THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND: EDUCATION EDITION Automotive Technology instructor Richard Nash teaches students at TCAT.
Getting technical
Technology and education at TCAT BY LISA SAVAGE
W
hile working at a production job in a local factory, Brandon Madison watched a maintenance worker rewire an electrical component to keep the production line moving.
“It was amazing to watch him as he worked,” Madison says. “I thought right then, ‘I really want to know how to do that.’” Now, Madison knows how to rewire parts and much more after a year at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. At 35 years old, Madison is a TCAT graduate and plans to have a career in industrial maintenance. He earned his GED after high school and went to community college for a while, but he says that route wasn’t for him. So he went to work at a local factory. After enrolling at TCAT, Madison’s training took about a year, much of it the hands-on experience that prepares students to transition to a job more quickly. “They help you get the job you’ve trained for while you’re a student,” Madison says. Placing students in productive jobs upon completion of the program meets the school’s goals, Warren Laux, president at TCAT McMinnville, says. 12 | September/October 2019
TCAT has 27 institutions across Tennessee, including Crossville. Limited programs operate at the Manchester location, which is under the McMinnville campus that opened in 1996 as the area’s technical training center and evolved to the status of technical college. The McMinnville location has about 315 students. Training is geared toward helping students who are seeking a new career, whether they’re still working in one job while training for another or going to school full time, Laux says. It takes about a year to complete most of the programs when attending during the day. “If someone is motivated, they’re going to progress through more quickly,” Laux says. Going through a program with night classes four evenings a week takes a little longer than day classes. “It takes a little longer, but it accomplishes the same goal,” Laux says.
UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY Most of the classes require hands-on training, but technology plays a big role in classroom instruction. TCAT uses e-books instead of traditional textbooks, which saves students money. Students use laptops, smartphones, tablets and other devices for online lectures and learning platforms. Ben Lomand Connect
