TEXTBOOKS ON THE CUTTING-EDGE OF THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
When Dr. Nick Goodnight was approached by CDX Learning Systems in 2014, they had a question for the professor: “Hey, do you want to write a textbook?”
His first book, which covered engine repair, was published by CDX in 2017, and he has since written several more for the company.
“I want to do something for the industry and I want to do something for the students,” he said. “When I came through my programs at a different school, there wasn’t anything nearly as advanced as CDX is.”
The curriculum company, which has been in business since 1994, not only offers students books with the most up-to-date information but also allows them online access to materials to supplement their learning.
“CDX is the world’s leading provider of curriculum solutions that include interactive and experiential
curriculum with multiple photos, illustrations, descriptive videos, and 2D and 3D animations,” said Joseph Wagner, product manager at CDX Learning Systems.
CDX offers content for those at high school level and entry-level technician positions up to established technicians looking to upskill their careers, Wagner said. The company’s clients are mainly secondary and postsecondary schools.
Its books cover a variety of subjects, from gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles to the newest hybrid electric light-duty vehicles. Volumes also deal with medium/heavy-duty commercial vehicles, diesel engines, and mobile heavy equipment.
Electric and hybrid engine classes are growing in demand, Goodnight said. In fact, the most requested titles by far over the last year were textbooks covering hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and new vehicle technology. The HEV content includes hybrid and battery-powered light-duty vehicles
as well as on- and off-road heavy-duty vehicles. The new vehicle technology covers topics such as lane departure systems, adaptive cruise control systems and self-driving vehicles.
“With the technology advancing so quickly in the transportation industry, and a clear shift toward lesspolluting vehicles, it has become clear that demand for the next generation of highly skilled technicians will continue and will be a high-growth area for at least the next 10 years,” Wagner said.
BOOKS THAT WORK FOR STUDENTS
Wagner’s work at CDX has been years in the making, starting from his time as a student.
“I started on my path to CDX over 30 years ago, first as an automotive and heavy-duty student, then as technician, instructor, author, subject matter expert and now product manager,” he said. “I believe I have worn every hat that one could in
this industry, and I appreciate the challenges each position has offered.”
He’s been CDX product manager for just over a year but was involved with the company for more than a decade before that, using CDX textbooks in his classroom when he was an instructor.
That experience helps Wagner in developing important connections between company and customers as CDX collects feedback from surveys and data to improve their products. But, he said, the more important feedback comes from daily interactions with CDX customers.
“This can be through in-person visits or attending various conferences and industry events where the representatives of CDX can speak directly to our customers and hear firsthand what challenges they are facing in their classrooms,” he said.
The relationship between customers and the company has evolved in recent years as more schools and students want different ways to approach learning. Wagner said that while the relationship between textbooks and hands-on learning has remained the same, today’s learners require more than that to gain proficiency in a subject.
“CDX has become a leader in educational training as it offers a complete course curriculum that builds on foundational theory and teaches the skills necessary to prepare technicians for the challenges of the workforce,” he said.
Students can progress even further in the classroom and produce worthwhile results faster than ever with resources that engage the mind and improve comprehension, Wagner said. Students are exposed not only to textbooks but also videos and 2D and 3D animation that help them more quickly comprehend theories and experiment at their own pace.
CDX develops these products by talking to customers and industry partners about what they need and how they can support the textbook publisher to get the best products in the hands of students.
portion. But it’s all the same material and the same concepts.”
The online curricula allows teachers to more easily tailor content for their own needs. Goodnight, for example, said he can bring other materials to supplement the curriculum, and students can fall back on the book to reinforce concepts. “We give them the ability to apply the information in a way that makes sense to them as a learner,” he said.
“Being the product manager for CDX allows me to use my previous experience to best support the CDX customers and have an impact.
“Everyone here at CDX works to support one another, and the success of CDX clearly reflects that team effort,” Wagner said.
BOOKS IN THE HANDS OF STUDENTS
One of the destinations for CDX textbooks is Ivy Tech Community College, which has 46 locations throughout Indiana. Goodnight, who serves as the department chair of diesel and construction technology, uses CDX textbooks in his programs.
“You come into it thinking you’re going to have all these resources and all these things to help you out, and then you start looking and realize there’s not really that much there,” he said. “So you say, ‘I can do it better,’ and you just go do it. That’s where a lot of us are at.”
But CDX’s mission is not just about publishing textbooks for professors like Goodnight to use in his classroom. It’s also about giving students a wide range of options and materials to help them understand the concepts in their own way.
“It gives that learner some different modalities,” Goodnight said. “The reader can read something, and the hands-on person can do something as well, like work with the animation
“When people realize that cost is not everything, they can get a quality product from CDX,” said Goodnight. “They’re one of the few companies that are actually putting money into the automotive training textbook area, and they’re continually developing new things and building new things that can appeal to different learners.”
It helps that CDX has the depth and variety that professors need to put together the best programs for their students. “We ask ourselves, ‘How can we do this course? Is this the best title, or what is the best title?’” Goodnight said.
“We always come back to CDX because of the depth of the content they have and what resources they have available. They have the ability to do all the things we’re looking for and check all the boxes.”
And for those in the education field like Goodnight and Wagner, it helps to have a connection to AED as they move forward in working with the next generation of technicians.
“Having great partners such as The AED Foundation allows CDX the opportunity to be part of preparing the best professional technicians that are in such high demand,” Wagner said. “The AED Foundation gets educators, dealers and manufacturers together to identify the content and skills that their technicians need, and that enables CDX to develop and deliver content to address those specific needs.” •
“Every person I speak to is very committed to their students’ success, and that is very refreshing to observe and be a small part of,” Wagner said.
