Richard Christianson

Woodwork Career Alliance Benefit Auction Goes Virtual at IWF Connect

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Jimmy Buffet signed guitar

NELLYSFORD, Va. – An auction supporting the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America during IWF Connect will not only be silent, it will be 100 percent virtual.

More than 130 items, including autographed sports items, framed artwork, jewelry and exclusive destination get-a-way packages, will be put up for bid during IWF Connect, a virtual tradeshow and conference for the woodworking industry taking place Oct. 26-30. Net proceeds of the fundraiser will benefit the WCA’s ongoing efforts to develop and grow a skilled woodworking workforce.

The not-for-profit WCA’s woodworking skill standards and credentialing Passport system are used by high school and postsecondary woodworking programs throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, a growing number of woodworking companies are joining the WCA to craft their training programs around the WCA’s workforce development tools.

The virtual auction is being orchestrated by Expo Auctions of Sugar Hill, GA. It will include:

  • Jimmy Buffett signed guitar.
  • Jeremy Bulloch signed Star Wars Boba Fett Disney collector’s edition mask.
  • 7mm white freshwater pearl necklace (85-inch length).
  • Drive Your Dream Car on a Racetrack, three-night stay at a 4-Star Las Vegas Strip hotel for two.
  • Two-night stay in Albuquerque, NM, with Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride for two.
  • Signed sports items by Rocket Ishmail, Notre Dame; Calvin Johnson, Georgia-Tech; Amari Cooper, Alabama; Emmitt Smith, Florida; DaShaun Watson, Houston Texans; and many more.
  • Framed collages commemorating the Kansas City Chiefs 2020 Super Bowl Champions, Harry Potter book series, 50 years of Masters’ Champions, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and more.
  • Plus, bourbon collections, framed art by Thomas Kinkade and much more.

Jeremy Bulloch signed Star Wars Boba Fett Disney collector’s edition mask

In addition to bid items, the virtual auction will include a Donate to the WCA button.

As Easy as 1, 2, 3
To participate in the virtual auction and review all auction items:

  1. Register to attend IWF Connect for free then access the auction by visiting Expo Auction’s booth.
  2. Register your mobile phone number, email and name.
  3. Bidding closes at 9 p.m. EST Oct. 30 after the conclusion of IWF Connect.
    Text notifications will be sent to the winning bidders. Payment will be due upon the close of the auction. Shipping is included in the winning bid price to the lower contiguous 48 states.

“IWF has been a tremendous supporter of the Woodwork Career Alliance over the years,” said Scott Nelson, WCA president. “We sincerely appreciate that the WCA has been designated to receive the net proceeds of this fun fundraising program. This will help us enlist more schools and credential more students and professionals.”

Learn more about the WCA. its skill standards and credentialing programs by visiting the WCA’s booth at iwfconnect.com.

7mm white freshwater pearl necklace

About the Woodwork Career Alliance
The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America was founded in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is governed by a volunteer board of directors. The WCA’s mission is to develop and administer a unified set of Skill Standards for the wood products industry. Since 2011, WCA has developed observable and measurable performance standards and assessments for more than 300 woodworking machine operations. In addition, WCA has issued more than 3,000 credentials, a portable, personal permanent record documenting each holder’s record of woodworking skill achievements. More than 130 high schools and post-secondary schools throughout North America are WCA EDUcation™ members and a growing number of woodworking companies have joined the WCA as MANufacturing™ members. To learn more about the WCA and how to get involved with its programs, including sponsorship opportunities, visit WoodworkCareer.org.

Richard Christianson

Video: Woodworking for Warriors Program Supports Veterans

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video
play-sharp-fill

The Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute (SBWI) of Adrian, MI, operates the Woodworking for Warriors program, a free resource for area veterans. The program helps veterans build skills and confidence by creating works in the primary medium of wood. In the video, Luke Barnett, director of the SBWI, said the program has 135 veteran members and is still growing.

SBWI is an EDUcation member of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America.

Read related article: Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute Branches Out.

Richard Christianson

WCA’s Online Training Resource Library Worth Checking Out

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Among the many benefits of being a member of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America is having free 24/7 access to a treasure trove of training materials and teaching aids maintained on the WCA’s website.

The WCA’s Training Resource library includes lesson plans, instructor notes and videos related to machining operations common to most high school and postsecondary woodshops. The password-protected library is only accessible to current EDUcation and MANufacturing members.

Patrick Molzahn, program director of the Cabinetmaking & Millwork Program at Madison College, added dozens of new videos and updated instructional materials to the library that he created this past summer. Among them is the planer demonstration video included above and this related Planer Learning Plan.

