Interactive Whiteboards in the Welding Classroom by Guest Blogger Rebecca Hendricks

Denton ISD students at the ATC
configuring their weld

As a relatively young welding Instructor, I am always looking for creative ways to implement technology in the classroom. Welding isn’t typically thought of as a technologically advanced field, but I would beg to differ. There are advancements in the field of Welding being made daily. As far as teaching goes we, as educators, are always trying to make things more interesting for the students that fill our classrooms. The Interactive Whiteboard presented a unique opportunity to look at Welding and Technology in a new light.

Often students need to mock up drawings, and create prints and plans before they begin work. I strongly encourage students to communicate with members of their team to ensure a proper understanding before they begin work.

The Interactive Whiteboard afforded us the opportunity to have an actual photo of a 1940 pickup truck on the board, and students were able to annotate the drawing with the marker tools. Once the students had marked the photo, then erased and marked again in some instances, they were then able to save the images they had marked up.

This method was much easier to translate than some beginner print drawings. It was also easier to mark and erase the picture than it would be to erase hand drawn print. Once they had a clear understanding of what each other was trying to express, then they could move on to the hand drawing on graph paper, without the frustration of miscommunication, and the labor of redrawing multiple prints. This is typically a frustrating process that was streamlined with the use of the Interactive Whiteboard. My students enjoyed the planning process, whereas it often felt like drudgery in the beginning before this innovative tool.

Guest Blogger: Rebecca Hendricks:

Rebecca Hendricks is the Welding Instructor at the Denton LaGrone ATC and an adjunct for NCTC night classes at the ATC. She has been sharing her passion for fusing metal with her students for six years. She plans to transition from AWS CAWI status to AWS CWI this year, a highly sought after accomplishment among her welding peers. While at the LaGrone ATC she has led her welding students to two National contest wins in the two years they have competed. Being a local girl, graduating with an Advanced Academic Honors diploma from Krum High School, she is proud to call Denton home. Rebecca completed her Bachelors of Science, at Texas A&M University. Follow her Welding students @dentonatcwelds