Three Men and a White Board

What do you get when you put a doctor, an engineer and a cheap techie Scotchman in a room for three hours? Why, you get the floor plan for a clinic on the Burmese/Indian border, of course! Ray Comeau of Medical Mercy Canada is a Red

 Deer doctor who has been leading a group of volunteers to India for the last five years to provide medical assistance to the locals. Pat Romerman is a Principal with Group2 Architecture Engineering who volunteers with A Better World. I am the cheap Scotchman.

At Olds College, I teach a course on farm building planning, and I use a great floor planning process I learned from an agricultural engineer, Sandy Roberts, 15 years ago. Basically there are four steps:

1. List the needs and wants for the building
2. Determine minimum sizes for each room or area
3. Organize the rooms for optimum internal and external traffic flow
4. Determine the overall size and shape of the building.
   

Last year Ray and I went through this process and developed the Cadillac of clinics. Ray took the plan to India to price it out and found that we couldn't afford it. He brought back a plan that was designed locally. The foundation looked like my lower intestine--no shortage of outside walls, and the roof lines looked like something from Architectural Digest but would make adding on to the building later difficult—so it was back to the drawing board, or in this case, the white board.

Ray and Pat started listing and sketching on the white board (Pat had to sketch on a white board because he only had a Macbook with him. It looked very stylish, but, of course, couldn't do any real work), and I opened AutoCAD to start drawing up their ideas with precise dimensions. When we had all the basic components of the building sized, we hooked up my laptop to a big screen to organize the rooms.

The great thing about a CAD program is the ease with which you can move and edit. On paper, you need to redraw each time you want to make a change, but, with CAD, you can move rooms around like puzzle pieces—and that is what we did. After the rooms were organized to optimize traffic flow, the overall size and shape of the building was decided upon. It is at this point that you often create some extra space and can fit in some of those "wants" from your original list. Things like storage closets and extra office space magically appear. And, for this building which, we suspect, will later have a phase 2 and a phase 3, we made sure our plan paved the way for those wings to save headaches in the years to come.

The advantage of collaboration becomes so apparent during sessions like these. I know the product of this design charrette will be much better than any of us could have formulated individually. (For starters, Pat would have to get a work computer! But I have to say Pat, your pictures look really good on that Macbook!) And this is just the first step in getting this clinic up and running. There are many more steps to follow, but remember: proper planning promotes productive projects!

I really enjoyed working with Ray and Pat—even if I had to skip my Christmas party to be there. Thanks guys!

If you would like more information on this project, go to http://www.a-better-world.ca/ and read the feature article on the Comeaus.

My Baby’s Got a New Pair of Shoes!

Shoes have impacted my life on more than one occasion and for more than one reason. One of the early stories I remember my mother telling me about the Depression included shoes. She said that growing up on a farm during the Depression wasn’t too bad because each year they got a new pair of shoes, a new dress and always had enough food! Some kids came to school with lard sandwiches and shoes lined with paper to plug the holes in their soles, but not my moms family.
Later in life, I saw shoe ownership become a limiting factor for children who wanted to attend school in many of the countries in which I have worked. This summer, the pastor of a local church raised enough money to provide new shoes for all the students attending a particular school in Kenya. Injecting shoes into the local economy is like injecting cash. You can bet that the shoes will be worn by someone until they are worn right out.

Although there are some, few people in Canada have to worry about being able to afford shoes. My daughter, however, has been unable to wear shoes for more than four years because of nerve damage. Summers are not so bad; capris and open-backed shoes are right in style then, but when it is forty below, they are not so stylish. More importantly, driving around the prairies in such flimsy attire in the middle of winter is just plain dangerous!
After more than four years of trying pills, creams, and therapy, she still hasn’t been able to get into shoes. At one point, I suggested a brace, but the product from the physio lab just didn’t work. This past Monday night, my daughter and I took a stab at creating one ourselves. Years of molding airplanes has given me some knowledge of fiberglass, carbon fiber and molding agents. Two evenings, some plaster of Paris and various resins and fibers later, we had a prototype as a concept-prover.
Here we have the lacing up of the first pair of real shoes to go on my daughter’s feet in over four years! She made it through half a day in the shield, but even more importantly, we have a new concept to try that will, I’m sure, lead to a more normal life and definitely to warmer feet!
So, here’s to a new start ‘cuz my baby’s got a new pair of shoes!

