Initiatives+to+Address+Needs

Initiatives to Address Needs

**Initiatives to Address Needs**:

Addressing needs will assist in ruling in or out some of the pitfalls of this type of technology use in the classroom, but by looking at this, you can make a sound judgment as to purchase this technology and will it be worth it from an educational standpoint or is it a waste of time and money because there could be other products on the market that will do the same for less money with an overall better impact on student learning and achievement.

= Pros vs. Cons =

**Pro**:

Students using this technology will have access to work on just about any vehicle they would need to for gaining insight on how to make adjustments or repairs on any component available to be repaired. They would not have to worry about hazardous chemicals for cleaning parts while making these repairs and the hazards of oil and gasoline or diesel fuel that is used to power the vehicles. The use of actual hand tools would be eliminated while using the interactive software because the tool use would come from the students picking the appropriate tool from a listing that goes with the software. A negative, but not a con, is that the students could not get a feel for tools in size or shape but would get to see an actual picture of the tool so they would know what it was and how to use it. Another benefit to the use of this technology is they would never get to break a part or component while working on it. If they actually had a vehicle to work on but were not sure of the procedure they could practice on the interactive software and then try their skills on the actual vehicle. This may be an overall beneficial way for them to gain confidence and also used as an evaluation tool. If more than one student or group of students require an evaluation, some can do the process by hands on and the other can be evaluated using the interactive technology. By using this software, students can actually see how much of an adjustment they may be making where as on an actual vehicle you can only judge based on a measurement but cannot see and actual change. Interactive software will give a visual description of the adjustment being made and show the actual difference on a chart or graph. These are all benefits of student learning.

**Cons**:

Students will not get to physically touch every vehicle that requires maintenance, but they would get to touch some vehicles. For those students who thrive on seeing actual parts would not benefit as much, but would see actual photographs of parts and components. The oils, fuels, and greases for keeping these vehicles running would not be smelled so that could be a positive, but they need to know when they disconnect a line or hose what substance is coming out of it for safety purposes. You would not need a runaway fuel line open near an ignition source. Everything in my curriculum is safety oriented, but the overall safety issues would have to be incorporated from actual vehicles and simulated as they use the interactive software.

**Outcome**:

Overall, I would believe that the use of the interactive automotive software in my classroom for training purposes would outweigh the benefits of not having the technology. I have a number of students who are allergic to different oils and chemicals and are unknown until they start class. This would be an alternative to having them work on an actual vehicle for health purposes and well and a possibly pregnant female so there is no harm to an unborn child. There are many more pro choices than con so I would believe this is a beneficial technology to offer in class.

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