BIG SHIFT
Open Content.
The Automotive field has undergone massive amounts of changes over the years. Therefore the new students must be able to located information and not to memorize information. They also must be able to decode what is good information from the bad or misinformation.
The technician of today must be able to write a story to justify the time spent on the job, it also is CYA (Cover Your Ass), may be hand written or on a dedicated pc, use a personal pc both online and off line, use dedicated scan tools (each with its own operating system), communicate with the customer and the rest of the shop, read a paper manual, read a electronic manual, interrupt what has been read, apply what has been read, along with owning about $10,000 to $60,000 dollars of personal tools.
In the past the mechanic was thought of as a “grease monkey” with very limited skills, knowledge and low level intelligence. That common stereotype has been upheld by the secondary school system for years and probably still is in some school system in that if you cause problems or are not smart enough you can work on cars. Now the technician cannot memorize information but must know where to find the best sources of information but how to apply that information and do this for very little money. The outstanding technician shares information with others, however this can reduce his or her pay. I have spent several years being a technical training instructor for major worldwide automotive manufactures. A large portion of each class was not on how to fix something but on where information was located and how access and use that information. I am now teaching at Kirkwood Community College and even more time must be spent helping the student to learn where and how to find information. This seems to be a talent that most of the students do not possess. They spent about 20 to 30 seconds looking for information and then state “I can’t find it”. I then must spent time showing them how to find what they are after. This looks to be something that must be covered during all years of a student’s life. Let’s get it done!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Just as a preface my students are post high school students enrolled in Automotive Technology (a two year program) at Kirkwood Community College.
A concern that I have is that we will have the students using all of these neat communication tools while in school but that they will become overwhelmed with the number of different locations that they must check to keep current on all of their classes, personal items, along with other uses and because of the sheer number of places and things to check they will miss assignments etc.
Another concern is with all of the neat stuff that can be added to each site, we will have a tendency to add this stuff. That is fine as long as the student has a broadband connection to the internet. However several of my students this last year did not have a broadband connection (dial-up) due to cost.
Not every student that attends post high school training will have access to or be able to afford broadband. I had two students that did not even have a computer this last semester. With their computer skills being very low level they needed to have someone that could assist them on fairly a regular basis that knew how to use a computer and had a basic knowledge of the web sites or programs being accessed.
I also had several students that were attending school from 4 to 6 hours a day and still working a 40 hour work week to pay for their student’s bills. This limited the amount of time that they have available to complete all of the stuff required of them for school. We also needed to remember that they were living alone and need time for things like cooking food, cleaning, laundry, and etc.
We also assume that ALL high school, middle school, and elementary students’ families will have sufficient funds to afford a computer and also have access to a fast internet connection. This will not happen so the instructor is now left with providing students information via the internet and by some other means within the class room. We cannot penalize a student because they do not have access to the internet.
I believe that we need to let the student explore and use these methods of communication however we need to keep the students limitations in mind when we use blogs etc for communications to each student on a individual basis. These areas of communication can be used by students to communicate to other students or people while in a school setting but to expect that to happen for every student outside of school ………………….NO WAY!
A concern that I have is that we will have the students using all of these neat communication tools while in school but that they will become overwhelmed with the number of different locations that they must check to keep current on all of their classes, personal items, along with other uses and because of the sheer number of places and things to check they will miss assignments etc.
Another concern is with all of the neat stuff that can be added to each site, we will have a tendency to add this stuff. That is fine as long as the student has a broadband connection to the internet. However several of my students this last year did not have a broadband connection (dial-up) due to cost.
Not every student that attends post high school training will have access to or be able to afford broadband. I had two students that did not even have a computer this last semester. With their computer skills being very low level they needed to have someone that could assist them on fairly a regular basis that knew how to use a computer and had a basic knowledge of the web sites or programs being accessed.
I also had several students that were attending school from 4 to 6 hours a day and still working a 40 hour work week to pay for their student’s bills. This limited the amount of time that they have available to complete all of the stuff required of them for school. We also needed to remember that they were living alone and need time for things like cooking food, cleaning, laundry, and etc.
We also assume that ALL high school, middle school, and elementary students’ families will have sufficient funds to afford a computer and also have access to a fast internet connection. This will not happen so the instructor is now left with providing students information via the internet and by some other means within the class room. We cannot penalize a student because they do not have access to the internet.
I believe that we need to let the student explore and use these methods of communication however we need to keep the students limitations in mind when we use blogs etc for communications to each student on a individual basis. These areas of communication can be used by students to communicate to other students or people while in a school setting but to expect that to happen for every student outside of school ………………….NO WAY!
The weekend is here
I have spent the week working on items around the house. The biggest project was building a retaining wall and leveling a space to install a storage shed (10'x10'). We still need to add top soil to finish the leveling process, however with all of the rain don't know when we will get the top soil. So now that the weekend is here I will spent some time working with my blog.
KM
KM
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Chapter 1 & 2
The areas that I found interesting to me was the "the toolbox" (Page 9) with the list of items available for use. I am sure by the time I read this that the list has increased.
Another area of interest was keeping the student safe (Page 10). I work with post high school students, therefore my concern about keep them safe is not a pressing issue, however I do have some students who are very naive.
Another area that I was discusses was how the student should be able to determine what information they found was correct and what was misleading. For example I asked the students in my automotive engines class what the "W" means in "10W 30 oil". Many students only would look in one source and that was the correct answer and the only answer. The automotive area seems to have a large amount of misinformation by so called experts. The information sounds correct but when it is checked it is found to be wrong.
Keeping the students safe to me also means that I need to inform them that when the post "how to" information, they need to be aware that it could possible involve some legal liability issues for them.
Another area of interest was keeping the student safe (Page 10). I work with post high school students, therefore my concern about keep them safe is not a pressing issue, however I do have some students who are very naive.
Another area that I was discusses was how the student should be able to determine what information they found was correct and what was misleading. For example I asked the students in my automotive engines class what the "W" means in "10W 30 oil". Many students only would look in one source and that was the correct answer and the only answer. The automotive area seems to have a large amount of misinformation by so called experts. The information sounds correct but when it is checked it is found to be wrong.
Keeping the students safe to me also means that I need to inform them that when the post "how to" information, they need to be aware that it could possible involve some legal liability issues for them.
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