HR2.0: Episode 97 - How To Teach a 1-Day Technician Class, by KB6NU (Dayton Hamvention)

http://www.livefromthehamshack.tv/2...day-technician-class-kb6nu-dayton-hamvention/
------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, gave this forum presentation at the 2017 Dayton Hamvention on how to teach a new technician class in only 1 day. Using his "No Nonsense" study guide, he describes his method for getting new hams licensed, and then teaching them what radio is all about, once they are able to operate and "learn by doing"

 

Gag. One day? Please, for the love of learning, no.

 

A whole day? Can't we just buy it?

 

Just about, many weekend courses across the land pumping out techies.

Sad part is listen to some of the comments and questions that they bring up on a local repeater.
We do the best we can to help and educate, but asking "what is a dipole antenna" or
my favorite... "am I doing AM or FM here with my Baofeng HT"???

Sign of the times........................................

 

I used to help my local radio club teach Technician classes, usually one or two day events. They were pushing to get a lot of Technician class people for EMCOM purposes. Live and learn though! All we did was saturate north Texas with a bunch of morons that constantly kerchunked the repeaters, couldn't figure out how to program or even use their radios, and were a PITA to deal with. Like I said, live and learn! I won't ever help them teach those kind of people or those kind of classes again. When a fellow ham and friend asked me to help him teach a class to his son's Boy Scout Troop, we did it the right way. We spent about six weeks covering the material and giving hands on experience. I have no idea if any of them got their licenses, but at least they were taught to be good hams. If you are going to teach a Technician, General, or Extra class, then please do it correctly. Teach the damn material, not the damn answers only. And also teach them how to program and operate their radios. If they cannot figure out that last part, then they really have no business with a ham license. Tell them to buy a GMRS radio instead!

 

So , to use KB6NU s phrasing---

is this HYPE or HOPE?

 

This is an unabashed advertisement for buying a book that KB6NU makes money off, IMO.

IF you don't buy the book, you will, IMO, get nothing out of the 'one day course'.

Do you REALLY want someone to get a license whose exposure to ham radio is a few hours in a 'course' of learning?

There are FREE ON-LINE courses that do a TREMENDOUS job, are self paced, and are used widely with great success. One that comes to mind is by Chris and it is found at:

www.n1ir.com/p/n1ir-tech-course.html

 

Why is that sad? So long as they are honest questions, why not take the time to do some teaching on the air? Is anyone too good to explain what a dipole is to a new ham? At least that would signify a repeater isn't dead yet.

 

BUT if you take a "No-Nonsense" approach from a very thin booklet, IMO, that's what you get: 'licensees' but no 'hams'.

Or more accurately, you get 'just in case' hams--for the ones that pass-- who know nothing and destroy the airwaves.

MO. Yours may differ.

 

Its sad because the thin booklet and the quicky course don't 'Elmore' and don't provide many common answers to situations so encountered, IMO.

 

I teach Tech classes in five 2 hr. sessions over 2-1/2 weeks from the ARRL license manual. They read the manual at home, and I reinforce and expand it with practical examples in the class. Usually a 100 % pass rate, and they are prepared to pass the General exam 2 months later. With this good foundation, teaching the General is a snap, using the KB6NU General study guide for seven 2 hr. sessions over 3-1/2 weeks. Same approach - read the material at home, get the practical stuff in the classes. See www.W4CAR.org for class schedules. We follow up with mentoring at least once a month with "Shack Days" at our clubhouse on Saturdays, and usually build a connection between the new Hams and some experienced gents for continued mentoring. And then some of the youngsters start teaching digital & IT stuff to us! I won't criticize other approaches, but this seems to work pretty well. "You get out of it what you put into it" applies to the sponsoring clubs as well as the students.

 

I don't know Dan, but we have communicated by email. A knowledgeable guy trying to do something positive for amateur radio in his own way. He sells a few books. I am sure he is not getting rich. I won't knock him.

I also have a fundamental problem with the one day ham. If one day is how much time a "student" is willing to invest to obtain a Tech License, they are not going to get any help from me. If on the other hand they have a genuine interest in really absorbing the material, I will be their #1 supporter.

I have a few success stories. Not enough, but they did have some genuine understanding of the material - and a respect for amateur radio when they took that test. You don't get that in one day.

 

Great work OM! Giving people an opportunity to even KNOW they have questions is the way to go. A quicky booklet and snap day-course are devoid of these benefits.

 

One day courses make students think that's the preferred way to go. Snap crackle pop!

Slam bam ura ham!

And we pay the price later, IMO, with the tower of babble--or silence--that results.

At least using the license manual or an online course, you have more info at your fingertips. And the online course is FREE.

No, there IS no magic new way to get a TECH. Not with a thin booklet, and not with a one day course.

 

Teaching the test? His study guide posts the test questions and a brief explanation of why the correct answer is correct. You just learn the test and not the underlying material. Sad.