Instructional videos feature Medium/Heavy Duty Truck Repair students
Current Medium/Heavy Duty Truck Repair student Alexa Kilcher (Guilderland HS) and class of 2011 alumnus Josh Cooney (Schenectady HS) have starring roles in an instructional video series about diesel engine technology, maintenance and repair being produced by New York Network (NYN), a service of the State University of New York.
Kilcher and Cooney wrapped up six days of videotaping on July 20 at the Medium/Heavy Duty Truck Repair classroom at Career & Tech's Albany campus, where Teaching Assistant Bruce Thornton provided guidance and content advice to NYN.
NYN is producing a series of 57 instructional videos for an online course to be used by community colleges, vocational/trade schools and technical institutes. NYN Senior Producer/Writer Christopher Conto approached Medium/Heavy Duty Truck Repair Teacher Sam Frink earlier in the year with a request to tape nearly all of the series at Career & Tech. They chose Career & Tech because they wanted to feature knowledgeable and skilled students and to take advantage of the classroom environment, diesel vehicles, engines, tools and equipment. Kilcher and Cooney were paid for their time and found the experience to be a positive one.
"The taping went well and was easy to do," said Kilcher, who returns to class as a senior this fall. The students, Thornton and the NYN crew were successful in completing their phase of the production on schedule, despite warm temperatures and ongoing summer maintenance work at Career & Tech. The students also benefited from some of the topics covered in the video series.
"It was a learning experience, even for Josh as a 2011 senior, because some of the material in the video is part of college coursework in diesel technology," Thornton said. "And Mr. Frink and I always encourage our students to go on for more training and education after graduation to further their careers."
Kilcher, Cooney and Thornton weren't the only talent showcased in the instructional video series. Also featured were a 2009 International DuraStar diesel truck and a truck donated by Price Chopper/Golub Corp., vehicles that Thornton noted were "fantastic additions to our course, along with other items generously donated over the years."
Career & Tech will be provided with a copy of the instructional video series, which will be offered through Cengage Learning, once it is finished.
