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The Classroom Experience - Drafting and Design

"When students complete the drafting and design courses they are prepared for the real world of work or for the continuation of their education. This is the goal of the program," says Lake Michigan College instructor and program coordinator Steve Huycke. "We teach students the skills and applications they'll see when they're on the job." Steve believes it is more important for students to use and apply concepts that are introduced in class rather than just to memorize enough to pass an exam. He has an open note, open book philosophy. "When you are working on a job it is common to see drafters and designers reach for a supplement of material as a reference. Why shouldn't I give students that same opportunity?"

Open Entry/Open Exit Course Format
DRAF 201, 207, and 208 are presented in an open entry/open exit format. This provides you with several benefits including:

• Flexibility to enter courses at any time during the semester, as long as space is available
• Ability to move through coursework at your own pace
• Convenience of scheduling classroom time when it works best in your schedule

Expectations & Skills Taught
As a drafting and design student, you must be willing to work during class and outside of classroom time.

Drafting classes are a combination of lab and lecture. Overall, you will spend just as much time in the classroom as you will in the labs. For a class that meets two times a week, the first day will consist of a lecture and a lab that relates to the lectured material. The second session is all lab time, where assignment and due dates are distributed. At times, you will have to manage multiple projects.

• In Drafting and Design 201 you will complete four projects, one in each of the four categories: required solid modeling, assembly modeling, exploitive, and animation. This course is broken down into 13 separate modules.
  
  
• Drafting and Design 202 is taken in conjunction with Pressworking of Metals (MACH 220). The first part of the semester you will be part of a team that will design a tool. The second part of the semester, your team will have to prove your tool has working capability. The production of this tool is your final examination.

Manufacturing classes are set up in traditional lecture style. To compliment the knowledge learned in class, you will visit industrial settings and see the principles at work. These trips provide a realistic perspective of what to expect on the job. After a trip, a paper will be assigned. Written communication is just as important as technical ability in this field.

Machine tool courses are roughly 50 percent lecture and 50 percent lab. These courses allow you to apply what you've learned in drafting classes. Because you will be building on previously learned skills, you must successfully complete the required drafting classes before you can enroll in machine tool courses.

Technology in the Classroom
"Lake Michigan College believes in having the most-up-to date software available," comments Steve. Updates on computer software are made quarterly and computers are upgraded every three years.

During your first year, you will work primarily with AutoCAD, a computer-aided design program. Your second year will focus on AutoDesk, a two-dimensional software, focusing on mechanical desktop and inventor.

Along with this software, programs are used in the classroom to complement lecture. While your instructor is lecturing, he will have control over your desktop computer. From his desk, he can view the work on your screen and even take control of your system to demonstrate a concept.

Getting the Most from the Program
At maximum capacity, the student-instructor ratio is 16:1. These small classroom sizes will allow you to get personal attention and feedback.

Instructor Steve Huycke encourages students "to be more than a scribe in class. Ask questions, ask why, and challenge me."

He feels that students that who can answer "why" and defend their answers will walk away with a better understanding of their skills and abilities. If you are still in high school, Steve recommends taking trigonometry, physics, and communication courses.

High School Credits
Coloma High School offers direct credit options that could earn you up to ten Lake Michigan College credit hours. These high school courses are set up, task by task, equally with the DRAF 101, DRAF 207, and DRAF 208 courses at LMC. Students have the option of paying a fee to receive a letter grade that will earn them LMC course credits.

Beginning Fall 2005, St. Joseph and Lakeshore High School students will have the oppotunity to earn LMC credit for ENGR 203, Beginning Engineering Drawing. Talk to your advisor for more details.