By Lisa Singleton-Rickman Staff Writer, TimesDaily

Note: this article is republished with permission from TimesDaily of Florence, Alabama.

Northwest-Shoals Community College’s Power5 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Apprenticeship Program instructor has taken a challenging time and turned it into a teaching time through technology.

Randy Corsbie leads the program that began in January and wasn’t about to give up when the COVID-19 pandemic hit less than two months later.

“Technology made it easy to adapt quickly,” Corsbie said. “Our Power5 students have continued their on-the-job training as I inspect their work live through FaceTime.”

The program prepares students for a career in HVAC by synchronizing related technical instruction and on-the-job training at a sponsoring local business. Currently, the program has 14 sponsoring businesses with 23 student apprentices.

Corsbie began corresponding with students and the engagement grew as one-on-one lectures via FaceTime have opened the door for students to ask questions they wouldn’t in a regular classroom setting.

“This is one of the best things that has resulted from this difficult situation in that many of my students are more engaged,” he said.
The Northwest-Shoals program serves as a training model for community colleges across the state.