Running With the Herd

I first attended AutoDesk University (AU) in 2001. I remember walking into the registration area at the MGM Grand hotel in Vegas and looking around at all the other people wandering in to register. What I observed was that, for the most part, they were kinda middle-aged, kinda fat and kinda badly dressed, and I thought to myself, “Oh my God, I’m home!” The conference was the most incredible learning experience of my life. There were about 3500 techy people in attendance that year, among them the people who wrote the software I work with everyday and I met (and drank) with them. I listened and asked and absorbed and was generally overwhelmed. I left aware that I knew just shy of nothing—which, for me, was very motivating.

I’ve made the long migration back to the herd every year since, and each year I have come away with something great to put into classes and the rest of my life. This year, some 9000 geeks migrated to AU at the Sands Convention Center to wallow in the collective knowledge of our colleagues. As I have said in past blog entries, I know I tend to stand slightly to one side of normal, and I am okay with that. I am fine with being a zebra in a herd of horses most of the time, but I am just realizing how much I enjoy running with my own herd—even if it is only briefly.

Additionally, I make a point of spending time with some of the same individuals every year. Friendships and working relationships have developed over time. There are some people whom I only see at AU and others with whom I communicate, problem solve, debate, and prophesy all year. This year I even solved a problem presented to me by a true CAD guru—which only proves anew that it is better to be lucky than to be good. I have come to realize that it is not just the friends I have or the learning I do that makes me feel so good at AU. It is that when I am walking the halls, eating lunch, or riding the escalator, I am surrounded by people I intuitively know would understand me IF we had a conversation. It is not that I have to have the conversation; just knowing that I could have the conversation if I wanted to is important.

This year I seemed to have a greater need to run with the herd than usual, and I am happy to say that the herd did not let me down! Perhaps the herd is even a little older, fatter, and more badly dressed now or perhaps I have surrounded myself with some of the truly geeky gurus. Most of you reading this will not understand why I rarely leave the hotel even though it is in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, or why I never even dropped a nickel in a slot machine. Could you possibly understand why, after a great meal, I would rather talk CAD than go to the nightclub? Could you understand that one of the best days of my year ended with me going head to head on a laptop figuring out how to break the software just to prove we had the fix? The herd gets it! Every single member of the herd gets it, and once a year I need to be part of that. I am happy to run with the horses 51 weeks of the year, but please understand that I need to show my stripes for one week at least.

Live From Vegas

Well here I am at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning in Las Vegas, and something isn’t quite right. For starters, I got up at 6 a.m. whereas 10 years ago I would have still been up at 6 a.m. Worse yet is the reason for my early rising in ; during my stay in Sin City, I got up to go to work! As I write this, I am giving a CAD exam to my students back in Olds, Alberta—giving it live and interactively. Making these arrangements has been a very involved process and has made me realize that I would make a terrible hostage! Gunmen, remember my name, and if you find me in your grasp, just shoot me or release me, because you do not want to have to deal with me. (This statement might also hold true for controlling managers…)

If you cannot follow the link between these two events, then you just don’t understand my twisted mind, so let me explain. About four months ago, I knew I would be at this amazing conference and suggested that I deliver a class from here. Everyone thought it was a great idea, and it appeared that the necessary technology would be in place. But things do not always move at the pace I prefer, and three months later, it became apparent that, for whatever reason, the College would not be in a position to make my idea a reality. Those fateful words were uttered: “Sorry, it is not going to happen. We just don’t have the manpower.” And the new, more relaxed me said, “Shucky darn. That’s too bad, but oh well.”

Fast-forward two more weeks. It became obvious that I could not avoid having an exam during the week I would be away. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem as I would simply have the program I.A. proctor the exam, but the College eliminated that position this fall. We no longer have an I.A., so I asked my Chair if another I.A. was available. None were; it seemed at the time that everyone was busy. My Chair, bless her heart, offered to proctor the exam herself if no one else could be found!

Enter the old me!! He might be less relaxed and more stubborn, but he can always build the proverbial 'better mousetrap.' THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY! I cannot personally push the massive CLC machine to move fast enough to solve this problem with technology, but I recognize (and can’t understand why no one else seems to) that it is crazy to use a department Chairperson’s time to proctor an exam. What to do? Every way seemed blocked, but it has been my experience that if the front door is locked, the back door is often open. And, said the old me, firmly taking control now, if the back door is locked, climb the T.V. antenna tower, remove a section of soffit, and climb in through the attic (which is the topic of another blog--as soon as the statute of limitations is up!) But somehow there is always another way in! Do not tell me that it can’t be done!

