For 25 years, National Comfort Institute has provided live face-to-face training for the HVAC industry. About six months ago, in-person training essentially became an illegal activity. Bummer, right? In the following three weeks, we built a studio and transformed our basic curriculum for online teaching. Thanks to you our training continues to grow. Let’s take a look at some of the tips you have shared with us about how you really learn from our online classes.
Online or In-Person Preference?
We were surprised to find from our class evaluations that almost half of you prefer online training. You say online training is convenient, there is no travel, and you like the hands-on teaching, even though it’s on a screen. Because of your requests, we’ve almost doubled NCI’s online training.
Most everyone misses the camaraderie of being together in one room and the chance to learn with your hands by touching test instruments and operating systems. Regardless of whether training is in person or online, you want clean, direct information you can use right away in the field. You require us to keep it real and to connect new information to experiences you already have.
Regardless of whether training is in person or online, you want clean, direct information you can use right away in the field.
In terms of time allotment for online classes, we’ve found you want us to teach for approximately 50 minutes, with a 10-minute break every hour. Also, you prefer we limit the daily training to four hours maximum per day because you “can only absorb what the backside can endure.” Four hours a day has proven about right. You also like to share responses to questions or polls and discuss new ideas every 10 minutes or so.
Disconnect from Distractions
One of the most important observations at the top of most student’s lists was that successful students disconnect from distractions and unsuccessful students don’t.
The guys who get the most from a class prepare a quiet place away from distractions and tell others not to interrupt them. They set aside their phone, they’re not kid-watching, and they do not need a nap.
Of course, unsuccessful students don’t admit they were fooling around during class in their course evaluations, I need to call them to get that confession. Several admitted they see their training as time off work for good behavior and don’t see training as an opportunity to advance. Some use training time to get current with distractions like social media and YouTube.
In more than 25 years of training, I’ve never seen anyone successfully multi-task their way through a class. Follow the advice given by your peers and eliminate distractions during training to get the most out of it.
Prepare to Learn
Eager learners recommend getting online early to make sure the sound and picture are good. They say you should be sure to have a strong internet connection and that the kids aren’t streaming video that sucks up Wi-Fi signal.
Get Your Head in the Game
One certified tech advised others to, “Decide before the training begins to become as involved in the online course as you would in an in-person class.” Her career documents this same approach in achieving her day-to-day results at work.
Learning requires sustained, consecutive thought which is the hardest work in the world. Solid students agree learning takes real effort. I see this attempt to learn in those who focus during a class, strain to soak up new knowledge, then practice it in the field.
Commit to apply what you learn in an online class. It will greatly increase the odds that you will use what you learned to earn additional income and build your career.
I chuckled after a long discussion with a new technician who admitted he just watched the class as though he was binge-watching NCIS episodes. Apparently, he confused NCI and NCIS. We then had a great discussion about how he could apply his mind to training to turn his job into a career. I told him what my mother (a teacher) told me: “Nothing happens when I pour new knowledge into your ear.”
Getting your head into training requires effort. It demands careful listening. It means thirsting for and seeking that new idea to help you solve problems. Part of learning is to answer the polls, ask questions, write notes, and work the math.
What Will You Do with It?
After each class, we have students write down several commitments as to what they will do with their new skills, after the class. As I read these, it’s easy to see what impressed them most about the class because they commit to doing it in the field.
Next time you take an online class, look for actions you can take after the class that will transform your knowledge into a life-long skill. Then commit to doing it. This will assure you’ll get the most from the class and that what you learned will help build your career.
Here are several examples of commitments that reflect the impact the training had on some of our students:
• “Within one month, I will teach our service department how to measure total external static pressure and explain to customers what it means when their systems have high blood pressure."
• “I will carry a low-level Carbon Monoxide Monitor to help me and my customers know if they have a CO problem."
• “Ask customers if they have hot or cold rooms and then measure that room’s airflow. This will help me offer them more duct upgrades."
• “Teach our salespeople to measure their customer’s duct temperature loss on hot or cold days. This will result in more highly profitable duct upgrade jobs."
• “I will get the test instruments needed to plot fan airflow during my service calls and tell my customers what I find.”
Commit to apply what you learn in an online class. It will greatly increase the odds that you will use what you learned to earn additional income and build your career. Be sure to make it a commitment you will enjoy and anticipate the many benefits from making it a part of your job.
Commit to apply what you learn in an online class. It will greatly increase the odds that you will use what you learned to earn additional income and build your career.
Online training is here to stay. As an industry, we have turned the corner and made it part of our culture. Sure, in-person training is beginning to return. But when it does, distance learning will become a bigger part of how we learn and grow.
One benefit of virtual training is that it’s easily adaptable and comes in a wide variety of formats to meet your immediate needs. If you haven’t tried it yet, I’d encourage you to join in. Many virtual training opportunities come through your email each week. Once you decide to learn online, hold on…you’ll love what’s coming next.
Rob “Doc” Falke serves the industry as president of National Comfort Institute, Inc., an HVAC-based training company and membership organization. You can contact Doc at ncilink.com/ContactMe or call him at 800-633-7058. Go to NCI’s website, at nationalcomfortinstitute.com for free information, articles, and downloads.
