The Get Into IT degree program, based on a problem-based
learning approach, builds on a two-year development effort led by AIM
and originally commissioned by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s
New Options for Youth Initiative. During this effort, John
Jeanetta, formerly AIM's vice president of organizational effectiveness, and Brad
McPeak, AIM's executive vice president, led a consortium of business,
education (including Metropolitan Community College), government, social services, and youth
representatives.
Together, the group developed a prototype of Get Into IT, based on the central premise that:
- Out-of-school youth want to be fully engaged in what they are doing;
- They want learning to be relevant;
- They want to make a difference in their community;
- They want relationships with positive, caring adults; and
- They want to learn through total immersion.
AIM subsequently presented the prototype to the
W.K. Kellogg Foundation and concepts from the prototype are now being
pulled into a national design team’s work. At about the same time,
Metropolitan Community College was awarded a grant from the U.S.
Department of Labor to strengthen Omaha’s IT workforce. Metro saw an
opportunity with the prototype to create a new approach to IT education
that would not only broaden the talent pipeline but also better
integrate the delivery of academic, motivational, and technical skills
training.
Program Uses Problem-Based Learning Approach
"The Get Into IT prototype is designed as an actual business to
engage the participating students in their learning through the
completion of real projects that are 'sold' in the community," Jeanetta
says. "In fact, there will be no lectures, no tests, no rows of
students listening and waiting for an instructor to fill them with
knowledge. Instead, the students will learn as they work, with the
instructors facilitating this process by directing them to resources
and providing input when they are stuck."
This is the first Metro degree program to be based entirely on
problem-based learning. Metro's Dean of Information Technology and
E-Learning Tom Pensabene and Dean of Learning Design and Support Sue
Raftery are leading the new program’s development.
"Get Into IT is a marvelous next step for our P*3 [U.S. Department of Labor] grant,
as we seek to maximize realistic work experience in our program. We
believe with the team assembled that these students/employees have the
potential to be among the best trained members of the rapidly growing
Omaha-area IT workforce," Pensabene says.
In addition to providing office space for the company, AIM will provide business office, sales and marketing support. Persons
or organizations interested in mentoring Get Into IT students,
providing additional funding, exploring work projects, or obtaining
more detailed information about the project may contact:
Bill Lutz
Vice President of Education, Technology and Community
AIM Institute
402-345-5025 Ext. 124
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
Build a Strong Workforce 
