Caleb Carpenter
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I was able to work ahead in my online classes throughout high school. As a result, I have been able to take college courses in the College Credit Plus program as a senior.
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– Caleb Carpenter
I attended an online school named Ohio Virtual Academy from Kindergarten through my 12th grade year (2007-2020). Blended and online learning courses bridge learning gaps for students by allowing them to work at their own pace. When there is a topic that is difficult, a student can review it as many times as necessary to understand the material. When a topic is easy, the student can breeze right through it and move on to the next topic. In a traditional classroom, everyone has to try and learn at the same pace. Some students might start lagging behind because they do not understand the topic while others may be bored because it was easy for them. With online courses, the students get to work at the pace that is most comfortable for them.
Being in an online school for elementary, junior high, and high school allowed me to have so much flexibility. I was able to do school from different locations and get my work done more quickly. This flexibility helped lead me into interests that influenced my career choice. For example, I was able to go more often to my cousins’ house in southern Indiana. They lived in a rural community, and their house was surrounded by fields where we loved to ride dirt bikes and four-wheel all-terrain vehicles. We also loved driving their radio-controlled cars, jumping ramps and doing stunts at speeds up to 50 MPH. Inevitably, something like a shock or drive shaft would break on these cars. So, I would intently watch my older cousins diagnose the problem, disassemble the car, replace the broken parts, and rebuild the suspension or drive-train. When I was old enough, I got my own radio-controlled truck and cars. I loved racing them at high speeds at my house or local parks and ramping them over curbs and home-made jumps. After a while, something would inevitably break, and I would have to be the one to diagnose and fix the car.
Because these radio-controlled cars had many of the same components as real automobiles, I became interested in how to fix real cars and trucks. A friend invited me to help do a brake job on a Toyota Camry for an older lady in our church who did not have much income. After helping her out and doing the repair for free, I was hooked. My dad and I began buying tools, watching YouTube videos, and fixing vehicles for friends and family members for free. We replaced struts, shocks, sway bar links, tie-rod ends, brake pads and rotors, coil springs, ignition coils, starters, and many other items. I realized I wanted to pursue a degree in Automotive Technology at college because it allows me to combine my two passions of fixing cars and helping people.
I was able to work ahead in my online classes throughout high school. As a result, I have been able to take college courses in the College Credit Plus program as a senior. I have completed nine courses at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) this year and earned A’s in all of them. I have taken courses in Basic Auto Systems, Auto Shop Orientation & Service, Electrical Systems I and II, Brake Systems, Suspension & Steering, Engine Performance I, and Heat & AC. These courses are like blended courses because I have classes and automotive labs in person on campus and some of the curriculum and testing is online. So it is the best of both worlds. I will be completing three more courses at CSCC this semester before I graduate from high school. Next year I will continue studying at CSCC and will hopefully become certified as a Master ASE technician within a year.
I have not really been in a traditional classroom setting other than the college courses I am currently taking at CSCC. When learning automotive technology, I need the hands-on experience with auto repairs in our labs. It would be difficult to learn those skills if totally online. But I like the online portion because I can review the material as much as necessary to understand new concepts.
When choosing online courses, the characteristics that I would consider would be the flexibility and the type of material. I would want to have online classes that allow me to progress at my own pace and work online from any location and at any time of the day or night. If the material requires hands-on experience to learn it, then I would want to have at least a portion of the course in person.
I have always had the passion to help someone in need. Choosing a career in Automotive Technology will allow me to continue helping people. As a technician, I will serve customers with honesty, integrity, and excellent service. I hope to one day own my own shop where I can give people great service at a fair price and pay my employees fairly. I will continue helping people freely who cannot afford high-cost auto repairs. I also want to teach at the YFC Wheels program for disadvantaged teenagers to help them get a good automotive services career. Being educated in an online school helped me find and get started in my career. Thank you for helping me help others.