“These were COVID-19 created because I knew the program here at Madison College was going to be a hybrid format this fall with some instruction in the shop and some online.” Molzahn said. “I created videos of my demonstrations because of the difficulty of having students crowd around a machine due to social distancing rules. I made more than three dozen demonstration videos. They were minimally produced compared to earlier videos I produced that were highly scripted and edited.”

Links to the new the videos are embedded in related learning plan documents that Molzahn updated for his courses that he shared with the library.

“I require my students to print the learning plan. This is their direction for a step-by-step learning process. It typically starts with reading Modern Cabinetmaking and goes down through viewing a worksheet or presentation and has links to the videos I created.

“These videos are not available on YouTube,” Molzahn added. “Only my students and people who have access to the WCA library can view them.”

For example, the “Boring” folder in the WCA Training Resources includes eight documents on Drill Presses and five documents on Portable Drills & Drivers.

Boring is but one of seven training operation folders in the library. Other topics include:

  • Layout and Measurement
  • Sawing
  • Milling
  • Shaping
  • Sanding
  • SkillsUSA Plan Archives

“For drills and drivers, we have an information sheet in a PDF and a Word Doc so that a teacher can edit it easily.” Molzahn said. “Everything starts with a learning plan. Each of these was updated to include the new demonstration video. What’s also new is that I added my teaching notes. These have been developed over 20 years of teaching. If you are a new teacher looking for a place to start, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You can take my teaching notes and tailor them based on your specific machine or need.”

Contributions to the WCA Training Resources Library Welcome
While the majority of resources in the library were “donated” by Molzahn, additional materials have trickled in. “The true vision is that this will become a collection of best practices and materials from teachers all over North America,” Molzahn said.

“I initially posted videos and instructional guides that I thought represented a good start, particularly for the Sawblade certificate evaluation,” Molzahn said. “Slowly we’re starting to see some things trickle in from other schools, though not as fast as I would like. I always felt teachers kind of work in our silos and do our own thing. But I know we could all get a lot further if more instructors chipped in and shared some of their best instructional resources on specific machines and operations.”

As two top-top-of mind examples, Molzahn said he would like to see more content on moulder training and woodworking software added to the library. “There’s a lot of need and request for moulder instruction by the industry. In addition, while we don’t really address software in the WCA skill standards, I know a lot of teachers would find software training materials useful.

Molzahn invites woodworking instructors to submit materials to the library by contacting him at PMolzahn@madisoncollege.edu.

“I think COVID has kind of put us into a situation where we have to make the best use of these resources and it’s opening doors rather than closing doors.” Molzahn said. “I think it’s giving us some new opportunities and forcing people to be a little more creative on how they solve problems. They’re learning that the tougher things are, there can be positive things that result from it.”

Richard Christianson

Join the Conversation on the WCA Members Forum

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Start or join a conversation on the new WCA EDU Members Forum.

The forum is accessible to all WCA EDUcation and MANufacturing members in good standing.

This is your opportunity to share ideas with or seek advice from your peers throughout North America.

For example:

  • What’s the best online sharing platform for teaching students woodworking online?
  • Who has developed new curricula for instructing and training programs that they would be willing to share?
  • How do you integrate independent learning into your program for more advanced students?

Got questions? Get answers from fellow woodworking instructors.

Start or join the conversation.

 

 

 

 

Richard Christianson

11 AWI Scholarship Winners Enroll in WCA EDUcation Woodworking Programs

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Eleven of the 13 students recently awarded scholarships by the Architectural Woodwork Institute’s Education Foundation (AWIEF) already are or plan to enroll at colleges belonging to the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America.

The AWIEF awarded $25,250 in scholarships in May to students preparing for careers in the wood industry. The foundation received a record number of secondary school applicants in the history of the scholarship program.

“The nominee must be either currently entered in a woodworking program or entering one in the fall, and he/she must submit an application as well as an academic recommendation from their school advisor and a personal reference from an employer, academic counselor or other instructor,” said Kent Gilchrist, AWIEF chair. “A letter of reference from the student’s advisor is required as is one from the applicant explaining and clarifying how the funds will be used and how the scholarship will contribute to his/her entry into the architectural woodwork field.”

Nine students received $2,500 scholarships and four received $1,250. Seven of the students will hone their wood industry talents at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS. In addition to PSU, other WCA EDUcation member schools who will train scholarship winners for wood industry career are Madison Area Technical College of Madison, WI, with two scholarship winners and Fox Valley Technical College of Oshkosh, WI, and New England School of Architectural Woodworking of Easthampton, with one student each.

Read more about the AWIEF scholarship program in June 2020 AWI News Briefs: Foundation Efforts Gain Good Grades!

Richard Christianson

WCA Updates Training Resources Available to Members

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NELLYSFORD, Va. — New videos, checklists and other resources have been added to the online library of training resources maintained by the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America.

These resources are available 24/7 to current EDUcation and INDustry members of the WCA. In addition to videos, the library includes educational materials that can be used to facilitate in-person or online instruction.

