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APPLIED ACADEMICS
NEWSWIRE
Volume # II No. 3
October 22, 1999
Helping educators to bring the real world into the classroom
In this Issue...
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
1) WORD FROM ON HIGH
2) TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU REALLY REALLY WANT.
3) SHOWING OFF
4) CONTACT INFORMATION
1. WORD FROM ON HIGH
Last week's Throne Speech painted a picture of what we can expect from the Feds. Its focus on youth holds great promise for those of us committed to preparing this generation for the demands of the future.
"Young Canadians are the leaders of tomorrow. Already, they are at home in the wired world. They have energy, ideas and technological savvy, and they want to contribute to building their country in the 21st century. In our global and connected world, young Canadians are acquiring knowledge and
skills at an earlier age. They deserve more and earlier opportunities to get involved, develop their talents and expand their skills."
Recognizing the technological skills possessed by today's students, the Government committed itself to creating opportunities for youth to apply these skills in meaningful ways. This includes using youth to connect rural and urban communities to the Internet, encouraging production of students' first creative works using traditional and new technology, and enabling students to participate in overseas technology programs.
In summary, the Government vowed to support the very principles that Applied Academics espouses. They agreed to help youth become part of the solution to real life problems.
2. TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU REALLY REALLY WANT.
With jobs in the Information Technology sector continuing to rise at
exponential rates, the challenge continues as to how best to prepare
students for the work place. In preparation for the IT Forum, the CFAA has
been meeting with industry leaders to determine what they are looking for in
potential employees.
Most of those consulted within the IT sector address 3 key components for
employability: technical skills, employability skills, and work experience.
November 3rd's IT Forum will attempt to define how these can best be taught
within the educational system.
With IT 11/12 being offered across the province, and being taught by a
variety of teachers with differing strengths and know-how, there is a need
to establish some standards on which employers can rely. Steve Knight,
education manager for Microsoft Canada, expresses the frustration that so
many employers face. "We need to get away from a system where you hire
someone that says that they can do the job, and then 6 months down the road
you realize that they can't." The answer seems to lie in encouraging
students to pursue industry certification as part of IT 11/12.
Employability skills or "soft skills" continue to be critically important.
These skills include team skills, project management, communication
capabilities and interpersonal skills. Simply put, few employers are
willing to spend expensive company time to teach their workers how to
communicate. "You can be a guru in a certain area, but if you have to
interface with others, you need communications skills," explains Knight.
Other from the IT sector stress the need for project management skills, as
so much of the industry relies on completing a project by a fixed date.
Many IT jobs require experience. This throws the student back into the
perennial conundrum of needing experience to get a job, but not being able
to get a job to get experience. It is hoped that work placements and
industry recognized standards will help students overcome this hurdle
Stay tuned for reports from the Forum. Hopefully, November 3rd will bring
us one step closer to creating a high school IT program that graduates
employable students.
3. SHOWING OFF
An IT 11/12 class is the kind of course where the students' work doesn't
usually fit neatly on bulletin boards or hallway walls. As a result, it is
difficult to get a feel for what exactly happens in the class. In an effort
to profile the work of Applied Academics students, this issue we highlight
David LeBlanc's class (Cariboo Secondary School, Burnaby, BC).
His students have begun to create their own web sites using HTML. Starting
from scratch and without the use of an HTML editor, the students build a
site throughout the year, creating a web based portfolio of their skills and
interests. Although it is still early in the year, the Cariboo students
have made impressive first forays into the world of web design.
Care to have a peek? Surf to http://MrLeblanc.tripod.com/ Enter through
the Information Technology 11 icon and click student work. Viewing all of
the web sites can be a daunting task. A good sampling of the work can be
seen by CJ Lui, Kevin Madden, Markus Fehrmann, Jon Wong, Stephanie Hill,
Bill Yang, Tim Wong and BeckyYung.
David LeBlanc also moderates an on-line help forum where teachers
implementing information technology can share ideas, resources and
solutions. Check the site out (http://www.delphi.com/mrleblanc/start )!
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4) CONTACT INFORMATION
APPLIED ACADEMICS NEWSWIRE is a service
of the Center for Applied Academics.
Center for Applied Academics
Suite 702 - 555 Seymour Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 3H2 CANADA
Phone: 604/412.7634 Fax: 604/688.5924
Toll Free: 1 877 293-CFAA
Internet: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/cfaa
E-mail at cfaa0010@bcitvm.bcit.ca.
Should you have questions about the CFAA
list, please contact:
Bruce Deacon at cfaanews@islandnet.com
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