Article 2

This article describes the use of a senior project at the Tri-County Career Center (TCCC), a 2-year career and technical school that prepares junior and senior high school students for collegiate education or immediate entry into the workforce.  They offer College Tech Programs which include Health Technologies, Engineering (Drafting and Design), and Information Technology (Programming and Software Development, and Interactive Multimedia).  The Senior Project consists of four major components in the student’s particular tech program and covers an 8-month period of time.

The projects were thought of with the help of educators and business and industry professionals.  Newer technology allowed students to complete assignments in formats familiar to the students and they also provided field trips for students to learn more about their particular research idea.  Many became involved with these projects and thus state and federal funding for career and technical education made possible the purchase of the necessary technology to support the project.  Seniors had the software and resources they needed to complete their projects.  This availability caused there to be a technology component to the project.    However, there were two key difficulties with the technology piece: students did not have access to the necessary resources at home and having the time and money to train the academic instructors to incorporate the technology was difficult.  Placing students with mentors in the surrounding areas was also a challenge.  The outline for the senior projects changed every year and they noted that changes had not always been equivalent to improvement.  The communication with these local businesses has been extremely beneficial to the students as they have given them access to their facilities and helped the students get a leg up on more traditional students with whom they will be competing for employment. 

This idea of a senior project is very inspiring and exciting to me.  How neat would it be for students to be able to get that real-life experience while they are in school?  It can help them gain a better understanding of the world we live in and figure out what they may or may not want to do when they are ready to be a productive member of society.  I recall one of my experiences working in a steel factory to pay for college.  It helped me realize what the labor force was like and why I was spending all that time in school.  It was a very eye-opening experience. 

This idea is very exciting, but I wonder how long it would take to help organize everything with the community and local businesses.  I have a feeling it would be a huge project to undertake and make practical.  The logistics behind it would be a nightmare, but if there were enough people on board it would have a good chance of being successful.  It takes a village.

Haskell, K.S., & Haskell, T.O. (2008). What differences technology makes

   

     for a high school career center. Theory Into Practice,

   

     47(3), 252-258. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com.libr

   

     ary.aurora.edu/openurl?genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/00405840802154013