At this point, my mind goes into the spin cycle. (Murray has learned over the years that it is best to step back because it often spins a little off balance.) I committed to myself that I would find a technical solution that minimized the impact on other staff—why should my problem be theirs, after all? I started bouncing ideas off people in the know, and I got answers like, “We could do that, but it would be quite a bit of work,” and “We would have to get Drumheller up and running first.” So I arrived at a solution that I could do mostly on my own, and—a few tie-wraps and a little cabling later—here I sit., in Vegas at 7 a.m. proctoring my own exam, answering my own questions, and doing my own job with very little impact on others. (As I type this, my first exam was handed in. Yes!). Robin, you have some great people!

The exam is over now, and my 20 students are carrying on with their day. We have great students at Olds College, and they will adapt to a new paradigm far faster than will we. My strength working overseas is that I am creative and cheap; those traits sometimes serve me well at home, too. A web cam, some tie-wraps, free software, and 20 feet of wire means I may never have to leave Vegas! Thanks to all of you who helped, gawked, offered advice, or pretended you didn’t know what I was up to. The new, calmer me is back now, and I will try to keep old me boxed up until I really need him.

Chapter 12 - All Things Green

Last week, I attended the Green Industry Show and Conference in Edmonton. You might ask yourself, “What is a CAD/survey/GPS instructor was doing at a Hort conference?” particularly after a colleague of mine made a bold statement recently that “’jerk of all trades, master of none’ is NOT a compliment!” (but that is the topic of a whole other blog soon to come!)

Well, to answer your question, I was there to start yet another chapter in my forever-changing life. This conference was for industry owners and managers, not the general public, so it was a nice mix of techy stuff and marketing stuff and personal growth/management stuff.

I was amazed at what the industry, with a very small budget, is doing with research projects. Being from Saskatchewan, I place a high priority on trees, (I always thought the Caragana was a big tree) so I hope that Olds college will join up as a partner on the new prairie tree trials that started this year. (hint, hint)

I was interested in the talk on the marketing challenges facing market garden centers. They have lost a huge slice of the market to the big box stores (interesting, then, that a large part of the whole conference was sponsored by Rona). I was pleased that the speaker did not digress into a pity spiral but chose to focus on the niche his store can fill. He provided an excellent focus on what true service is, and I agreed with his comment that people will pay more if you truly provide them with great service.

For me, the most interesting—or perhaps scary—sessions were on personal management and personal health. These sessions were applicable to anyone but were a big part of this conference because many of the attendees were small business owners. The session on health just reconfirmed that I am fat, I eat badly, I exercise too little and have increased my chances of dying from all the major killers of my age bracket except PMS (you had to be there). The truly enlightening session for me, though, centered on stress and measuring its effect on you. You will be happy to know that when I completed the self diagnostic test, it indicated that I am completely stress-free—mostly because you attended my funeral three years ago! Perhaps I misunderstood a question or two?

At any rate, I learned a lot, and I spent some time in the Olds College booth, meeting people and answering questions. I spent some time with my new colleagues, getting to know them better. And I got a shrub out of the deal; what more could a guy ask for?

P.S. I also fulfilled a lifelong dream to fly an airplane in a hotel room. I am aware that this is not the dream most men want fulfilled in a hotel room, but I am different—and I am OK with that!!

Cookies

I would never think to buy a cookie. In fact, if you asked me, I would say I don't particularly like cookies, but when offered one, I can't ever remember saying, "no.” I have come to the conclusion that it is not the cookie itself I like, but the fact that someone gave me the cookie. That is what makes me feel good. Why? I have fond memories connected to cookies. My mother and I would often make cookies—just she and I—though I was never good at spooning them out onto the baking sheets. Sometimes she make them herself and have them just coming out of the oven at the time I got home from school, so perhaps I have a connection with cookies and freedom?
A couple of cookie incidences have occurred this month that started me thinking about this. Two days after a particularly stressful meeting, I was alerted to the presence of a package in my mail box. Because I was not expecting anything important, I neglected to check my box on my way out that evening. Early the next morning, however, after a particularly bad nights’ sleep, I discovered the wonderful package in my mailbox—four homemade cookies! No note, no name attached—just these great cookies. It was the perfect way to start my day, and my students truly appreciated it, too, because my jokes were better (or at least more frequent), my demos were far more lively. Perhaps it was all explainable scientifically with blood sugar spikes and chocolate euphoria, but I prefer to think that the good mood was caused by the conjuring up of warm memories of better times. True to my conclusion, it was not the cookies I appreciated most—delicious though they were—but the kind, friendly gesture. It was not the first time that cookies had appeared, and I was finally able to confirm my suspicions of their origins; I wholeheartedly thank the baker.

