Staying on Top of IT: Innovative solutions for your IT program

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Staying on Top of IT Innovative solutions for
your IT program
Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 3 PM ESTDial-in
703-259-9001 Access Code 259-599-500 Webinar
ID 138-819-144
James Stanger, Ph.D. Chief Certification
Architect,CIW Program
Nancy Kuzma Web Technologies Instructor,Careerl
ine Tech Center in Holland, Michigan
Lisa Hotsenpiller Business and Computer
TeacherSiloam Springs High School Siloam
Springs, Arkansas
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Housekeeping issues

• Welcome!
• If you're connecting via phone, please don't put
  us on hold. We'll hear the hold music
• Please mute yourself when not talking. Otherwise,
  everyone will hear your background noise (e.g.,
  keyboard clattering)?
• You are muted by default. To speak
• Indicate that you have a question
• Send a message to the moderator
• We will answer any and all questions during the
  Q and A session at the end of the presentation

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Agenda

• Challenges
• Specific to secondary education
• What are the biggest issues facing you as you
  teach technologies?
• Solutions
• We've got a few answers
• We want to hear from you
• Case study Careerline Tech Center
• Case Study Siloam Springs High School
• QA / Open discussion

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What is CIW?

• Global education program
• Web design
• Web development
• Server administration
• Vendor neutral
• Based on job skills and essential skills
• We provide turnkey courseware, assessments and
  high-stakes certification
• You can learn more at www.ciwcertified.co
  m and www.ciwcommunity.org

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Challenges

• Teaching the technical skills that industry
  really wants your students to have
• Who do you trust to tell you?
• Other instructors?
• Vendors (Microsoft? Oracle? HP?)?
• Geeks (IT, open source)?
• Curriculum guides and resources (State
  objectives? Career clusters?)?
• Where do I go to find out about this sort of
  thing?
• What kind of network of fellow instructors and
  techies do you have lined up?

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Challenges

• Overcoming technical difficulties in the
  classroom
• How can students research when sites are blocked?
• How do I obtain the latest software?
• What hardware will I need?
• Teaching technical knowledge in a short period of
  time

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Challenges

• Keeping students engaged
• Student assumption If the topic's boring, it
  can't possibly be useful anywhere in the world
• Sometimes, topic is inherently dry but still
  relevant to getting a job
• Instructor problem If it's necessary but
  boring, what can I do to survive the semester?
• How do you make a skill, standard or protocol
  anywhere near interesting to a teen?
• Accommodating different learning styles
• Some learn hands-on
• Some expect you to demonstrate it yourself
• Some want to do it all themselves

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Challenges

• Different student motivation levels
• Highly motivated
• Some just riding out the semester
• What support does the student have other than
  you?
• Instructor experience
• Most instructors don't have 20 years of IT
  experience
• Where do you learn the best tips and tricks from
  other instructors?

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Challenges

• Keeping current
• Teachers have multiple preps a day
• How do you work in learning the latest
  technologies?
• Who has that much time?
• Funding
• Perkins IV requires an industry-backed program
• What about software costs?

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Solutions

• A community of technologists, educators and users
• Places where you can steal and share ideas
• ACTE
• CIW Community (www.ciwcommunity.org)?
• Slashdot (www.slashdot.org)?
• User Groups (Google for 'em)?
• A way to focus on the only the essentials
• Don't waste time learning and teaching what
  industry doesn't want
• A way to teach technology without demanding too
  much of IT departments or your budget

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Solutions

• A standards-driven, recognized program
• Standards and technologies the industry expects
• Standards developed by IT and educational
  professionals
• The technologies that form a foundation for our
  modern careers and lives
• Doesn't put students on a vendor's treadmill
• Instructional design standards
• Easy to teach
• Allows students to quickly identify what they're
  learning
• Hands-on learning
• Skills-based learning

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Solutions

• Base education on open source
• Makes learning more goal-oriented and
  adventuresome
• Teaches long-term skills as opposed to
  disposable, vendor-specific knowledge
• Industry-accepted solution no longer an
  alternative
• Make students aware of the objectives they are
  learning
• Demonstrate requirements
• Show students that industry absolutely requires
  this stuff of them
• Show incremental progress to students

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Solutions

• Make it fun
• Employ games
• Vary activities
• Relate activities to the real world
• Focus on the innovation
• Bring in experts

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Implementing CIWKeys to Success
Nancy Kuzma, Web Technologies Instructor Careerlin
e Tech Center, Holland, MI
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Success Looks Like

• Adequate planning
• Obtaining CIW CI credentials
• Ample laboratory prep time
• Creative instructional delivery
• Promoting certification

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Adequate Planning

• Determine timeline for key milestones
• Determine budget
• Determine semester/trimester objectives
• Which module first, determine pacing, etc.
• Determine student account requirements
• Draft syllabus

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Obtaining CIW Certified Instructor Status

• Why?
• Builds confidence in your ability to deliver
  curriculum
• Helps you identify potential problems in labs
• Allows you to become a CIW Authorized Academic
  Partner
• How?
• Must pass CIW Foundations exam
• Faculty Institute Class Professional Development
• Network with other CIW instructors
• Instructor driven
• Self Study

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Ample Laboratory Prep Time

• Why?
• Test for environment issues
• Anticipate student problems
• Anticipate reinforcement exercises needed
• Anticipate requests for your IT Department
• How?
• Home computer
• Programs lab computer (check it out for three
  months)?
• Checkout school notebook computer for summer

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Creative Instructional Delivery

• Utilize online course management tools
• Utilize VCampus
• Require proof of lab work
• Utilize performance tests
• Make it Fun!
• Web 2.0 tools
• Free Internet Tools
• Games..Lots of them

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Promote Certification

• Parents
• Articulation--
• Portfolio builder
• Students
• Articulation--
• Portfolio builder
• Confidence builder
• IT employers
• Confidence in applicants skills
• Confidence in program

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• Lisa Hotsenpiller
• Business and Computer Teacher
• Siloam Springs High School,
• Siloam Springs, Arkansas

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Challenges

• Counseling/Scheduling
• Diverse student population
• Lack of basic knowledge
• Student engagement
• Student motivation

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Solutions

• Educating administration, counselors,
  fellow teachers
• Adapting content
• Pre-testing
• Varied activities, projects
• Promoting industry certification

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Promoting Your Program

• Educating students
• Word-of-mouth
• Recognition!

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Questions and Answers

• To indicate you have a question, please find the
  Questions applet on your GoToWebinar screen,
  and send your question to the presenter.
• For more information on the CIW Program, please
  visit
• www.CIW-certified.com
• And don't forget our new CIW Community page
• www.CIWcommunity.org

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Contact us

• James Stanger, Chief Certification Architect
• jstanger_at_prosoftlearning.com
• [phone]
• Sherylyn Klair, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
• sklair_at_prosoftlearning.com
• [phone] ext. 4134
• Lisa Hotsenpiller, Business and Computer Teacher
• Lisa.hotsenpiller_at_sssd.k12.ar.us
• [phone]
• Nancy Kuzma, Web Technologies Instructor
• nkuzma_at_oaisd.org
• [phone] 4481
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