Educators train on engineering software
PTC Solutions Center in Uniontown recently trained several Fayette County educators on how to use new engineering software so the technology can be taken into the classroom to equip students with the starting knowledge to become the country’s future engineers and scientists. Educators from the county’s public schools, along with those from Geibel Catholic High School and California University of Pennsylvania, participated in the three-day training session that concluded last week.
Via this experience, teachers will become PTC-certified master trainers, who will then train their colleagues on PTC’s Pro/ENGINEER software. In turn, PTC will provide 300 software components to schools in the each of the county’s six school districts free of charge.
Steve Smith led 10 educators gathered in the Fayette County Vocational-Technical School’s resource room through a tutorial to learn the basics of the software program. Educators created a 3D computer model image of a machine part on the screen of a laptop.
Smith, an educator and chairman of the technology department at Newburyport High School in Massachusetts, also the state of PTC’s United States headquarters, said the technology allows students to design machine parts – from those on motor vehicles to airplanes and submarines.
Toyota, Motorola and the bicycle manufacturer Cannondale are among companies using the parts-designing software.
The software, which is engaging and exciting for students and is something they can take home for their own use on a computer, allows students to quickly translate their design ideas into 3D models, said Smith.
“I call it ‘a tool of their generation’ because it is very visual,” he noted.
Smith described the benefits his students have received from knowing how to use the software.
He said the knowledge of how to use the software helped a senior student enrolled in his robotics class gain acceptance into the U.S. Naval Academy, which designs submarines using this technology. A sophomore student, he added, landed a job with a machine shop after showing he could design a bicycle part.
Being able to use the software also helps students in college, said Smith.
“Many of the engineering colleges and universities to which our students are applying use the software in their engineering programs,” Smith said. “This experience has caught the attention of many institutions of higher education and industries.”
Educators from every Fayette County school district will be trained on how to use the software, said Kim Dillinger, manager of Reaching Educational Achievement with Community Help (REACH), an initiative of Fay-Penn Economic Development Council. REACH sponsored the professional development opportunity through a growing partnership with Parametric Technology Corp. or PTC.
Laurel Highlands School District has plans to begin a course in engineering design technology at the high school this year so students can become trained to use the software. The course will complement the district’s Information Technology program under the National Academy Foundation courses begun this past school year.
Dave Rossi, general manager for PTC in Uniontown, emphasized that PTC wants to have a significant impact on children in the area by becoming involved in local education. Training students in this software, he said, will prepare them for the high-tech workforce and help keep this innovative technology in the United States.
Rossi said he hopes school districts take the knowledge a step further by entering designs the students create via the software in local, state and national competitions to earn recognition.
“I want Fayette County to be a leader, recognized on a worldwide level and I believe this can help that,” Rossi told educators.
The software is expected for implementation in Fayette County schools this coming year. Training students on the software is now more important than ever due to a predicated critical shortage of engineers across the country, noted Smith, quoting that 77 percent of the engineering workforce is over 45 years old and eligible to retire in the next several years.
“This is a serious problem, especially after 9/11,” Smith said. “This work has to be done in the U.S., not in foreign countries.”
Dillinger said her organization is proud to partner with PTC, which is deeply committed to education initiatives in the region, not to mention worldwide, and appreciates their critical investment in the local education system.
Dillinger said the content is directly in line with the national emphasis on strengthening the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM in the business and education communities.
“The United States needs more of its young people to become engineers and scientists in order to remain technologically competitive with the rest of the world. This initiative will be one response to this national outcry,” said Dillinger.
PTC is among the world’s largest independent software companies. The corporation provides product and content management and dynamic publishing solutions to more than 40,000 companies worldwide. Its customers include the world’s most innovative companies in manufacturing, publishing services, government and life sciences industries.
For more information on PTC, visit www.ptc.com
. To learn more about REACH, call Dillinger at 724-437-7913 or by e-mail at begin kimd@faypenn.org kimd@faypenn.org end
.