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Author Topic: Starting them young  (Read 115 times)

KC3TEC

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Starting them young
« on: November 24, 2022, 06:44:23 PM »

I know this is beating a dead horse a bit.
And everyone is saying a lot of downside of the hobby because of technology change.
Well its true that many kids lose interest or say why do that when we have cell phones now.

There is interest out there but it requires us to change our thinking a bit.
Many of us are into cw but how many of us know how to keep a kid interested? ( that isnt an easy task if you stick to traditional ways)
Todays youth and many younger folks respond to a little comedy influence
Make it fun!

When i last set up an introductory class to morse at a childrens camp i had about 2 dozen show some interest,
Explaining to them to recognize the sound and not count dots and dashes i used all kinds of gags centered around the use of  morse.
Using practice oscillators it was fun for them to recognize their own name in code.
I had them work in groups of four, taking turns with the oscillators.
Some of the others were tapping code on the tables.
At the end of 3 hours all but 6 went home with the handout sheets and link list to resources.
They all loaded the morse mania app on their phones and were happily beeping away.
18 out of 24 not bad at all.

We have to utilize todays technology as an aid in teaching if we want young amateurs.

Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the traditional ways, but when it comes to teaching, the basics need to come first and that involves getting and keeping their interest.
And once they show interest them most of the battle is won.
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