What To Cover In a Short "DIY Tech" Course?

edumacator writes "Our school is working hard to provide our students with relevant opportunities of study. We have a short 'seminar' period that meets three days a week for thirty minutes. I've chosen to teach a seminar on 'Home Grown Technology' even though I'm an English teacher and only an amateur techie. If you had thirty minutes, three days a week, for nine weeks, what would you teach a group of high school students? I'm considering the Wii-mote smartboard and multitouch displays, but I'm afraid I'm overreaching."

Comments

At the risk of being serious...

[rickb928]

1. Basic customer service skills. I'm assuming you will also be teaching some about fixing stuff. Get your victim's/customer's/friend's name, and use it. Pay attention to what they say. Rephrase your responses until the understand. Try to leave them with a solution that not only works, but that they can see works, and can see if it fails. Stand behind your work. Be focused on your customer first, and then do the techie stuff.

2. Ethics. Same scenario as above. Don't go snooping around their hard drive looking for music and warez.

I come at this as a service tech, so I'm usually making stuff for people to use. Sometimes they have no idea what it is, just that it does whatever they need.

Of course, since you're more into the DIY stuff;

3. Safety. Glasses, gloves, long-sleeved shirts, safe work area, flammable precautions, etc. Oh, and tool safety, like how not to stab yourself with a screwdriver, and how to use a table saw (which the short version is, as if it will reach out and steal your fingers, cause it will).

All the other stuff is way more fun, so feel free to leave my suggestions until the last day of school.

I'm probably about 70% off-topic. Sorry bout that.