Home Care & Maintenance Suggested Activities
This is the condensed version of what can be possibly expected from students undertaking this course. Teachers need to understand that they can modify the assignment designs as well as what the final projects will look like.
THREE CREDIT PATH
Students taking the three credit path will undertake the following activities as arranged with their instructor:
System Exploration – The student will undertake an exploration of the systems in their house. The artifact from this component can be a poster, report, presentation – whatever is agreed upon. The outcome is met when students are able to recognize the systems, describe their parts, and explain their purpose. A key component of this exploration is to determine the recommended maintenance schedule and procedure for the various components of the systems.
System Maintenance – The student will take the information they acquired during the system exploration of their home and perform a routine maintenance as determined in their System Exploration. There must be a permission form developed and completed by both the student and the home owner, as well as a recognition of who is going to be supervising the completion of the maintenance tasks. It may evolve that students are unable to perform the maintenance on their own residence and may end up working on this assignment with a partner. In either case, a component of this section should include a photographic record of the maintenance performed. It may also turn out that the best option to be involved in some aspects of maintenance is to shadow divisional maintenance staff during appropriate activities.
New Technologies – The student will reflect on the knowledge they gained in System Exploration and System Maintenance and develop a “wish list” of possible upgrades or retrofits to the systems they were in contact with. These changes should be based on increasing efficiency, utilizing new technologies and/or improving maintenance processes.
Maintenance Simulator – The student will repair a hole in the drywall (repair, mud, sand, prime, paint), replace electrical components (receptacle, switch, light fixture), replace lockset (latch, handle). A record of safety training must be kept and appropriate instruction and supervision must be provided. ***It is critical that the instructor be comfortable with this hands-on section and the use of the required tools and processes. If the instructor is not confident with this section, they need to arrange for suitable guidance and supervision of the students, possibly through the maintenance department.
TWO CREDIT PATH
Students taking the two credit path will undertake the following activities, as arranged with their instructor:
System Exploration, Maintenance and Design – The student will undertake an exploration of the systems in their house. A key component of this exploration is to determine the recommended maintenance schedule and procedure for the various components of the systems. Students will then use the information to design a house/cabin/structure which will utilize and demonstrate the best possible systems. This design will incorporate cutting edge technologies and reach for high levels of efficiency in as many areas as possible. Students can undertake the design of their own structure, but will be better served to find an existing design and focus on system selection and design. The final product could be a model with explanatory sections, a virtual structure utilizing three-dimensional computer emulation, or any other representation which is agreed upon by the instructor and student in advance.