The new resources were contributed by Patrick Molzahn, Madison College instructor and author of Modern Cabinetmaking. Molzahn has also shared teaching notes assembled from his more than 20-year career as a post-secondary woodworking instructor.

The training library’s resources span materials that cover all of the machines and tools required for students to earn their Sawblade Certificate plus resources applicable to developing or updating a professional training program.

Members in good standing can access the WCA training resources at https://woodworkcareer.org/credential_landing/training-resources/. You will need to log in to access the materials.

If you are not currently a WCA member, you can sign up online as an EDUcation or a MANufacturing member, The annual membership dues is only $250.

NOTE: Do you need something not contained in our online library? Just ask and we will look into securing content for your needs. Our vision includes building the most comprehensive database pf instructional resources possible. To this end, if you have learning materials you are proud of and are willing to share with other woodworking instructors, please send them to info@woodworkcareer.org.

Richard Christianson

President’s Message: It Wasn’t Easy, but They Did it!

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I hope everyone and their loved ones are staying safe in this very unusual time of America’s history. Since the shutdown of most schools in mid-March the educating and credentialing of students for their Sawblade certificates and Passport credentials has truly been a challenge. However, during this challenging time, Woodwork Career Alliance EDUcation member teachers still were able to use online instruction and testing to issue WCA credentials to 179 students.

I would like to commend these instructors for their dedication to their students and the WCA. Here is the list of the 13 schools that issued WCA credentials, including Sawblade certificates and Green and Blue credentials, during the coronavirus pandemic:

Don Stoneburner, a student at Boyceville High School, proudly displays the WCA Sawblade certificate he earned after successfully completing the online test.

Arrowhead Union High School, Harland, WI
Asheville High School, Ashville, NC
Boyceville High School, Boyceville, WI
Dale Jackson Career Center, Lewisville, TX
Eastern Maine Community College, Bangor ME
Fennimore High School, Fennimore, WI
Green County ATC, Greensburg, KY
Jackson County ATC, McKee, KY
Kettle Moraine High School, Wales, WI
Montgomery County High School, Mt. Gilead, NC
New England School of Architectural Woodworking, Easthampton, MA
Sheboygan Falls High School, Sheboygan Falls, WI
Warren Township High School, Gurnee, IL

Without a doubt this list would have been much longer if the 2019-20 academic year had played out according to plan. Unfortunately, the serious disruptions created by the coronavirus occurred before may WCA EDUcation instructors had the opportunity to evaluate their students on the set-up and operation of basic woodworking machines.

It is also unfortunate that we had to cancel two Accredited Skill Evaluator Trainings that were scheduled for April. The good news is that our totally online ASE training module should be ready to go by Sept. 1. This will allow all new teachers to able to become ASE certified online without having to travel to a face-to-face training session. Stay tuned for details.

This edition of Pathways is dominated by articles related to a COVID-19 survey we conducted of WCA EDUcation members to learn how they coped making the difficult and frantic transition from teaching woodworking in the classroom to online. We received many excellent responses including some of the resources these teachers used in place of hands-on woodworking instruction. We also received some great feedback about some of the resources WCA offers to EDU members as well as some of the types of tools and information teachers would like to see added to our online training library. In addition, several of the instructors offered to share some of the materials they created for their curricula.

We’re all hopeful that we will get kids back in school this fall, doing woodworking projects and earning their credentials.

Please stay safe.

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com

Richard Christianson

Welcome New Members & Sponsors!

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The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America is pleased to welcome 16 new EDUcation™ member schools, one new MANufacturing™ member, and three new INDustry™ Sponsors. We also welcome back nine sponsors for another year.

Thank you for your membership and support!

New EDUcation™ Members

Burns High School, Lawndale, NC
Crest High School, Shelby, NC
Greenville High School, Greenwood, WI
Hendersonville High School, Hendersonville, NC
Hocking College, Nelsonville, OH
Lancaster High School, Lancaster, WI
Merrill High School, Merrill, WI
North Henderson High School, Hendersonville, NC
Platteville High School, Platteville, WI
Sevastopol High School, Sturgeon Bay, WI
Seymour High School, Seymour, WI
Sheboygan Central High School, Sheboygan, WI
Shoshoni High School, Shoshoni WY
Webster High School, Webster, WI
West Essex High School, North Caldwell, NH
West Henderson High School, Hendersonville, NC

Find WCA EDUcation™ woodworking programs in your area.


New MANufacturing™ Member
Hunter Trim & Cabinets, Fort Worth, TX

New INDustry™ Gold Sponsor
Festool, Lebanon, IN
Kreg Tool, Huxley, IA

INDustry™ Gold Sponsor Renewal
Friulmac, Hickory, NC
Shopbot Tools, Durham, NC
Wood-Ed Table by Mimbus, Chicago, IL

New INDustry™ Silver Sponsors
Bessey Tools, Cambridge, ON
GDP Guhdo, Marietta, GA

View all WCA INDustry™ Sponsors & Supporters.

