Quick! Watt is unit of...?

Today is the final class for the summer quarter. We'll give out the final exam and have a speaker and then that will be it for ECT 1 until Fall.

It amazes me how much my brain cranked out over the past 5 weeks. There's so much material the students had to read that I couldn't read it and write lab procedures and help during class and look for a full time permanent position. So most times I was going from the memory of tutoring or when I did the work last in college. Concept-wise, I am a nerd and read Physics, construction, and electronics books/articles for fun so jumping in to help was fine. I remembered a suprising amount of formulae and I helped the students learn alot which makes me happy. They will all be so ready once College Physics in Fall 2012 or 2013.

I was trying to remember all the different concepts and formulae I helped students understand over the past 5 weeks and here's what I came up with so far(in no particular order):

• Laws of Thermodynamics
• Ohm's Law (the triangle!)
• Reading resistor bands by colour
• Inductance
• Capacitance
• Drawing and reading basic schematics
• Parallel and Series Circuits
• Kirchoff's Voltage Law
• Force-vector equations
• Bernouli's Formula/Pressure
• Frequency and Waves
  
• Low-Emissivity Windows
• Photovolteics
• Insulation types and Thermal Conductivity
• Heat Transfer
• Energy Efficient Lighting
• Calculating Power costs
• AC/DC motors
• Radiation
• Specific Heat
• Phase Change
• ...and probably some things I've missed

Y'know I feel like if I can help students learn these formulae and keep a classroom of teenagers in order I ought to be a pretty decent project manager, or at least assistant right?

Makes me wonder

There was something I said in an interview last week that really made me stop and think.

  "I've never had a job I didn't like because I don't apply for jobs I don't want"

and it's true.  It may be the reason I'm still struggling along as part lab assistant/ part tutor/ occasional web developer and baker, but in the end I think that it's worth it. In this recession lots of us are applying for jobs haphazardly out need and desperation. Which I totally understand, I've opened myself up to opportunities I never imagined before but at the same time they've all been jobs that I really thought I could do well at.  Such as this lab assistant position: I work with high-schoolers something I never planned on doing. However since I had such a great experience at Laney as a student and Bruce Douglas is a really great teacher and engineer I wanted to help.  I've now had almost 3 years teaching experience, not to mention about 5 years of tutoring experience. Who knew that this would happen?

As for tutoring, well tutors are expensive and rarely available for the people who need them.  Even my regular rate of $20.00/hr is really low compared to most computer tutors.  But the fact that if you've received a computer from OTX West you qualify for a reduced rate, pretty much unheard of.  There are free programs out there, but alot of the people I tutor work or can't get out much. Also most of the programs are over computer basics and office software, which is great I wish my hometown had more of that.  But when people want to learn how to make a blog, or a simple website, or the ins and outs of facebook, or how to get netflix to stream to their television, they call me.  When people already know the basics of Windows or if they can't keep up in the beginner's class, they call me.  One-on tutoring is a helpful thing when you're learning a new form such as computers.

Throughout this recession I've developed my skills, particularly my organizational skills. Let's face it, when you have about 4 different jobs and you're looking for a job, you have got to be on top of it.  Google Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, and Docs has been my saving grace.  There have been weeks where I've had interviews, work, tutoring, class, and job applications due.  It's been really tough but honestly I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Back to Lab...

So I've just started the second week of my new part-time job. I work at Laney College, the very same college where I was a student just a few short months ago and may possibly be a student again if me and Financial Aid can ever come to terms.  The department I work in is "Environmental Controls Technology (ECT)" and I'm a lab assistant for the ECT 1 class also known as "Physics in Building Performance".  The students are rising juniors and seniors in high school and they get some college credit for the class.
Basically my job is to help the teacher (Mr. Douglas, PE) wherever he needs help. I show the students how to use the lab equipment and certain particulars. For instance when they ask "Where is the ammeter/voltmeter/ohmmeter?" I have to remind them that a Digital Multimeter is an all-in-one miracle.  We talk about the symbols for AC/DC and reading schematics.  Before class I help set up the labs and write the procedures but I also help during the lecture portion. See, this is a 5 week class that is a quarter's worth of knowledge and it's a lot of knowledge.  Especially when it comes to the basics of Electricity. The teacher I work for studied Mechanical Engineering whereas I'm a fairly recent graduate in Electrical Engineering Technology so I remember alot more about Circuit Theory.  The students really jog my brain, I haven't had the time to read every chapter they have to read so there are times when they raise their hand "Jazz!" or "Jasmine!" and I''m staring at an equation I haven't seen in  years. Then it is my responsibility to refresh my memory in such a way that I can show them how to do a problem I just saw. Being a computer instructor I have a lot of practise with that, students are always asking me about software and website I've never/rarely used. But like computers, math can become fairly intuitive once you've done for awhile.  I remember a lot of the mnemonics we used in high-school and college such as "Watt is a unit of Power? Yes!" and that helps some and entertains most.
The best part is just being able to help high-school students understand some of the concepts they may have to learn more once they go to college. Alot of them want to go to school for engineering, biology, computer science, pre-med, etc. They ask me a lot of questions about what college is like, East Coast college I'd recommend, and just how hard is the Engineering Major.  It seems to be informing them without discouraging them, which can be hard since all of those majors are tough but college in general is an adjustment no matter what your major.
My favourite piece of equipment so far is the "Xplorer GLX" by Pasco, I so want one of those for my very own. I'll have to talk about that next time.

till then,