Remember when shop class was about woodworking? Not anymore. Nowadays teens are learning to rebuild computers.
Have a laptop with a dead hard drive or a noisy fan? Students in Minnesota's Lewiston-Altura school district can probably fix it. Thanks to two forward-thinking educators, the district's freshman are getting some bankable 21st century experience through learning the nuts and bolts of computer repair.
The computer endeavor began when the district's technology director, Gene Berg, discovered that four of the 24 new computers he was putting in a lab didn't work. He did some research and decided to approach Lewiston-Altura's tech ed teacher, Joel Ellinghuysen, about incorporating computer repair into his classes. The two worked out a plan and now students learn how to upgrade and rebuild computers.
The decision to add a computer repair class also saves the school district money. If community members donate used computers to the schools, instead of sending them to a local tech guru to fix, the the students are able get them back into tip top shape. Nowadays, the kids fix about 70 computers a semester—which they're able to turn right around and use for their schoolwork. You can watch the teens in action in the video above.
photo (cc) via Flick user Extra Ketchup
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