Understanding Remote Learning

"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill. During this time of remote learning, there is an obvious difficulty in structuring remote learning for high school students. In navigating this concept this week I have been finding good resources for my students. 

Structuring Ag Mechanics

Since the majority of my classes, this semester has been agricultural mechanics, skill-based courses. Finding ways to teach hands-on courses is very difficult, but there are theory-based lessons that are useful. One resource that I found to be helpful is Miller Open Book. This resource provides online modules for welding students to gain content knowledge on SMAW, GMAW, Oxy-Fuel, and Metallurgy. Good welders should know the theory behind the practice/skill of welding to understand why it works and how it is effective. 

Ag Mechanics Science

For some people, it may be surprising to learn that there is a substantial amount of science behind agricultural mechanics. As I am preparing to teach new content to my welding students, I had realized I never taught them the science principles behind the process of melting two or more pieces of metal together. We will be doing a deep dive into the science applications of welding in order to identify the reasons welding certain metals together may be more than just striking an arc or squeezing the trigger on the GMAW welding gun. 

Questions

• How is each of your districts handling remote learning?
• What are your strategies for teaching hands-on courses remotely?