It has occurred to me that I may not be alone in this reaction to cookies, but times are changing and may be leading to some variations on the theme. Making cookies is not a time consuming process, but the baking of cookies is. A mother I know still takes the time to make cookies with her children—something for which she should be commended, in my opinion—but with her very busy life, more cookies get made than baked. On more than one occasion this month, she has confessed to eating cookie dough! At the time I chalked this up to her having no chips in the house or no time to make popcorn, but, upon reflection, I believe that it might be the new time-pressured adaptation of an old mood-lifting technique. We all need someone in our lives to give us cookies when we need them. Let me challenge you to make cookies for a friend in need—or at least buy the homemade looking cookies from the store and repackage them! Let’s strive to create a world where no one has to eat cookie dough!

(Until next week, keep the cookies coming to keep the ravings positive.)

Learning to Crawl

I spent much of Remembrance Day watching my two grandsons—3 years and 8 months. Most interesting to me was watching my youngest grandson try to crawl. He has rolling down pat. As a matter of fact, he figured out how to roll his way over and out of the barricade set up to contain him in the living room. His mother and I just watched in amazement, and then his mother retrieved him. But crawl? As much as he tried—desperately tried, many times—he just can’t do it…yet.

So, why is he so driven to learn to crawl? Movement is important to get what you need and what you want. (At 8 months old, he is already striving for what he wants—for him this is mostly whatever his brother has—and not only what he needs.) But, it is not just movement he craves—he has that—but rather more efficient movement. He is seeking to improve upon the skills he already has. Why? It seems that the desire to learn is not just driven by our needs; there must be a hard-wired component to it, as well. I am sure there are many Ph.D. dissertations on this topic, but I am almost positive that he has not read any of them. He doesn’t know why he wants to, he just does.

The whys might still be a mystery, but it is fascinating to watch him try to learn so desperately. At 8 months old, his motivation to learn is mostly internal, I suspect; I hope he is not worrying about meeting his grandpa’s expectations just yet. Watching him made me think about the last time I worked that hard at learning something and what so motivated me. And it made me think about my students and how they look at learning.

I have always said that I cannot teach anyone anything, but I can give them good reasons to want to learn. What I mean by that is that, as a teacher, I try to stimulate that hard-wired part of each student that creates the desire to learn. I have seen that same determined drive that I see in my grandson in some students when they try to solve a problem or complete a task. They, too, possess that same desperate need to “do well” or to “be successful.” Problem is, of course, I don’t see it often enough.

Stimulating a student to be motivated is ¾ of my job; the other 1/4 is helping them acquire strategies and techniques. If I can create in them the desire to learn and if I can teach them how to learn to learn, then I know I’ve given them a life skill that goes way past any memorization of facts or information. After all, information today is free or cheap. Wanting to learn and knowing how to do it is far more important.

How I wish I had that single-minded drive to learn new things that I see in young children! Perhaps we would be better off if, instead of always looking ahead, we could look back in our own lives and remember what it was that motivated us so.

Collaborating All By Myself!

I love to work in a collaborative environment—especially if I do it on my own! This is most easily achieved if the tools for collaboration are difficult to access or, better yet, nonexistent. I can be very productive in this type of environment because no one bothers me with input or other points of view.

I once read that IQ is the measure of an individual’s ability to adapt to a new environment, and my experience bears that definition out. As I’ve travelled all over the world, I have seen that those who are most intelligent will maximize whatever environment they are in. They know intuitively that our environment is what we experience it to be, not what we are told it is, and so they also know that they have the ability to change it.
Why does it matter what kind of environment we have? I’ve learned that if I, as a teacher, change the learning environment in my class, students may change the way they learn. If I create an environment valuing rote learning—where memorizing is all that is required and is rewarded with success—then most students will only invest themselves in practicing the given recitation. If I create a learning environment—where students have to collaborate and problem solve to be successful—then those students can invest themselves in the more useful skills of being creative, cooperative and resourceful. Every year I get at least one “smart” student who does not want to work with others. The frustration level for that student rises very quickly when they see their less “academic” classmates out-achieve them because they find solutions collaboratively. By nature, I am not all that collaborative. I work on my own in the classroom. I develop learning materials often in isolation. But I have learned that, through collaboration, I can be much more effective and certainly a much better teacher. I thank Murray T. for patiently mentoring me to work with someone whose strengths cover my weaknesses—a lesson I learned as he and I collaborated, which in turn was only possible when our environment leant itself to partnership: I was accidentally placed in the office next to Murray. Our offices are no longer together, and accordingly our collaboration has been significantly reduced.

Create the environment for collaboration and teachers, instructors, community members, students and staff MAY work together. Do not create the conditions conducive for collaboration and the rebels will often find a way (perhaps out of spite!)

