When students transitioned to online learning in the spring of 2020, it became evident that schools needed to embrace online learning tools. The teachers and staff at the Career and Technical Education Center adapted lessons and found new ways to provide students with hands-on, career-based learning for the 2020-21 school year.
In HVAC/Plumbing, Dan DeFazio and Dominic Corona adapted their lessons to coincide with digital learning, both inside the classroom and remotely. This is the first year that students in the HVAC/Plumbing program at WEMOCO have used a digital textbook, which has allowed them to perform virtual house calls that simulate what they would be doing while performing a service call in person while on the job.
Students receive the call, visit the virtual location, and then work step-by-step through the order to replace parts and address the problem. They can work through the service issue, addressing thermostat, checking pilot lights, refrigeration, gas furnaces, electrical circuits, heat pumps and more. If the student misdiagnoses the problem, it will not work, and they will need to reassess the situation.
“It’s useful to learn how to do the stuff – and it’s pretty close to being the real thing, without being the real thing,” says Tristan McFadden (Holley).
Students were able to do their lab work at home while still in hybrid model, which allowed them to work on assignments during remote days and then observe that work in person while on campus.
DeFazio and Corona are two of the many teachers at WEMOCO who are keeping students engaged, motivated and producing AMAZING work this year!
Photo: Samuel Orozco (Greece Arcadia Senior) assesses a work call through a virtual learning program during his HVAC/Plumbing program at WEMOCO.