Ask Jean! PC Repair Hands-On Training Advice
A course on PC repair and A+ certification can be one of the most popular courses on campus for several reasons. Students love the hands-on approach to learning and the satisfying experience of using their new-found skills to solve computer problems. However, the challenge of teaching this course is to maintain that hands-on experience, and involve students in real problem solving to keep the course fresh and current. As I network with PC Repair instructors around the country, I hear some really good ideas about how to do this, and so I’m passing them on to you, along with some of my own thoughts.
One idea I’ve used in my own classroom is to involve the students in first-hand problem solving when issues arise in computer labs around campus. If you have a good working relationship with the person responsible for keeping campus PCs in good working order, you can leverage this opportunity in all sorts of ways. When a PC gives a user trouble, ask the support staff call you instead of fixing it on the spot. Put the machine on a cart and roll it into the next PC Repair class you’re teaching. Just drop whatever else was scheduled for that day and focus on troubleshooting. Pick a team of two or three students to come to the front and try to get the computer working. Ask them to explain to the rest of the class what they observe and what they’re doing. The class can ask questions and make suggestions. When a PC is fixed the response is always a hardy applause. Students love doing it, and it’s fun. If the students are not able to fix it, use it as a teaching tool to introduce a new or upcoming concept, or assign the job for extra credit. Rotate the teams throughout the semester so everybody gets a turn.
Another idea is to ask students to bring PC parts and old computers to class, so they can be used for “show and tell.” You can never have too many variations of motherboards, expansion cards, power supplies, cables, and cords. If students are willing to donate these components, then near the end of the semester the class can work in a lab to assemble a working PC from accumulated parts. This PC could be given to a financially-challenged family in the area, in addition to a couple hours of free tutoring from volunteers in the class. You can take this idea a step further by forming a computer club. The club could solicit donations from businesses in the area and use the money to buy parts to build a PC. You can use these parts to display the latest technologies and then have students assemble it near the end of the class. The PC could then be given away or sold at auction to help pay for more parts for next semester’s class.
Now how about your own ideas? Want to share them with other instructors? You can use the Ask Jean Web site www.course.com/askjean as a tool. This site has been a great forum for students to ask questions and get answers, but it’s also been used by instructors to post comments and ask questions about A+ certification, curriculum, and the like. I’d love for you to post a great idea that other instructors can benefit from to enhance their PC Repair course. Here’s an example of what you can find:
Hi! You’ll need a PC repair lab where students can take PCs apart and reassemble them. If you have short lab periods, expect that students might need to leave parts laid out on a table between labs. In this PC repair lab, every two students should have a PC they can disassemble and reassemble. It’s important that it is not a PC lab that other classes are using. This is necessary so the PCs can lie around unassembled for a few days as the students do these exercises, and also so students won’t be under undue pressure to get the thing working immediately. Spare parts such as old hard drives, floppy drives, CD-ROM drives, ribbon cables, motherboards, and CPUs are great for passing around in class. If you can have several motherboards (with or without CPUs) showing the different technologies (486, classic Pentium, Slot 1, ATX form factor, etc.), the students gain a lot by seeing these boards as they are discussed. Students and faculty might like to donate older boards and equipment, especially if the school can give them a tax write-off receipt. For the networking chapters, you’ll need a NIC for each PC and one patch cable for every two PCs. For the modem chapter, a modem for each PC in your repair lab is nice, but you can also improvise by using PCs in a student lab that’s equipped with modems. The more troubleshooting situations you can bring to your class the better. If a PC goes down in some student lab, put it on a cart and roll it into the PC class at its next meeting. Ask the students to troubleshoot the problem and fix it on the spot.
Thanks for the question,
Jean
>>> Jean Andrews