News
April 13, 2020In the Wake of a Pandemic, Capital Region BOCES Students Turn to Learning at Home and Advancing their Careers
Students are still learning despite the closure of Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School and all other public schools as a result of the CoVid-19 outbreak. While many of the skills are hands-on that students in the Career and Technical School learn, there are a number of items students can accomplish from home during their closing.
For example, students in many programs are completing online training for a variety of certifications. Students in the Diesel Tech program are working on, among other things, WD-40: Cleaning, Storage, and Maintenance of Tools and Equipment certification and Valvoline: Automotive Chemicals 101 and Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration students (HVAC/R) are earning EPA 608 and OSHA-10 certifications.
Students from other programs are using the pandemic to explore medicinal history. “Each student is to write about how this pandemic compares to the ones in the movies Outbreak and Contagion. They are to complete a “diary” discussing their thoughts and feelings during the time we are away from school,” said a Marge Wickerham, a Two-Year Sequence of Health Careers teacher.
They are also creating instruction manuals for two tasks they need to complete as CNA’s, said Kristina Fermann, an integrated English teacher.
Students in the cosmetology program are using Google classrooms to work with teachers and learn in a subject that is largely involves hands-on learning. “The cosmetology teachers at Albany and Schoharie are working together to continue to provide quality instruction while off campus,” said Tammy Lawrence, a cosmetology teacher.
Integrated English teacher Ken Bevan said work packets were distributed before Friday’s closure of schools. “Those packets included relevant math assignments, science lab assignments and English assignments, which include things like work samples, technical writing, and CFM assignments to help further make students look valuable in prospective employers’ eyes,” Bevan said.
Learning and advancing themselves by working on line is not a new experience for some students, like those in the Game Design & Implementation and the Internet Application and Design programs. “My students are fortunate in that so much of our work can be done as distance learning. As part of the course, students have a full version of Adobe CC (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) with at home use,” Gorbaty said.
“Most of my students are currently working towards their Adobe Certified User Certifications, and they will be using our online study tools and practice tests to prepare,” she added.
