Career-tech teachers are figuring out how to teach hands-on skills virtually, writes Emily Richmond, the public editor for Education Writers Association, in The Atlantic. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
Quinlan Roberts, left, and Nicolai “Kolya” Sims, work with Advanced Manufacturing teacher David Bailin in 2018. Photo: Gretchen Ertl/Hechinger Report
At Essex Tech, north of Boston, students “operate large-scale manufacturing equipment, care for the school’s horses and other livestock, raise endangered turtles and brook trout for eventual release into the wild, and conduct experiments in a biotechnology lab,” writes Richmond.
In addition to taking academic classes, including honors and Advanced Placement for some, “they also help build houses for the needy, work in the school’s public café and bakery, and earn training hours to meet state licensing requirements for fields such as cosmetology and construction.”
These days, that’s a challenge.
Teachers and students are suddenly cut off from the classroom tools and professional-grade equipment they have relied on; they can’t use lathes, troubleshoot electrical systems, or run medical laboratory tests.
There’s also the loss of in-person, close-up demonstrations of proper technique, and the opportunity for teachers to gauge students’ mastery in real time.
Veterinary-science students in Jenn DeForge’s class are completing online tutorials, preparing for the Certified Veterinary Assistant exam, and watching live webcams set up in pet day-care centers and zoos to sharpen their observation skills.
. . . Jody Norton, who teaches information-technology services, has small teams of students configuring virtual networks that can handle documents, email, and webpages. They’ll have to hold a videoconference meeting on their own network and record it for Norton.
Locked out of the auto shop, students are studying for a certification test in the handling and disposal of hazardous materials.