We're going to step you through some Course Samples that will give you a feel for what our online instruction is like, and also demonstrates how our courses can make you a more effective tech.
Note that these are not full lessons - the actual lessons are MUCH longer than shown here, and often combine text along with the videos.
Sample: What Troubleshooting Looks Like
We are starting off with this video from Fundamentals of Appliance Repair because it demonstrates the level of repair skill you can achieve when you understand circuits, can read schematics, and design a troubleshooting strategy - a skill we call "Circuit Fu." It separates the parts-changers from the professional technicians, and is truly the foundation of appliance repair training.
Here's Scott (the Samurai) on an actual service call on a dryer, demonstrating his troubleshooting and electrical testing strategies, including the powerful, nearly life-saving "EEPs" technique. Understanding, recognizing, and knowing how to use EEPs can help you avoid needlessly tearing down an appliance just so you can check a component.
Being able to formulate and execute troubleshooting like this requires a solid grasp of essential electrical concepts, which is why our popular course Fundamentals of Appliance Repair spends a lot of time teaching these. It is this focus that makes it not just a "beginners" course, but one for any tech who has never had systematic training in electricity.
Sample: What is Electricity?
Here's a sample from one of the early lessons in the Basic Electricity module of Fundamentals.
Sample: Introduction to Ohm's Law for Master Samurai Techs
This presentation is from the Fundamentals course lesson on Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Power. Ohm's Law along with some simple math is key to keeping electrical concepts straight.
Understanding how voltage and current behave in parallel circuits is critical, yet a stumbling block for a lot of students. Here's one of our videos from the "Series and Parallel Circuits" unit in Fundamentals where the Samurai explains an important way of understanding these circuits.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YcMH0MsYw7M
Folks who are new to the trade are sometimes surprised at how much emphasis we put on teaching electricity and circuits in the Fundamentals course. This emphasis is exactly why so many techs already working in the trade are taking this course, however. Troubleshooting and repairing modern, computer-controlled appliances requires this kind of knowledge, and techs who don't have it increasingly are watching their profitability diminish.
Fundamentals does go on to cover electronics, troubleshooting, parts, basic gas, and motors.
At the end of every unit is a quiz that must be passed before moving onto the next unit. Some courses also have other exams such as at the end of a module, a midterm, or a final exam. Quizzes are an incredibly important component of helping to keep students accountable for their learning and evaluating how well they've mastered the material. They also give you the opportunity to apply what you've been learning and really help it to sink in.
Here's what a quiz looks like. Most of the quizzes are graded automatically so you get immediate feedback on how you did.
This is not a "live" quiz so the questions aren't clickable like they are in the actual courses! 🙂
So there you have it - a VERY SMALL SAMPLE of what you will learn at the Master Samurai Tech Academy.
Each course is chock full of text, diagrams, photos, presentations, videos and audio recordings all designed to keep things interesting while presenting the information clearly.
You work through them at your own pace, and can ask questions in the Student Forums at any time.
