NTI winter ice fishing tournament was a huge success with many good sized Bluegills caught.

Just yesterday morning (Friday, May 12th, 2007) Chad in admissions and myself found that Lake Polzin has some nice Largemouth Bass.

If you would like a tour of NTI and a Guided Bass Outing Contact John or Chad in Admissions.

We supply all the equipment needed!

John Hartmam, Director - Admissions

As far back as anyone on staff can remember NTI has been celebrating the Memorial Day weekend with our famous Student / Staff Game Day and Picnic. This event falls on the Thursday prior with this year’s event scheduled for May 24^th. Morning students will complete in games from 9:00 - 11:30. Lunch is served for morning and afternoon students from 11:30 - 1:00. Afternoon students and residual morning students will compete in games from 12:30 - 3:00.

Games have always included Softball, Volleyball, and Bache Ball. This years event will also include; Ladder Golf, Bean Bag Toss and Washers.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!

John Hartman
Director - Admissions

How does one convey the beauty and excitement in engineering to those that have rarely been asked to think about it? It really isn’t too difficult. Just look around yourself. There is not a thing there that has not had someone ponder over it for ease of use, manufacturability, human interaction and material makeup to name a few things. Even the shoes on your feet probably have a blueprint for their production laying around somewhere.

Engineering people tend to sometimes become overly analytical and practical with the function of a product and become blind to things like the end user. Of course function is the primary element that any product designer must meet so it is quite understandable that one gets target fixated on that aspect of things.

But people are looking for more now days. They want the function but they also want a product that looks good and is simple to use. Whether it is a jig designed for welding parts together or a new automobile that conveys a family around town. We all like to feel like we own something special and of value. And with the new computer technology available to us there is less and less reason for them not to expect it to be so.

Our challenge at NTI is to find the balance in teaching that includes both the fundamental hard core technical skill required to realistically design a product and the manufacturing that it entails and to have students creatively think about design and the end users. Dimensioning, tolerancing, mold making, surfacing, GD&T, sheet metal, plastics, material science is all a part of what is going on here. Also students are asked to think about balance, color, repetition, physical environment, ergonomics, a lot of challenging topics and to put them together to create useful and interesting designs that challenge them and their personal originality.

Of course we realize that in industry it may be awhile before our students are at the levels to be trusted with the design of expensive products or even small parts of overall projects, but it is never to early to think and have aspirations that lead in those directions. Students aspire to many different areas of design. Some more technical while others less so. We try to meet a wide range of expectations.

At NTI we want to be about possibilities, not limitations.

Have a great day!

Attention High School Technology Educators.

I should have investigated other events going on when scheduling our Ice Fishing Contest!

The NTI Ice Fishing Contest has been changed not cancelled.  On February 17th from 11:00 - 1:00 NTI is going ice fishing and anyone who wants to come ice fish, tour our new campus and have some lunch, pleae join us.  No entry free and no prizes!

We will schedule a spring open water fishing contest when the weather gets warmer and there are fewer events.

Join NTI some exciting ice fishing, tour our new building and have lunch on:

FEBRUARY 17th, 2007 from 11:00 - 1:00 with lunch to follow!

Lake Polzin - 950 Blue Gentian RD, Eagan, MN  55121

On Saturday, February 17th, NTI is hosting an ICE FISHING CONTEST for K-12 Minnesota Technology Educators. The fee for the event is $5.00 with all proceeds supporting the Department of Natural Resources.

The event will take place in our back yard on Lake Polzin just 30 yards behind our new location in Eagan. Come join us for ice fishing, prizes, lunch and tour our new state-of-the-art campus!

The attachment below will give you more information, directions and RSVP instructions.

Sharpen those hooks and we’ll see you on Saturday, February 17th!

Ice Fishing Contest Invitation

I have received several emails in the past 6 months looking for information on going back to college to complete a BA or BS degree, so I decided to post some basics.

First, there two major things you should know:

1. no college must accept any other college’s credits–it is up to each college to set their own criteria; and
2. most colleges don’t accept many credits 10 or more years old.

