The last two days I attended the North American Council for Automotive Teachers (NACAT) conference held this year in the Queen City – Charlotte, North Carolina. Hundreds of automotive teachers from the US and Canada attended. I always enjoy seeing familiar faces and catching up.
This year I was a presenter. The two presentations that I gave were “Back to Basics” and “You Know Cars, They Know YouTube”. Both presentations can be accessed HERE.
I am now on my way home. After a “mechanical” delay leaving from Charlotte I got bumped to a later flight after not making my connection in Atlanta. I guess the plane had a light bulb out that needed to be replaced. But now I am on the way home and scheduled to land in the new Branson Airport in about an hour…then a 30 minute drive and I am home.
A special thanks to all the organizers of the conference and to those that chose to attend my sessions. I have been presenting all over the country educating teachers on how Millennials (aka Gen Y) learn and the importance of finding ways to connect to the “wired” generation. The use of YouTube, Twitter, Wikis, and Facebook is just a start. It also means beginning the curriculum where the students are at…that usually means starting with the very basics of car care, maintenance, repair, and ownership. At the end of a “Consumer Auto” or “Car Care” course, students then have the opportunity to advance onto curriculum that focuses specifically on NATEF tasks. If after a basic course they decide not to pursue a career as an Automotive Technician…that’s fine too…at least they will have a better understanding how cars work and will be empowered car owners.
PS I am using the GoGoInfight Wi-Fi service offered by AirTran…so far so good.
