Lets quiz the Captain!

You might recall about a week or so back I mentioned I was giving my first graded assignment in my classes. There was a vocabulary quiz and a small hand in report. Keep in mind I am teaching introductory computer courses that are required of ALL students at my school. Out of my nearly 75 students, only one of them has dreams of working with computers. The largest share of my students are from the Marine Engineering Technology program. From the student handbook: Associate in Applied Science This curriculum is designed to provide the practical and academic skills essential for success in marine scientific support. Students will receive training in observational and measurement techniques aboard a variety of vessels including the college’s own ocean-going research vessel. One of my students who did not do so well on the quiz included a rather long note at the bottom of their quiz. In their note they explained that they didn't care about computers and they'd "never need" computers since they were going to be a sailboat captain. My initial reaction was "You'd better care at least on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, or you wont pass this class, which is required for your degree." After a while I realized that trying to debate someone into understanding the need for computers wouldn't work. One of the hardest things in the world to do is convince someone to learn something they're convinced they won't need. I needed a new angle. Meet my new angles. You might recognize on the left is Captain Phil and on the right is Captain Larry from the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch. Phil is the Captain of the Cornelia Marie (all 3 seasons), and Larry is the Captain of the Sea Star (seasons 1 and 3). In another of those crazy coincidences that seem to follow me around, radio's The Big Show had a contest. The winner of the contest would get a fishing trip with the two captains as well as John Boy. The fishing trip leaves out of Wilmington tomorrow morning. While they're in town, they stopped off at a local eatery for a meet and greet on behalf of FM 94.5, The Hawk.The [in]Famous John Boy with Captain Phil Seeing my opportunity, I made my way up to The City Tavern this evening for the meet and greet. After squirming my way through the sizable crowd, I got to sit and talk to Captain Larry for a while. I told him I would have the most unique question of the day. I explained the story and asked if he used computers in his job. What followed was a 10 minute explanation of all the various computer systems that crab fishermen must use to get their job done. Many are used prior to sailing out, several are in use constantly on board the ship, and again a lot are used once they unload their catch. Many of these systems are required by the government for purposes. There was GPS and navigation, mapping and tracking, and a whole bunch of other things I really couldn't comprehend. Suddenly I now could understand what my student was feeling. I was now being mentally pummelled with facts and knowledge I had no clue about and the tiny voice in the back of my head was screaming "You don't need to know this! Bail Out!" The difference is: while it is now very clear that marine tech students DO need basic computer skills, I, as a computer instructor, do not need marine technology skills. What I do need to do, is turn this new found knowledge into motivation for some of my unmotivated marine tech students. Of course while I was there, I had to have a brief visit with John Boy, and yes, he got me with the bunny ears.