Several students (and staff) have most recently been taking classes at St. Mary’s (private colleges traditionally accept more credits than public colleges and are easier to get into). I transferred my tech college credits from Dunwoody (it was a diploma at that time) to Metropolitan State University. They were big into non-traditional students at that point in time. They still have a portion of the college that is pro-nontraditional, so that may be worth checking out. Your best bet is to search each college’s web site for non-traditional options, such as CLEP testing, Dantes testing (also known as DSST), Credit for life experience, etc. My husband earned most of his AS and BS degrees by these methods through Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey, but he took tests and a few courses at Metro State. Thomas Edison ‘banks’ credits, so you can earn credits numerous ways. The nice thing about testing is you only need to pass the test (many times 60% will do) to earn the credit for a course.

There are numerous online options. Virtual colleges such as Capella (my alma mater–in Minneapolis) and the University of Phoenix have been offering programs online a long time. In my experience, virtual colleges do it better than brick and mortar colleges simply because it is their specialty, but they are more expensive. You really must be able to motivate and manage yourself, and enjoy reading and writing to do well in an online class. I love learning that way, but many people do not. This site may be helpful: http://www.educationforadults.com/.

If you want to get a degree in engineering or architecture and have been working in that arena since graduating from NTI, be prepared to sell your past NTI education and your on-the-job knowledge to someone at the college you want to attend. Most 4-year programs in these fields are very particular about the classes students need and very distrusting of 2-year programs. Come prepared with a transcript, course descriptions, samples of your work, tests and a cross-referenced list that matches NTI courses with their’s. You need to convince them of course redundancy. If you are sure you know GD&T, for example, and they are still not convinced, ask to test out. Push as far as you can (in a professional manner of course) for the most credits you can get.

Another option is to become certified in your field. Some colleges recognize professional certifications and give college credit. You can become a certified drafter through ADDA. If you are in manufacturing or engineering, consider the Certified Manufacturing Technologist - CMfgT, the Certified Manufacturing Engineer - CMfgE, or the Certified Engineering Manager - CEM all available through SME.

These are a few options. If you have had success using any of these options or others, please share your wisdom by posting a reply to this message.

As I was sitting here at my desk, looking at my calendar, I realized that Christmas is almost here and 2006 is almost history! Wow!! Where did the summer go? Between baseball, work, marriage, friends, and the occasional fishing trip, I figured out where all of my time went this year! Busy busy!!

Sometimes we get caught up in all that we have going on and we forget about the most important things in our lives…family and faith! Notice this wasn’t on my list above. Take time this holiday season to enjoy your family’s company…even though sometimes we try to avoid the ‘family gatherings’. Time seems to fly by already; soon we will be looking back at the ‘family gatherings’ thankful about the time we were able to share!

Have a great holiday season and safe travels!!

Chad Genz
Admissions Representative

Most students entering or graduating from high school have taken few if any courses in technology education, but they should!

Technology education is the study of the human ability to create and use tools to shape the natural environment to meet their needs (Wikipedia). Technology Education has evolved from Industrial Arts and Manual Training. Industrial Arts programs were also known as “shop classes”. Today, technology education students generally work in labs and perform laboratory-type activities, such as developing solar-powered race cars or designing bridges. It is problem-based learning that utilizes math, science and technology principles. Studies Involve:

* Designing, developing, and utilizing technological systems
* Open-ended, problem-based design activities
* Cognitive, manipulative, and effective learning strategies
* Applying technological knowledge and processes to real world experiences using up-to-date resources
* Working individually as well as in a team to solve problems

Although organizations such as the ITEA (International Technology Education Association), NASA, and the National Science Foundation are pushing for more hands-on, technology education courses to be integrated into the ‘normal’ high school curriculum, it is not occuring. If they do exist, they are electives that compete with the required curriculum.

Every year the list of required classes grows larger and funding for all courses seems to dwindle. Technology education classes often have material costs associated with them, so they tend to be one of the first electives cut. When the University first required a second langauage, for example, we watched technology education and “shop” classes get replaced by language classes at nearly every high school in the state. (Drafting, even though it is a language known world-wide, didn’t count as a language.)

It makes me wonder, what would happen if technology education classes were required in high school and our electives were reading, writing and arithmetic? Tell me what you think?

John Hartman, A.S., B.S., M.S.
Northwest Technical Institute