Three Mountains into car mechanics

Creating e-courses on demand is something I enjoy doing. It allows me to delve into topics that I wouldn’t normally explore. For the past six months, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about various types of car engines, whereas my colleagues have focused on topics like engine lubrication, cooling, and exhaust systems.

Source image: Sketchfab, The internal combustion engine

My knowledge of car engines was once limited to what my grandmother knew 50 years ago. Now, I can proudly say that I can even consider myself halfway to being a car mechanic. YouTube proved to be a valuable resource for learning how to classify, disassemble and reassemble cars. I found loads of videos mainly created by Indian and UK men. Don’t worry, we always give proper attribution to the sources of any materials we use while making elearning materials.

We collaborated with teachers from four IPRCs that offer the diploma course Automotive. “Car Engine Maintenance” level 6 is the first course in this curriculum. At most Polytechnic campuses internet connectivity and having enough computers for students is still an issue. Despite this, Rwanda Polytechnic was eager to start digitising its curricula and selected this course as a pilot. We also created a PowerPoint presentation with all the videos, images, and quizzes for the teachers to use in their classrooms without requiring an internet connection.

Collaborating with the teachers was a great experience. It was the first occasion where they came together to discuss the course content they are teaching. They loved hearing from one another and gaining knowledge. Together we created a high-quality resource that each could utilise to facilitate their teaching.

We quickly discovered that all the teachers were male. When we inquired about the number of female students enrolled in auto mechanics, they laughed and said: “This year only three out of 200 students.” Now we laughed and to address this gender imbalance, we included a lot of images of female mechanics in the course.

Curious to see what we have developed? Click on this link for an exclusive look at the course on various types of car engines. “Classify engines” in automotive speak. Or take one of the many free online courses available through our website here.     

By: Jan Willem Eggink