She’s Been Good to Me!

She’s been there for me for more than 18 years, although she left me for a while in the middle. I forgot how much I liked her until she came back to me. Now I don’t know what I would do without her. We fit. We share common strengths: we are both frugal, both minimalists, and both starting to show our age.

I remember the first time we were together; I just knew that even though I was newly married, she was going to be part of my life. My then father-in-law was furious when he found out about her, and I can’t blame him. He just couldn’t understand. He was worried for his daughter, and I don’t blame him for that, but I just couldn’t resist her! Things got tough more than once, and she and I would go off together just the two of us and work things out. Nothing inappropriate—just talk things through, and come back more level headed.

As I said, she left me at one point. I started over and pretended not to care. I found others like her, but it was not the same. I even tried a younger version of her, but that was a disaster! We just never got along, the younger model and me. It is amazing what a difference 10 years can make. Trust me younger is not necessarily better! Fortunately for me, she came back to me, and we have been together ever since.

We reached a milestone together on Monday--one that even my father hasn’t reach in his 80+ years. It was kind of sweet in a way. We were coming to work together early in the morning, and I just had to pull over and take a picture of her. A close-up to show what we have been through together, to capture that special moment for us to remember after the inevitable happens.

To my favorite 1989 Pontiac Firefly, congratulations! I don’t think either of us has another half million Kilometers left in us.

Bolivia or Bust Tour 2009!

The first student presentation for the Bolivia or Bust Tour is next Tuesday, and then I will know how much interest there really is. I have been working on a day schedule ever since I came back from my preparatory trip in August, but it is always hard to know how much to pack in. Things happen on trips, and formulating a firm schedule is a fool’s game. For instance, my first day of my August trip was 51 hours long. It was not intended to be, but things happen. When it comes to scheduling, I am not known for stopping to smell the roses, but I know I will have to do much more rose-sniffing on this trip.

Bolivia is the only country that has been able to stop me in my tracks—to make me sit and breathe and take a break. I think I respect her a little for that. In August, I was in Santa Cruz during a para (general strike). Everything just stopped. No cars on the roads. No businesses open. No one working. I think my Facebook status read something like, “Santa Cruz is eerily quiet and peaceful in a Dawn of the Living Dead kind of way.” I found it an interesting form of protest; everyone just has a nice family day. There were a few days warning, so people stocked up on food, water, picnic supplies and toilet paper.

I have a well-honed sense for identifying trouble, but as we walked the streets of Santa Cruz, we saw soccer in the streets, not cars, and we even spotted an occasional ice cream vender. It has been my experience…you know, from riots I have attended in the past!...that there is rarely ice cream served. And yes, this para was very peaceful. Some since then have been more violent, unfortunately, but still nothing on the scale of the violence that has been seen in many other countries around the world.

What is important for me to remember, and it is important for students to understand as well, is that we will be travelling in a developing nation: things are not like home. They aren’t better or worse, just different. There are certainly risks and dangers (mostly with driving) in Bolivia that we do not have to contend with at home, but there is so much to be experienced! I can’t imagine Calgary without cars for a day, and I can’t remember the last time I took a day off work and spent it with my family.
There is no question that this will be a learning experience for all involved. And, for many, it will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. See you on the “B or B Tour 2009”!

Turkey Poisoning

We have just completed the first long weekend of the school year. I can always pick out the first-year students who are having problems with homesickness by the Thanksgiving long weekend. It starts about three weeks before Thanksgiving with unexplained absences on Friday or Monday—or both!

During the first month of classes, there are many activities to keep students busy, and, of course, there is a little studying as well. By the second month, the assignments are stacking up, finals are coming, and homesickness is setting in. Judging by the laundry baskets in the back seat of many of the trucks in the parking lot, students are suffering a shortage of clean clothes as well.

There is nothing worse than being away from home for the first time and being sick. The Friday absences are exacerbated by Thursday night activities. In order to fight off homesickness, students often gather at a local watering hole to compare notes on school projects. (At least I think that is what they are doing?) Waking up on Friday morning, feeling sick, missing Mom or Dad, and facing an 8 o’clock CAD class are ingredients the combine nicely to make a long weekend. This explains the absences before Thanksgiving.

