
- A tutorial walks students through a project step by step. The tool to use is highlighted, each step is checked, and Show me builds the step when a student is stuck.
- A sample is a finished, fully defined design to open, explore and change. The Display bookcase, Two-step stool and Laser-cut box are good first explorations: change a size in Parameters and watch it rebuild.
New to CAD? The five Start here steps across the top of Learn follow the order designers work in: Sketch, Part, Joint/Mate, Drawing, Make.
Links that set up a class
Add these to the end of the SchoolCAD address before you share it. Use ? for the first one and & for any after it.
| Add | What it does |
|---|---|
?learn | Opens Learn straight away. |
?guide=full, ?guide=hints or ?guide=off | Sets the Guide level. |
?tools=standard or ?tools=advanced | Sets the tool set. |
?lang=zh-CN, ?lang=ar, ?lang=vi, ?lang=hi or ?lang=zh-HK | Shows SchoolCAD in English plus another language. |
For example, https://schoolcad.app/?guide=hints&tools=advanced opens with hints and every tool. To start the whole class on one task with a QR code, use a class link instead: see Set a task for the whole class with a class link and QR code.
Support for EAL/D students
Click Language in the top bar to show English together with Arabic, Chinese (Simplified or Traditional), Vietnamese or Hindi. English stays on screen, so students learn the CAD words while they understand each step. Word help underlines technical words: tap one for a plain-English meaning, the word in the student's language, a small picture and read-aloud.
Make the mouse match what you teach next
In Settings (⚙), choose Mouse buttons like Onshape, SOLIDWORKS, Fusion or another program, and the mouse and shortcuts work the way they do there. If your senior students will move on to Onshape, set it to Onshape from day one.
Where work is kept
Designs are kept in the browser the student is using, and the status bar shows Kept in this browser. On shared or wiped computers, have students Save file at the end of each lesson, or save a version so they can see how the design developed. More in Documents and files and Versions.
More help
- SchoolCAD basics: the screen, moving the view and selecting.
- Learn and Learning resources.
- Settings.
Questions? Ask in Teacher Q&A.