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 Previous: Amateur Morse Testing Changes Effective July 1 |  Next: Mark Simcik, WA1VVB, Joins ARRL Headquarters Staff |
 Sixty students gave up their weekend to learn about Emergency Communications at the recent Ham-Com in Texas. |
NEWINGTON, CT, June 20, 2001--The ARRL's "Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course" (EC-001) that's been so successful as an on-line course already has proven itself in a live classroom setting. So far, successful pilot sessions in South Carolina and Texas have turned out nearly 100 graduates. The ARRL now is seeking additional instructors and examiners to expand the live course to classrooms across the US.
In an initial outing, on two successive weekends in February, South Carolina Section Emergency Coordinator Gerald Hensley, K8AFP, presented the course to 34 attendees during a prototype classroom session. It was held at the Red Cross building in Columbia, South Carolina.
To prepare for the occasion, Hensley and Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator Dan Miller, K3UFG, met at ARRL Headquarters to create the curriculum for what would become the classroom course. They adapted material from the on-line course as the basis for the "live" version, and Hensley became the first certification instructor for the EC-001 course.
The course has received approval from the South Carolina Emergency Management Agency, and the first graduates have received State RACES certification. Hensley subsequently was a featured speaker at the 2001 East Coast Hurricane Conference, sponsored by the State of South Carolina Emergency Management Agency and FEMA.
 Joe Dorn, W5VEX, addresses the class. |
At the first classroom presentation at an ARRL convention, ARRL Public Service Specialist Steve Ewald, WV1X, and co-instructor and Certification Examiner Joe Dorn, W5VEX, of Belton, Texas, led 60 people through the classroom course in a weekend session held in conjunction with Ham-Com, June 9-10 in Arlington, Texas. Students ranged from teenagers to senior citizens.
Miller said that the course offered at Ham-Com incorporated all the lessons learned from the prototype course taught in South Carolina.
 ARRL staffer Steve Ewald, WV1X (right), and South Texas SEC Bob Erhardt, W5ZX, take a break from instructing. |
South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Bob Erhardt, W5ZX, was a guest speaker. Erhardt's mention of Tropical Storm Allison--at the time 200 miles southeast of Arlington but which later caused extensive flooding in Houston--lent an air of immediacy to the classroom material. During the class session, three students were called away to help handle emergency communication duties in Houston. They plan to complete the course later. In all, 75 registered for the course, and 60 stayed for the entire presentation.
 A table-top simulated-emergency group discussion. [ARRL Photos] |
"People who prefer a classroom environment or who have no access to the Internet now can take advantage of EC-001 or AREC courses," Miller said. "But the monthly Internet classes will continue to be the most effective way of multiplying our efforts. We can draw from the entire country, whereas it is sometimes difficult to find a sufficient number of people in a remote or rural area to fill a classroom."
A few hams who have completed the course are making plans to offer the classroom version in their area. ARRL provides the course materials to those administering the course. Details on the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program are available on the ARRL Web site.
For more information, visit the Certification and Continuing Education Program Web site.
| Previous: Amateur Morse Testing Changes Effective July 1 | Next: Mark Simcik, WA1VVB, Joins ARRL Headquarters Staff |