The “real” long weekend gets longer for a different reason: Turkey Poisoning. I am sure that the reason some students don’t come back after the Thanksgiving holiday has nothing to do with them reevaluating if college is where they want to be. I don’t think it has anything to do with them feeling like they are missing out on what their life used to be when they had friends, family and familiar places. I think it is a little-known medical condition I like to call Turkey Poisoning. This condition most often lasts 2-3 days with complete recovery occurring a week after onset. Symptoms include lethargy and a melancholy demeanor. Recovery can be aided with large doses of humor and a pinch of understanding. If left untreated, Turkey Poisoning can be fatal for a college career. So students, if you find yourself afflicted with Turkey Poisoning, get back to school as soon as possible; your instructors are much funnier than your parents. Or try a preventative approach and eat ham instead.

So What Is Really There?

One of the best parts of working at Olds College is that you can do some very interesting things if you are so inclined. During a recent survey class, Jack (my very talented Instructional Assistant) suggested that we let the students tackle a drainage problem for a new garden under construction. There was a CAD plan, and some work had been started, but Jack was suspicious that the work and the plan did not match. One quick measurement confirmed his fears; the plan did not fit in the restricted space provided. It seems that the plan was more of a suggestion—like traffic ‘laws’ in Sri Lanka. The discrepancy bothered me, mostly because I did not want to go and take a bunch of measurements. But what alternative was there?

Well, for starters we could get an air photo of the current situation, scale it and print it off for the students to work from, I thought. So I called my mentor, Murray, and we did just that. Now before you think colleges have money for renting airplanes at the whim of an instructor, I need to explain. Murray and I did a research project a few years back on portable remote sensing. The outcome of the project was a remote controlled aerial platform for taking pictures. It has proven very handy to answer questions such as "What is really there?" On this occasion it provided an added bonus.

A new garden feature under construction

It turned out that the fall colors where spectacular! I am not an artsy guy by nature, and those who know me know I have no talent at all, but even someone as artistically obtuse as I am was impressed at Mother Nature’s amazing canvas. It took about 20 minutes to get the pictures and an hour to decide which ones I wanted to keep. Another 30 minutes were required to get the data into the computer, scaled into a template, and ready to print. Another 15 minutes to repeat the whole process when my computer shut down and I realized I had not once saved…When will I ever learn?

Off to class I went, armed with the photos, laser levels, chains (tape measures), pins and other implements of destruction (sorry, flashing back to Alice’s Restaurant), and the students dug in. Now, I confess I see the world through slightly different glasses than most, but it warms the cockles of my heart to see Turf students measuring with chains and a plumb bob without any prodding from me. I was in such a good mood when I got back to my office that I thought I would share some of the pictures with everyone. I picked a few, saved them on our network, and sent an email to all students and employees of Olds College encouraging them to have a look at the beautiful shots.

The north orchard in fall splender

Now, I should know better than to send out a college-wide email, but I never learn. While I was getting emails to the effect of "great pictures," our IT department was getting emails to the effect of "why can’t I see those pictures?" It turns out that there is not a single network location that is accessible to everyone at Olds College. This made me think: isn’t it interesting that at a learning institution there is no single location within our network for collaboration between students, staff and faculty? Yes, the network provides space for virtual get-togethers between any two of the three groups, but not all. It is not that there couldn’t be space, there just wasn’t…yet.

Olds College from the North West

So where do we collaborate? Students collaborate on facebook, Second Life, the residence lounge, and in the back of my class. Faculty collaborates in the staff room, at lunch, or in the hall between offices. We collaborate at conferences, or after meetings—sometimes even during a meeting—but true collaboration, global collaboration, does require a whole new set of tools. I don’t have them yet, but I am willing to try. This blog is a start. My web guru emailed and said "Why didn’t you just put them on Flickr?" I don’t have a good answer for that, but next time I will give it a shot. Every time I think I am being wildly creative, I discover that, in fact, I am only being mildly creative. There is always more to learn, and there is always a better faster way to do it. The day I think I have it all figured out will be the day I know dementia has set in.

Looking South West across Olds

This is the closest I get to artsy shots. Enjoy the beauty that only Mother Nature can serve up. And watch for a Picasa photo album coming your way.

Music Lessons in CAD

I have been very nice so far on this blog, and those that know me will wonder what valium derivative I take before writing. Perhaps it is time for some of my niceness to disappear…




Class dynamics have always intrigued me, and over the years, I have honed the skill of identifying early what might go wrong and who might influence it. I am frustrated when I get a group of students who collectively don’t want to take advantage of the opportunities to learn that are given to them here at Olds College. Instructors can try to encourage learning but will have, at best, only moderate success unless students engage the topic, actively think, and attempt to apply the content to real life. I have found one type of student with whom I always have to work hardest to redirect their thinking: “the Producer.”

