NEWS Message from Richard Manser, UDOT Provost:
UDOT U -- A BENEFIT TO EVERY EMPLOYEE As an employee, are you taking advantage of the training opportuni es UDOT offers? If you work as a consultant, as an extension of UDOT staff, are you trained?
Richard Manser, UDOT Provost
IN THIS ISSUE: UDOT employees help with a er school program.............................2 Training fairs, coming soon to a conference room near you...........4 Have an idea about a great UDOT Conference topic?.........................4 Check out what UDOT U has to offer...............................................4
Every training course offered by UDOT is part of the UDOT University. If I were asked to summarize UDOT U’s mission statement I would say, “to provide training for every employee” – whether enhancing current job skills, or preparing for promo ons. I would summarize the vision as, “having educa on integrated into UDOT’s culture”. As an organiza on we have only just begun our journey towards embracing training and educa on.
UDOT U recognizes that training can be achieved using many methods. UDOT U will con nue to take advantage of technology, classroom, and blended learning methods to deliver training, where each method makes sense. Informa on about UDOT U resources can be found on the website. If you haven’t already viewed Carlos Braceras’ endorsement on You Tube, take a minute and do so. May Training Fairs
Training has the full interest and support of UDOT leadership. Our Board of Trustees, Randy Park, Jason Davis, Nathan Lee, Becky Bradshaw, and Cory Pope meet monthly to provide program direc on and support as we work towards fully implemen ng UDOT U. Bryan Adams, Region Representa ve, assists the Board of Trustees by providing perspec ve from all of UDOT’s Regions.
I am pleased to announce UDOT U Fairs are scheduled for each Region and at Headquarters. If you would like to learn about the variety of training opportuni es, come to the Fair and talk with our staff. The flyer on the back page of this newsle er has the loca ons, dates and mes. UP Next...
Our college deans, Lisa Wilson, Jim Gorac, Cameron Kergaye, and Lloyd Neely ac vely work with our 31 subject ma er experts to find out what training is needed, priori ze the needs, develop courses, and deliver them. The glue that keeps this organiza on together is Rick Murdock, Administra ve V.P.
Read on to learn about UDOT employees volunteering in public schools to generate interest in transporta on careers, how to submit training requests for UDOT’s Conference, and how to access UDOT training courses.
Left, some of the UDOT Structures Division employees who helped at Bennion Elementry: Donath Picardo, Mark Daniels, Jessica Rice,Cheryl Hersh Simmons and Joshua Sletten. Above: Students stack books and and backpacks on a structure made out of paper in an activity that demonstrates structure stability and material properties.
BACK TO SCHOOL UDOT employees are helping kids in an aŌerschool program that makes learning fun. A er the regular school day, students at Bennion Elementary in Taylorsville can get some homework help and learn something new. The a er school program is designed to help kids finish their assignments and help broaden their interests and knowledge about the world of art, science and sports. UDOT Engineering Services Director Lisa Wilson asked for volunteers from Region Two and UDOT Project Development. Many employees have stepped up to help. The employees are drawing on the TRAC & RIDES an outreach program developed by AASHTO. The curriculum includes lesson plans that teachers can use to illustrate engineering concepts. UDOT employees from the Project Development Division and
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Below: Scott Strader, who works in materials engineering, taught students about specific gravity using vials of water to measure the volume of marbles. Similar methods are used to measure the aggrigate portion of concrete. “A lot of tests are based on volume and weight relationships,“says Strader.
UDOT Region Two have been helping with the a er school program in Salt Lake County since January. Kris Peterson, Region One Director and UDOT’s Educa on Emphasis Leader, said “This is a great opportunity for UDOT employees to facilitate a broader awareness of the potenal that STEM educa on provides for each of these young, future engineers and scien sts. We are excited to partner with the elementary to provide these addi onal learning opportuni es and we urge our employees to consider the avenues that may be open to them to foster and encourage further STEM educa on efforts in the areas where they live,” he said.
TRAC & RIDES is intended for use in classrooms as part of an effort to emphasize the STEM effort, which refers to science, technology math and engineering curriculum. While the lessons are intended for classroom use, the Bennion program “is a fun way to test it out and see how the modules work” says Richard Murdock, UDOT U Adminstra ve VP. RIDES, which stands for Roadways Into Developing Elementary Students is an AASHTO/Mississippi educa on outreach program designed to interest students in transporta on careers while improving their math and science skills. The lessons have transporta on lessons for kids in math and science classes from kindergarten to eighth grade. The RIDES focuses on a wide range of topics like graphing data and types of energy and lesson plans come with a large truck of resources for a teacher to use for lesson ac vi es. Each lesson has ac vi es that are meant to draw kids into the subject ma er. Engineer Jessica Rice, who works in the UDOT Structures Division, says that the hands-on ac vi es helped her teach the kids about structure stability and material proper es. “It took a while for them to get into
the theory,” said Rice. Her ac vity involved making a structure out of paper columns, and then stacking on books and backpacks. Once the structure was built and the kids saw how paper columns could support the heavy items, they were interested in hearing about the engineering concepts. And when the columns gave way, and the books and backpacks tumbled, the noise caught their a en on even more. Sara Carlock who runs the UDOT Chemistry Lab, caught the kids interest by demonstra ng pH tes ng of common substances, like cola or milk. As a chemist, Carlock’s job at UDOT is to make sure those materials used to build or fix roads meet UDOT specificaons. Her demonstra on helped explain how chemistry is used in the transporta on industry. The a erschool program has been successful. “The kids are quick learners and they have enjoyed the ac vi es,” said Wilson. She really appreciates the support of UDOT employees who have helped with the presenta ons.
Left, Sara Carlock shows students how to test for pH. Middle: Sara Carlock in the UDOT Chemistry Lab holding a slide used for testing concrete. Bottom, Scott Strader stands next to a machine that tests the compressive strength of concrete.
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UDOT CONFERENCE NominaƟons for session topics for this year’s conference are open. The breakout sessions are organized and sponsored by the four UDOT U colleges – Administra on, Opera ons, Program Development, and Project Development. Have a great idea for a breakout session? Please use this Google Docs on-line form to submit your ideas: Conference Topics.
LEARINING ONLINE The opƟons for online training have expanded with UDOT’s use of Adobe Connect. Whether the training you need is online or in-person, UDOT U’s website makes searching for training easy. Simply sign on using your employee ID (your email address without the @utah.gov) and password, and brouse using the menu lis ng of the four UDOT U colleges on the le .
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