Learn more about the benefits of sponsoring the WCA.

Richard Christianson

COVID Can’t Stop Woodworking Students from Learning and Earning

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Josiah Pole, a student at Boyceville High School in Boyceville, WI, gets some hands-on experience helping his dad build a shed.

A survey by the Woodwork Career Alliance reveals the unique challenges and ingenuity of teaching woodworking online and the determination of many students to earn their WCA credentials.

NELLYSFORD, Va. — The novel coronavirus pandemic forced the vast majority of schools across the United States and Canada to abruptly shut down for the remainder of the academic year and pivot to a crash course of online learning.

In spite of losing access to hands-on instruction,  179 students representing 13 high schools and postsecondary schools managed to earn their credentials, including Sawblade Certificates or Green or Blue Passport credentials, by successfully taking the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America’s (WCA) online credentialing test. All of these students were fortunate to have completed their machine operating evaluations before most states mandated schools to close to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Some of the instructors whose students attained their credentialswere among the WCA EDUcation members who participated in a survey conducted by the WCA. The survey sought to learn how high school and postsecondary woodworking instructors throughout the United States and Canada met the challenges of transitioning to teaching their students online including what types of information they taught in the absence of hands-on woodworking instruction.

The survey also asked teachers what resources they had developed or tapped into, including those available online to WCA EDUcation members. Their collective responses revealed the use of a wide assortment of educational tools including everything from assigning YouTube woodworking videos and home maintenance projects to quizzes on School.net and having woodworking students assemble UGears laser cut models. Among the WCA resources that were tapped include woodworking videos produced by Patrick Molzahn of Madison College, Fine Woodworking articles and videos and past state SkillsUSA project drawings.

The majority of teachers cited the challenge of transitioning online with very short notice, especially under the pressure of a global pandemic. Yet, many were able to relate silver linings gained from the experience.

“I think that one of the big positives that came out of all this is that although we were kicked out of the classroom, we still got kids certified with the Sawblade certificate and that’s sort of a neat thing,” said Scott Bruening, tech teacher at Kettle Moraine High School of Wales, WI. “We made lemonade out of lemons. That’s all we could do. Another good thing is that we got a crash course of doing things with online learning technology that could become the norm in the next five or 10 years.

Molly Turner, woodworking instructor at Ignacio School District of Ignacio High School, said it was challenging to engage students online, especially considering that woodworking is an elective course. “(N)o no one had time to prepare, plan or transition smoothly into homebound learning. It happened so quickly… On the plus side, it’s broken down some of the barriers of distance and forced everyone to become fluent in technologies that have been out there for a while, but maybe not used extensively prior to COVID-19: Zoom, Google Hangouts, Google Classroom, etc.”

“If there is any upside to this it will be that we are developing more teaching materials and expertise that will allow our students to work in a more independent and self-directed way: whether on a computer in our facility or at home,” said Doug Rappe, lead technical instructor of the Greater West Town Community Development Project of Chicago. “I am sure that some of the work we are doing in Google Classroom will be put to use for future classes for instance so that a student who needs extra review or misses a class can work on his or her own to catch up.”

Roger Peterson, woods instructor at Hurley High School District of Hurley, WI, said in an alternative to hands-on woodworking instruction, he assigned students “around the house” projects. “This is a challenging time and when students see everyone working together to get through this … THAT is what they are truly learning!”

“Hats off to all of the teachers and students who persevered during an extraordinarily challenging finish to the school year,” said Scott Nelson, president of the WCA. “Teaching woodworking online is less than ideal. That’s why I was s impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness that was demonstrated, including those who were able to complete the requirements for their Sawblade certificates and Passport credentials. I’m also extremely pleased that several of the instructors offered videos and documents they produced for the WCA to add to its online resource library to share with other woodworking instructors.”

Read the WCA’s COVID-19 survey report.

About the Woodwork Career Alliance
The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America was founded in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is governed by a volunteer board of directors. The WCA’s mission is to develop and administer a unified set of Skill Standards for the wood products industry. Since 2011, WCA has developed observable and measurable performance standards and assessments for more than 300 woodworking machine operations. In addition, WCA has issued more than 2,500 credentials, a portable, personal permanent record documenting each holder’s record of woodworking skill achievements. More than 130 high schools and post-secondary schools throughout North America are WCA EDUcation™ members and a growing number of woodworking companies have joined the WCA as MANufacturing™ members. To learn more about the WCA and how to get involved with its programs, including sponsorship opportunities, visit WoodworkCareer.org.