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| The Boston Area Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC), funded by the National Science Foundation, is developing and promoting a coordinated, self-sustaining, regional IT education and workforce development system – one that will attract a diverse student population to IT careers, promote lifelong learning of technical skills and support the IT workforce needs of our region. The partnership is comprised of: University of Massachusetts Boston; Bunker Hill, Middlesex, and Roxbury Community Colleges; K-12 Districts of Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Newton, Northeast Metropolitan, Revere, Somerville, Watertown, and Winthrop; Business and Industry Leaders; Government and Community Officials. BATEC engages the region’s secondary school teachers, community college and four-year faculty in professional development for new and emerging information technologies and curriculum development focused on the design and delivery of a new IT education and workforce continuum. BATEC is also providing students with the academic, technical, and professional skills necessary to design, develop, support and manage the hardware, software, multimedia, and integrated systems used in our workplaces. |
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| Curriculum Development |
| BATEC is making significant progress in creating and modifying curriculum that closely aligns with industry skills while employing innovative teaching methodologies that explicitly integrate analytical and employability skills to develop student competence in broader workplace knowledge and capabilities. Summits with business and industry partners identify key elements and drivers that need to be addressed in various technical areas. Faculty members across partner institutions then integrate these concepts within their curriculum; develop modules, reusable learning objects and other resources to be shared across institutions; and exchange best practices. In a pilot class conducted at a local college using these pioneering techniques, there was a 50% reduction in attrition, and student feedback indicated that they were more engaged in learning and benefited from teamwork activities and problem solving in a simulated work environment. |
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| Professional Development |
| BATEC provides extensive professional development to faculty. Through its annual IT Futures Forum, hosted by Staples Corporation in 2004 and 2006 and Sun Microsystems in 2005, over 300 educators have been introduced to relevant information technologies and services that are driving our local industries. During the daylong event, industry experts, through keynotes, panels and hands-on workshops, highlight the regional IT landscape, including projected job opportunities and skill needs. Summer Institutes provide intensive training in new and emerging technologies, skills standards-based curriculum development, and case study methodologies. Finally, industry-sponsored externships allow faculty the opportunity to dive into the business world and experience the impact of teamwork, service and communications as they are applied to common business situations and decision-making. Educators can then use this knowledge to hone the skills of their students and relate content to real world applications. |
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| Coherent Pathways |
| Because of the dynamic nature of the technologies, students increasingly weave in and out of the education and workforce arena, often confused by the plethora of options and discouraged by redundant or mismatched course offerings. Recognizing that educational pathways in IT do not just follow a linear progression from a high school diploma to an associates degree at the community college and a bachelors degree or beyond at the university, BATEC education partners are actively reviewing, revising and creating articulation agreements for IT-related programs that include guidance for student program planning and communication of course and program requirements. This process is facilitating new inter-institutional cooperation at the executive level as well as with admissions, advising and career services.
BATEC also recognizes that currently underserved populations need assistance in entering the education environment. Building upon work that is occurring with the Technology Goes Home Program at local Community Development Centers, BATEC established a Pilot Career Ladder Education Program known as The Bridge to Community College in July 2005 at Roxbury Community College (RCC). This program is providing adult learners with two credit-bearing technology courses coupled with tutoring in pre-college mathematics and English. Participants are earning up to six college credits, have preparation for the college placement tests, and matriculate into RCC’s Computer Information Sciences program in Spring 2006. |
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| Student Success |
| BATEC is focusing on successful student engagement through several initiatives. Student Leaders are being utilized at each partner institution to assist in recruitment, retention and career areas. These students provide needed resources as well as a unique perspective in attracting under-served student populations. An internship database is being developed to help connect students with local businesses to augment their classroom learning with valuable workplace experience. Mini-Tech Fairs are being held at local colleges to help high school students become acquainted with their campuses, programs and support services. A High Tech College Fair for over 600 high school juniors features representatives from colleges across the region that offer majors in computer science, engineering, graphic design, multimedia and related areas. While at the fair, students also attend mini-workshops on the college application process, financial aid, and pre-college counseling resources. Finally, an After-School College Program is allowing high school students the opportunity to participate in college–level courses such as SQL Programming, IT Foundations, Web Design, Programming and Computer Applications, while gaining valuable college credits. |
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| Coherent Pathways |
| A final example of our work is in the programming area. Several exciting accomplishments have occurred. Robert Cohen, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Co-PI at UMass, led a student team in designing programming curriculum and tools to help blind students learn CS and help all CS students understand issues related to accessibility for the disabled. This effort has been recognized by many academic organizations including SIGCSE (Special Interest Group for Computer Science Education) as well our National Visiting Committee. He also has worked diligently to identify more successful transitions for CS students. This led to work on a more applied programming sequence at UMB that is being positively received in this semester’s pilot. Professor Cohen is also working with a Professor at Bunker Hill to build expertise in programming with Python and to enhance success and transferability. |
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| Through all of these endeavors, BATEC is creating a working model for ongoing collaboration between academia, industry, and community that connects all stakeholders and delivers clear, demonstrable benefits to ensure continued support and collaboration into the future. |
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