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Rodrigo "Rod" Jara
Biography
Mr. Jara
is the Director
of United Association's
Great Lakes Training Center
in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The United Association a union
with over 330,000 members across North America, representing the
HVACR, plumbing and pipe fitting industries. The UA spends
over $150 million annually on training program efforts involving
approximately 100,000 journeymen and apprentices in over 400 local
training facilities at any given time.
The Great Lakes Training
Center is where they provide their educators who will teach in local
union training programs. UA instructors must be kept abreast of any
technological changes, such as the newest methods and latest
equipment, as well as any codes and regulations that affect what
they teach UA members in their home locals. Each year this facility
awards over 170,000 college credits to UA members.
Mr. Jara is the director of
this facility and he teaches an online course in the HVACR field.
Background:
Mr. Jara was born in Chile,
South America. His earliest memories of interests in
mechanical objects goes back to early childhood when he remembers
being intrigued by the water nozzles for the soccer fields where his
father would take him to his "fútbol club." Mr. Jara's family
immigrated to the United States in 1962 and originally settled in
Queens, New York.
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Graduated from McKee
Technical Vocational High School in Staten Island, NY.
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Aviation Machinist in the
U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War
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Self taught in Air
Conditioning & Refrigeration
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Attended Ocean County
College in New Jersey
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AAS Degree in
Industrial Training
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Refrigeration & Air
Conditioning Technician
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Mechanical Contractor
Supervisor
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HVACR Educator since 1990
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Past Chairman, HVAC
Excellence Advisory Board
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Member of ASHRAE
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Member of the Green
Mechanical Council
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Member of IAPMO
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UA HVACR
Service STAR Certified
National HVACR
Educators and Trainers Conference Session
Online Learning for HVACR
Teaching and Supplementing HVACR Classes Online Using the Blackboard
e-Learning Software
This
session will familiarize you with the Blackboard (tm) Online
Learning Platform. Discussion and demonstrations of the online
learning software will be presented along with examples of current
course offerings. Also presented will be some of the many HVACR
blogs, discussion forums, videos and material available to the
public on the Internet. Whether you are an experienced web "surfer"
or new to the Internet, you will benefit from the wealth of
information available on the net today. Suggestions on how to get
started using the Internet in your program will be presented.
Although
you do not need to have an understanding of the basics of the
Internet (Web) or the ability to navigate the web, having general
understanding of Internet Information formats will allow you to get
the most out of this session.
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