A quick course in navigating eBay
Danny Ramirez is the HVAC/R teacher at Questar III’s Rensselaer Educational Center (REC) in Troy where he teaches the next generation of HVAC workers in this two-year hands-on program. Danny launched the HVAC/R program in 2005, developing the curriculum and industry relationships that advise Questar on curriculum, trends, and equipment. Previously, he owned his own HVAC business in NYC.
Danny is a Spanishspeaker and also serves as a mentor/advisor for the local delegation of the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute. Every year, he and others work with dozens of students from Capital Region schools on weekends as part of this statewide leadership program, which culminates with a threeday event in Albany, where students debate bills impacting their communities in the Assembly chambers.
He also serves as an advisor for the SkillsUSA organization, a career-tech organization providing leadership opportunities and skills competitions to more than 395,000 students across the country. In addition to working with CTE students in different programs, Danny also runs the regional contest in HVAC held every March in Schenectady. This competition features students from more than 7 BOCES, as far north as the Canadian border.
1: Why did you want to launch the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning/ Refrigeration ( HVAC/ R) program?
The opportunity to help fill the needs of the local HVAC/R industry’s future workforce attracted me to Questar III. This was an opportunity to invest in the trades to maintain our infrastructure and to keep us competitive in the global market.
2: How has this program grown over the years?
Fifteen years ago, students graduating high school and contemplating their future career choices were oftentimes unaware of HVAC/R. Today, more students are aware of the option. On average, six out of 10 of our students go on to a two-year post-secondary technical education, an apprenticeship program or right to the workforce.
3: What is the curriculum in this program?
The curriculum is geared toward entry-level residential work. Students learn the theory and science behind heating and cooling, which makes it easier to learn application, troubleshooting, and diagnostics. This includes fundamentals of refrigeration, heating, and basic electricity.
4: What do you enjoy most about teaching this program?
The program allows me to bring real-world, handson experience into the classroom. HVAC/R is my passion and I enjoy sharing my knowledge with the next generation of professionals. This includes teaching career and technology skills, as well as emerging technologies and industry trends.
5: What are your goals for this program in the future?
I would like to increase the number and types of industry certifications available to students. The HVAC/R industry requires new technicians to be property trained on the new refrigerants coming into the market due to environmental impacts and efficiency requirements.
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Anyone who uses the internet regularly has had the familiar eBay logo come up during a search.
The first few times it happens it’s easy to ignore but after a while, like water to a thirsty man, the colorful logo is hard to resist.
A virtual department store of new and used items eBay has nearly any item one can think of. It draws viewers in through warm memories of items like a favorite article of clothing, a kitchen utensil no longer manufactured, or an auto part the manufacturer no longer stocks. A couple of clicks and like magic there they are.
For anyone thinking of buying or selling on eBay for the first time the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, 475 Moe Road, Clifton Park offers a free computer class on how to do it. The class is taught by librarian Mary Carrier who alternates the eBay class with one for Craig’s List.
The classes are advertised on the library’s website calendar and held in its computer room. The eBay class on Valentine’s Day drew 11 people. One of them came from across the Mohawk River in Rotterdam.
Carrier started the class by asking how many people had already been using eBay or Craig’s List. The question drew two responses for each. With the knowledge of where her students stood on using the websites she started at the beginning.
“Craig’s List,” she said, “is more like the old classified ads. They’re very easy to follow, they sell locally so there’s no shipping and usually the items are exchanged for cash.”
Moving on to eBay Carrier explained the differences in the two sites and the intricacies of buying and selling on eBay.
“I think eBay is more involved than Craig’s List and eBay will take a portion of your sales if you’re selling,” she said.
Carrier then took the class through the procedures needed to buy and sell on the site which included how to set up an eBay account, how to set up a PayPal account, the differences between the two, and why each is needed.
“PayPal is an intermediary between you and your eBay account,” she said. “PayPal makes the transaction on your account.”
Focusing first on buying an item on eBay, Carrier explained the procedures and the tactics for submitting bids in auctions or buying the item outright.
“If you’re bidding on something you can set a maximum you’re willing to pay and eBay will make the bids for you based on what other bids are coming in,” she said.
There was instruction on how one can see the other bids; their amounts, who (email handles) made them, and when they were made. Carrier also discussed the frenzy that can develop among bidders in the final few minutes before an item is sold.
When Carrier moved on to selling items a noticeable alertness could be felt in the room.
“What’s nice about eBay is they walk you through the site very easily,” she said. “If you see something selling that’s similar to what you have you can copy the text,