The Producer is that student who comes to class and just wants to know the steps to get the assignments done. These students would do well working on an assembly line but not working as a land agent or any other career that involves lots of problem solving. The Producer is not bothersome in class but needs very detailed instructions and cannot handle unscripted events. The Producer somehow believes that if they get all the assignments done in the course they deserve to pass regardless of how long it takes them or how much help they needed to complete the task. These are the students whose eyes glaze over when I rant about assignments as learning activities, not production activities.



I give my music lesson example: When you took music lessons, who wanted to hear you practice your scales? Maybe your mother? Practicing your scales is important if you want to sound good at the recital. I tell students to think of assignments as their scales and exam as their recital. No one would ever dream for playing a piece of music once and then performing it for an adjudicator. The drawings I assign are learning activities. I don’t care what you produce during the practice part of this course; I care what you learn, and I know what you learned when I mark your exam!

The Producer would never consider doing a drawing assignment over.
“So how did you do on the assignment?” I ask.
“I got it done, but it took forever!” she replied.
“Really, why don’t you draw it again?” I suggest.
“What for, I got it done?” she answers indignantly.
“But did you learn anything? If it took you an hour and a half to draw it the first time, it should take you 20 minutes the second time, seven minutes the third. And I can do it in three minutes if I keep my mouth shut while I draw it!” I rant.

Learning CAD has a large tactile component and tactile learning requires repetition. Repeating the same drawing reinforces the tactile learning faster than doing three different drawings utilizing the same tools, but does not promote problem-solving skills. There is a balance that has to be attained between promoting problem solving skills and reinforcing tactile learning.

So remember students, you are here to learn, not to produce. You will get plenty of opportunity to produce when you are on the job. When you do produce something at college, it is to assist the learning process. When you say “I hate homework,” you are really saying “I hate learning.” No project or assignment should ever be given that does not directly support the learning objectives of that course.

I know that if I can break the “just do the work” mentality I have the opportunity to redirect a student so they can get more from the college experience. I encourage students to race each other the second time they do a drawing or add a funny object the second time around. I reinforce that if they make a mistake in practice, that’s OK as long as they know why and can fix it. All problems can be fixed in CAD! Well all drawing problems at least…

Bolivia or Bust

I truly believe that one of the best educational experiences we can give our students is an opportunity to travel to a developing country. I have been influenced from an early age by my father’s childhood experiences in Africa. I did not realize how much affect it had on me until I started to travel to developing countries after the Tsunami of 2004.

Damaged buildings in Sri Lanka 2004

In May of 2009, Olds College and A Better World (ABW) will take students and community members to Bolivia for two weeks. I will be leading this trip and in so doing will realize a dream five years in the making. After Katrina, Olds College and ABW partnered to send a group of students, staff and teachers to the USA to help rebuild homes. Each student returned with new insights into the world in which they live. I know by experience that a trip to Bolivia will have the same result but multiplied by 10! I know by experience that this will be a life-altering experience for some of the people in our group and still very impactful for the rest. I have always said that my job as an instructor is to create a learning environment but that students must do the learning on their own; this trip to Bolivia be a learning environment like none that we could hope to offer here on our campus.

Bolivian mountains and forest

I do have concerns and a little trepidation: all developing countries are unstable, all have unique health and cultural challenges, and all have safety issues (usually the traffic is the worst). I am encouraged by the fact that we have some very fine people in Bolivia to help. Marg and Jake Hoogland moved to Bolivia from Canada about three years ago; Zenon Flores is a local agriculture instructor with a passion for his field; and Maria Jose is the director of CERINID, a local home for street boys. And I hope that my experience in the country will prove beneficial as I lead the trip. I have been to Bolivia twice myself, and ABW has completed two very successful trips there in the last two years.

Marg and Jake Hoogland

Zenon Flores and a Golden Agouti Boar

So, here goes a new journey for me and a great opportunity for students and others in the community. Let’s hope this time I don’t need to use my GPS coordinates for the coffin store! Stay tuned for more details, and follow along on this blog in May to read about the adventure.

It is Not All Laughing Children and Happy Endings

A Better World, a local Red Deer humanitarian group I work with, is supporting rural Bolivia in a number of ways. One of the things they provide is a health fund administered by Marg and Jake Hoogland who live and work deep in the jungle--literally at the end of the road. There are very limited medical facilities within 3 or 4 hours' drive of the farms in their area. Many of the homesteaders have never been to Santa Cruz (the nearest big city), and they would not have the funds or contacts necessary to obtain medical help even if they were able to get there. The rural health fund and Marg and Jake work together to fill these gaps.

