The 2007 Welding Workshop, held in the Applied Technology building this week, gives technical education teachers around the state the opportunity to work toward their teaching license renewal.
The 32-hour class, which began Monday and ends today, was approved by the Indiana Department of Education for 16 Certification Renewal Units.
"The main purpose of the workshop is to support public school teachers and upgrade their skills," Jack Wescott, chairman of the Department of Technology, said.
A total of 14 educators are participating in the workshop, which is the second of its kind at Ball State University.
Technology education alumnus Craig Patterson said he took the workshop because it was an enjoyable way to learn new skills and work toward renewing his license. He will be teaching a Woods and Drafting class at Buena Vista High School in Colorado in the fall.
"I don't have any equipment at home to do some of the things I'm doing here, and my school is far away," he said. "This is a good, inexpensive opportunity to have fun and learn some engineering skills."
The program costs $300, which covers all the materials used throughout the week and the renting of the technology room.
"It's well worth the money," Ed Wyatt, the instructor for the workshop, said.
The workshop includes topics such as blacksmithing, casting, gas welding and plasma cutting. There are also guest speakers who come throughout the week to talk to the participants.
"The participants are learning how to do ... sand casting, which is used for molding things like car engines, to almost anything," Tom Jarvis, a lab technician for Purdue University, said.
Wyatt said that the skills learned at the workshop are a necessary for society.
"The world cannot operate without welding," he said. "Fifty percent of all national gross products involve welding; there are over 5,000 welds on one car."
Ball State had to ensure the workshop met state standards in order to offer Certification Renewal Units.
"Teachers have two options for license renewal," Suzie Jones, project coordinator for the School of Extended Education at Ball State, said. "One is to take six hours of a credit course; the other is to take a workshop, like this, that offers CRUs."
Wyatt said most of the participants seek the hands-on opportunities the workshop offers.
"We turn them loose and they come to me if they have questions," he said. "It's the best way for them to learn how to use the tools."
Wyatt is a Ball State alumnus and has been pipe welder for Indiana Gas Company. He has been named Educator of the Year by the American Welding Society's Indiana Section and has been referred to as "Mr. Welding of Indiana," according to his biography on the Ball State Web site. Wyatt teaches at the McKenzie Career Center in Indianapolis and is a faculty member in the Department of Industry and Technology at Ball State.
Wyatt said that he has seen both men and women excel in welding as a career. He has taught students who went own to work on major projects such as Lucas Oil Stadium, he said.
"Welding is a good skill and trade for everyone," he said. "It can be dirty, but it's a good job."
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