New courseware puts 'precision' into program.

It appears to be like any other college classroom. Fluorescent light shines down on four rows of tables placed perpendicular to the front of the room, with eight computers per table lined side by side. Students, predominantly males aged 18 to 45, file in and place themselves at the computers.

A five-foot high stainless steel tool box is rolled into the front of the room, positioned to be accessible to all. Its compartments contain small gage blocks and precision measuring tools that have accuracies to a few millionths of an inch, or to part of a micron in the metric system.

The class instructor, Norm Labelle, is a retired millwright from Inco Ltd., a major mining company in Sudbury, Ontario. He works part-time at Cambrian College teaching his trade to future millwrights.

Labelle pulls out a micrometer depth gage, designed to measure the depth of holes, slots, or any type of recess. The tool fits easily in one hand; its markings are only visible to the person holding it. He explains to the class how the device works, what it is used for and how to read it.

"What you don't see is what you read," Labelle says, yet he points out that on the computer, the program allows the user to see the inside markings, which helps gain a better understanding of how the tool works.

The lesson is a brief introduction to one of the 21 different images of precision measuring tools the students will find on their computer screen.

The computer program is called Precision Measuring, created and designed by Norm Morin, a millwright professor at Cambrian College, and co-designed by Labelle.

Morin first began developing the program two and a half years ago. When he saw how effective it was, he hired people to take his "amateur graphics and animation" and turn it into a commercial product.

The program covers history, general tool information and lessons, with a comprehensive tutorial. It uses an LMS (Learning Management System) server to communicate a professionally-animated presentation and interactive courseware.

Prior to its creation, an instructor would have attempted to explain how a specific tool works to a small group of people gathered around. Now, Labelle says he teaches to the entire class at each individual's pace.

"Whatever I have on my screen, they have on theirs," he says. "I'm teaching to the individuals, instead of the slowest person in the class."

Stephan Levesque, a first-year millwright student under Labelle's instruction, enjoys the practical hands-on invol-vement that is required when working with the tools.

Twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Lafantaisie, who used to work in construction and diamond drilling, also likes the hands-on work.

"I find this course easy, but it's interesting," he says, as he occupies himself measuring blocks and answering questions on the screen.

After the 10-minutes lesson, the remainder of the two-hour class is used for independent work. Students obtain the blocks and other measuring equipment from the tool box at the front of the room. Many of the tools look like 12-inch metal rulers with dial indicators and gauges. Others have pointed and flared ends, reminiscent of what may be found on a dentist's tray. But unlike the sterile environment of a dentist's office, these tools are used in the maintenance of mechanical equipment in industry. They are just a sample of the many tools of the millwright trade.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Morin, though a millwright by trade, is really an inventor by heart. He holds three patents in 27 countries and was presented with the 1994 Manning Award for Innovation. He calls himself a "results-oriented type of guy," who wants to increase the quality of instructional time spent in the classroom by reducing wasted time.

"I started looking at my teaching time from a work-study/time-study perspective," he says. "I wanted to get rid of my ineffective time."

With a mining background, Morin took his acquired knowledge from work studies and time methods' studies and applied it to the Precision Measuring course he teaches at Cambrian.

By creating his own program of study, he not only enhanced instructional time with his students, but he exponentially increased their practice time with the tools, from 30 graded measurements per semester to 600.

"My instructional time per student used to be maybe five minutes out of two hours," Morin says. "Now I have 20 to 25 minutes because I'm only dealing with students who are having problems."

Morin has effectively eliminated the time spent generating and assessing data, because his program provides randomly generated questions and immediate automated assessment to those questions. Therefore, a student can work at his or her own pace.

Morin is quick to point out that the course is not designed to replace teachers, but to enhance lessons and maximize a student's learning experience. For him, it is not just how hard and fast one works; it is about the method one uses to complete the task. In a world where almost every facet has been touched, processed or manufactured by machines, Morin says the impact on the quality of learning and proper training will benefit society.

"These students will go out there and be better at their jobs," he says. "You won't be able to measure the benefits to society; it will be immeasurable."

The course itself is reasonably priced for greater accessibility. According to Morin, it will be sold in a modular format. A basic student account (without instructor) is $12, and includes two modules (two tools), and unlimited tries at the quizzes. Additional modules cost $6 each. The complete student course costs $60, which includes access to randomly generated test banks and unlimited access to the interactive materials.

The instructor account is $100. This includes a 56-page PDF booklet that can be printed for the students, the entire course deliverables up to 20 students and one final exam.

Conscious of the low price, Morin believes he will make his money back over time, and earn enough to create other similar courses.

"I plan on making money in the long run by having available a lot of really high-quality courses, not by trying to gouge people for their education."

It is this thriving entrepreneurial spirit and attention to quality that is driving Morin to develop other courses related to the millwright trade. Above all else, these programs will be cost and time effective, will benefit the education system and ultimately produce well-trained tradespeople.

www.cambrianc.on.ca

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business