A Classroom in Your Pocket [Ratchet+Wrench Feature]

If the popularity of language-learning apps indicates future success for mobile learning on the go, Today’s Class may be on to something. 

Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Today’s Class focuses on building on a similar foundation as apps such as Duolingo and Khan Academy by providing short-form educational lessons that can be completed while you’re brewing a pot of coffee.

The company, which has been around for 20 years and under the guidance of Dave Boyes, president, and Ron Shanas, a 40-year auto industry veteran, began like most educational programs, through instructor-led training. By 2019, Today’s class released its digital product and took aim at helping train auto technicians while providing technical education to secondary schools, career centers, and technical colleges.

The app, available for Apple and Android, also has a web-based interface. It aims to help automotive technicians increase their efficiency in a timeframe that suits their schedule and keeps them engaged every day. Once inside the app, that artificial intelligence picks up on what the user knows, what the user doesn’t know, and areas where the user’s confidence in particular subjects needs to improve. Shop owners can also recommend modules where they see weaknesses in their employees.

"The idea is that each day, somebody can be learning something new; somebody can be learning something in which they need help with …. So, from a shop owner's perspective, you probably have a sense of what areas your A techs or B techs or service advisors need to be trained on, given the type of work that you have been doing. The system can combine those things—your focus areas with what you know, and what you don't—to make sure that it's pushing you training that's relevant for you,” says Boyes.

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