Posted: 12/4/2009 7:04:25 AM EDT
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Let me preface this with the disclaimer that this is in the HIGHLY PRELIMINARY stages. Actually, it was a thought that came to me and I'm foolish enough that I'm posting it here. I was talking to a friend this morning who is a Technician and I was remarking that he should've taken the General course I taught earlier this year. He said I should do a remote class. That got me thinking. There have been a lot of folks around here upgrading and I'm sure there are many that would like to upgrade but have found that most clubs host classes for getting your license but don't do much to help you upgrade after the fact.
So I'm contemplating trying to do an online course. At the moment I would see it being like a WebEx conference or something similar where I'd use the same presentations I'd use in the classroom but you'd be able to see it from your living room or wherever. There would need to be audio so you could ask questions and all. Whatever would happen in the classroom would need to happen in the virtual classroom. I have a Wacom tablet so that would greatly ease whiteboarding. So the first order of business before I continue researching the viability of this is to see if there would be any interest. If not there's not much point in burning time looking for a way to make it happen. If you're interested leave me a post here and I'll keep a running tally. I'll let this run through Dec and I'll see where we're at near the end of the year. Using my regular classroom timing as an example I would foresee this being about a 10 or 11 week course. I actually used 13 but I incorporated hands-on exercises that may be difficult if not impossible in this format. If you have ideas or suggestions for doing this please feel free to post those as well. I make no promises that this will happen. I have a full-time job, a family, I'm an ARES leader, etc. My plate is very full but I feel very strongly about helping people grown in this hobby. It's a huge time commitment for me but if there's interest I will do my best to bring it to fruition. |
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jedi and AFM, most awesome. PM me your email addresses and I can send you the course outline. Then you can send me which topics you might feel most comfortable with assisting on. i call dibs on the ORANGE BOX CONSTRUCTION section! 
ar-jedi 
KB, msg rcvd/responded. |
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Am I understanding correctly that this would be a Tech ––> Gen upgrade class? Any thoughts on a Gen ––> Extra class? (Depending on my work / school / family committments, I might be interested in a Gen ––> Extra class.)
How long (hours / minutes) would each class period last? Kudos for being forward thinking and promoting amateur radio. |
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This would be Tech -> General. I've been asked to do a General -> Extra but that will be much further down the road. I haven't even begun the process of putting together a course outline for that.
The classroom sessions last about 2 hrs and sometimes we let out early. I really have to look at the sections on components and the circuit theory since I make use of breadboards, test equipment, etc to get people actually building circuits to see what's going and and hopefully reinforce the learning. Sometimes it's good for a safety lesson as our club pres demonstrated how a capacitor can zap you if you're not careful. 
Right now I seem to have misplaced the USB drive with all my material. Pardon me while I scour the house. 
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There are some really nice Podcast Upgrade classes out there.
I've written about some at Podclass Articles at "With Varying Frequency" 73 Steve K9ZW |
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So far so good.
I found a thumb drive with my presentations on it. Not the one I was looking for so I still want to find the other to make sure I have all of my latest changes but it's a start.  To those that have offered to help I'll try to get the course outline to you today or tomorrow to see where your expertise lays.
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Jax, even though I already have my general ticket I'd love to be a student in your class if it materializes. I studied for and passed both exams using the KB6NU study guides. While the guides gave me what I needed to pass the exams I'm sure that a lot of information was missing compared to a formal class with a full curriculum.
Since I'm a newbie I can't offer much in the way of teaching assistance, but I would be happy to pitch in to help pay for a WebEx account (or whatever else you might need)
I could, however, be a guest speaker on the following newbie topics of interest: -CB lingo, and why it doesn't translate properly to ham radio -Advanced kerchunking: How to make new friends on the local repeater -Unkey before you sneeze -Basic techniques on how not to bust into a RACES drill to ask for a signal check when testing your new antenna -No, those HF beacons are not the emergency broadcast system -It's not okay to use a phone patch to order a pizza -Echolink: Does the radio just slow you down? -Coax coax coax! -How to obfuscate your ham radio budget from your spouse -Tower basics: Screw the fascist HOA! -"Why yes honey, we do need six deep-cycle batteries in the living room" Please let me know if you need me
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Damn, why the hell did you have to give me this list? Now I have to go back and re-do the course outline. I'm particularly interested in the obfuscation techniques and I'm sure others would like the advanced kerchunking.
Thanks for the $$ offer. WebEx isn't as expensive as I'd thought. Since I'm sure there are others that may have more experience maybe I should ask for input. I'm looking at MS SharedView and Dimdim at the moment. Both are free but limit us to 15 and 20 uses respectively. I think we can get more with Dimdim pro and it's only $20/mo as opposed to $50 for WebEx. If anyone has any input please feel free to share. For those that are interested here is the proposed outline. May shift it around a little but at least this gives you an idea about the material we'll cover. Day 1 Lesson 1: Introduction Lesson 2: HF Procedures & Practices Day 2 Lesson 3: Rules & Regulations Lesson 4: Math Review Hands-on Operation Day 3 Lesson 5: Basic Components Lesson 6: Components in Series & Parallel Day 4 Lesson 7: Peak-to-Peak, RMS Voltage Lesson 8: Transformers & Impedance Lesson 9: Reactance & Resonance Day 5 Lesson 10: Semiconductors, ICs, and Digital Lesson 11: Power Supplies, Batteries, Connectors, & Test Equipment Lesson 12: Radio Signals Day 6 Lesson 13: Radio Equipment Lesson 14: Antennas Day 7 Lesson 15: Propagation Hands-on Operation Day 8 Lesson 16: Electrical & RF Safety Day 9 Review |