Two national instructor’s workshops are coming soon – one on the west coast and one on the east coast. The HVAC Excellence National Educators and Trainers Conference is March 14 – 16 at the Tropicana Resort and Convention Center in Las Vegas Nevada. The following week is the HVACR & Plumbing Instructor’s Workshop March 24 – 26 in Landsdowne Virginia. This workshop is sponsored by a group of eleven industry organizations, including AHRI who initially started this annual workshop over a decade ago. “Green” is the theme of both conferences, and both have an impressive list of speakers and topics. If you can find a way to attend one of these conferences you won’t be disappointed. They are well worth your time. If you can possibly make both you will not simply see the same presentations twice because the organizers have made a conscious effort not to duplicate presentations. Unlike generic teacher’s conferences that target all subjects, these are specific to our field. And unlike industry showcases like ComforTech or the AHR show, these are specifically for teachers. As a result, everything you see will have a direct application to teaching HVAC/R.

I know that times are tough and getting funding and permission to go is difficult. When presenting the idea to your school administrators be sure to forward a copy of the program from the conference(s) that you want to attend. Both the National Educators and Trainers Conference in Las Vegas and the HVACR & Plumbing Instructor’s Workshop have well done professional programs on the web. Be sure to note the large number of educational sessions. There are literally more sessions than you will have time to attend. Point out that “Green is the New Gold” and “Advancing Green Mechanical Concepts” are the overall themes. School administrators are starting to learn that there is money in green and they are eager to get on board. Point out that by attending you will be better positioned to integrate green mechanical concepts into your curriculum as a result of attending the conferences. However, if you use this argument, be prepared to have some ideas to offer when you return on how your school can go green and take part in the funding that is available for green education.

If all that does not work you can point out that I will be there (GRIN) I will be speaking on Monday and Tuesday at the Las Vegas Conference on how to use practical labs to teach abstract concepts. I plan to actually do some parlor trick type labs during the talk. At the Landsdowne Workshop I will be speaking on Wednesday about the challenges and opportunities presented by the large number of students who are retooling for a new career. I will be at the Pearson booth at both to talk with people about my book, Fundamentals of HVAC/R, and the interactive online component, MyHVACLAb. Come by and say hello. I will be looking for you.