Earlier this year, Marg contacted me about a little boy in their community who was not responding to treatments and slowly going down hill. Ten-year-old Jhonny was smart and a real leader in his family and at school. He was all boy: climbing trees, running fast, and coercing his sibling into trying to keep up. Jhonny was such a fixture in the community that when he did not show up at a local function, Marg became concerned. She found him at home, bedridden, dehydrated, and suffering with bad headaches. The family had taken him to the small local clinic again very recently, and there he was given milk of magnesia.

Jhonny's House

Marg suggested that Jhonny be the first case for the ABW rural health fund. I agreed, and the Hooglands dropped what they were doing and took Jhonny and his mother to the children’s hospital in Santa Cruz. It was to be a six week stay for Jhonny, his mother (8 months pregnant), and Marg. You see, Jhonny had a large brain tumor. Doctors determined that it was operable if there was money to cover the bills. If surgery was not performed soon, there was no question that this tumor would be fatal--probably soon. Marg and I discussed the impact of draining the entire health fund for one little boy instead of helping 20 or 25 people in the community. That these kinds of judgment calls have to be made in a country like Bolivia is the tragic reality. My cousin’s youngest son had an operable brain tumor, but at no point did anyone say, “Should we spend the money or just let him die?”

Marg and Jhonny in the Childrens' Hospital

This was a no brainer for me! Spend the money and give the kid a chance! Jhonny ended up having 6 surgeries in 6 weeks and contracted chickenpox to boot! The total hospital bill was around $5,000. I flew to Bolivia in August to start arrangements to take a group of Olds College students in May 09. On my first day in Bolivia Marg and Jake took me to see Jhonny in the hospital. They were hiring someone to be with Jhonny at night as Marg and Jake were coming with me to help plan the Olds College trip. Jhonny had his bandages off for the first time and was looking thin, but responsive. He was squeezing a tube of toothpaste, and his eyes would flutter open. He responded to touch on his feet, and the doctors were very hopeful about his condition.

Jhonny's mom Erselia and Marg

We left the hospital to get some food and talk about the busy week to come. Marg received a call to return to the hospital. Turns out the Jhonnys heart stopped, and he died. Six operations and chicken pock were just too much for his little body. Death in a tropical country leads to its own set of problems. We returned to the hospital to have the body released. This meant paying the bill in full, and getting the forms to transport Jhonnys body. A coffin would be about 600 B ($95.00 Can) and Jhonnys mother said she just couldn’t afford that, so we would just wrap him in a blanket and put him in the back of the truck…. Not if I can help it, I thought. It turns out there are all night coffin stores near the hospital, so off Jake and I went.After a long terrifying drive in the middle of the night, we lay Jhonny in his coffin on the alter of the local church for a day of service before the burial. Jake and I went to his house to get a little sleep before to burial. 51 hours had past since I had seen a bed, and that one had been in Canada. 51 hours that remolded who I am, and clarified why I try. Jhonnys mother was very upset that we spent all this money, and Jhonny died anyway. She felt badly and was concerned that we wasted all that money. She was devastated by Jhonnys passing, but was worried we would think we wasted the money. Wasted the money??? That somehow she had let the donors down, because Jhonny died???

Carrying Jhonny to the graveyard

I have replayed this over and over in my mind since returning to Canada. This was an operable, benign tumor in the head of a 10 year old boy. How could we not give this boy a chance? If this was your son, would you say, “sorry, too much money” and let him die? No, of course not. This family did not have the money (about 2 years wages for them) and I am not a big believer in throwing cash at problems, but this is the perfect example of where money is all that was needed to give Jhonny a chance because we had Marg and Jake on the ground willing to help.We do not win them all, but that should not deter us from trying. You cannot win if you don’t try. I know we like to read stories about happily ever after, but there is much to be learned from the journey as well. We tried, and I would try again given the same circumstance. The rural Bolivia fund is now empty, and I would like to double it for next year. Please consider supporting this activity, we are very lucky to have Marg and Jake on the ground to administer this fund. I don’t think you could get better bang for your buck anywhere else.I bring Jhonny to class with me every day now. He lives on in my mind, reminding me of how lucky I am to be raising my family in Canada. And he reminds me that even in Canada we have a long way to go. Fifty years from now we will look back at how primitive Canada was, much like I look at how primitive parts of Bolivia are today. The changes will happen because of Education. The student I help shape today will be the innovators and change agents of tomorrow. My students will make a difference in this world, and I am happy to be a small part of that. I hope that Jhonny will be part of the last generation that sees such a large gap between peoples of this earth. For more information on Jhonny or the Hooglands see http://www.hooglandsinbolivia.blogspot.com/

To donate, follow the link below, and please specify Rural Bolivia,Thanks! http://www.a-better-world.ca/