Planning for Instruction in Non-Traditional Settings
Central Michigan University
8/11/2017
Proposal for A Course in Basic Information Technology Skills for Displaced Manufacturing Workers
Introduction
This proposal addresses the need for customized, and effective learning experiences for adult learners to learn IT skills after having had a career in manufacturing or other industrial jobs which may not have had the opportunity to use computers as part of their jobs. The learning experience design will address this unique population of adult learners from a previous workforce to learn marketable IT skills in a community college setting.
The learning program outlined here incorporates principles, concepts, theories, and models of andragogy and the adult learner.
Purpose
To address the needs of adult learners who may have been displaced from traditional industrial workforce environments. The learners will be non-traditional in that they have been out of the secondary education system for at least 10 years, and are seeking a new career path involving computing and Information Technology. This may include learning to code (web, apps, desktop), or to work with administrative tasks like PC repair, computer networking, cybersecurity and other areas within IT.
The scope of this training plan is a large metropolitan area, partnered with both public education (community colleges) and industry. There are also opportunities to partner with governmental agencies such as the SBA. The organization of this proposal will seek grant funding and government contracts. This project will be beneficial to the community, create jobs, and aid in workforce retraining. It can be scaled up to deliver to a larger population and/or metropolitan area.
Problem Statement
Displaced workers from industrial environments need to upgrade the skills and knowledge to conform to the technological society. There is a large skills gap within the general population of workers and the needs of the IT workforce. This training is seeking to assist with filling the skills gap by providing IT trained individuals to local businesses, and start them on a new career path.
Goals
The overall goal is to train and prepare displaced workers, the students, to become micro-credentialed from one of the many certification organizations including CompTIA which offers such certifications as A+, Network+, Security+, CSA+, Linux+, etc. The idea is to provide apprenticeship-like programs for IT careers, and to help fill the skills gap which exists in today’s workforce with regard to IT skills. The intention is not to deliver coursework toward traditional degrees, but to develop students with alternative credentialing. The focus on foundational information will be essential, reinforcing new literacies, especially digital literacies.
Success will be measured by the students’ successful completion of the objectives of the course, and attainment of a particular certification through a testing facility. The training delivery will be fairly open-ended, enabling students to choose to pursue certification within a group of similar certifications whether provided by an organization or corporate entity. In addition, success will rely on having qualified faculty to teach the courses and meaningful partnerships to be established and maintained.
Background
Certifications will not be granted, but simply a certificate of completion. However, certification can be achieved by students enrolling in and completing certification tests. The instructors will facilitate the learning as well as arranging for the 3rd party credentialing. The courses, since they will be community based, will not be associated with a particular accreditation. The participant/students will be required to sign agreements that state the training is for personal and professional development, but will not promise a credential or job placement. The students will be self-directed in terms of completing the certification of their choice after having gone through coursework and content related to their choice of IT topic areas.
Analysis
Various literature was reviewed to relate learning theories to the design of this training plan. Articles, books, and papers were sought to support the teaching and learning approaches and methodologies which were chosen to deliver the training course.
Given the nature of today’s adult learner, at any age, having a myriad of technologies available to aid in learning and acquiring knowledge, i.e. the Internet, the approach to this training will tap heavily into educational technologies accessible via the Internet. These will afford both learner and educator to optimize time spent in the classroom by having immediate information available and resources to facilitate learning much beyond a traditional textbook and lab manual. The reach to like-minded individuals who can aid in student learning via the Internet through blogging, tweeting, forums, special interest groups, professional organizations, publications and other resources freely accessible via the Internet will prove invaluable to the course design and success (Lubefeld, 2017).
The rationale for using both onsite and web based instruction for this course speaks to the need that older adults have for a feeling of community. The traditional meeting, information gathering and communication methods of older adults can be extended to cyberspace in addition to the adoption of new literacies in this population. There are strong positive associations between the use of Internet-based communications and a strong sense of community and well-being among adult learners (Sum, 2009).
Learning Content for PC Technician course (maps to CompTIA A+):
- Assemble components based on customer requirements
- Install, configure and maintain devices, PCs and software for end users
- Understand the basics of networking and security/forensics
- Properly and safely diagnose, resolve and document common hardware and software issues
- Apply troubleshooting skills
- Provide appropriate customer support
- Understand the basics of virtualization, desktop imaging and deployment
Design & Implementation
The IT training courses will be 5 weeks in length (3 per traditional college semester), 8 per year for a total of 40 weeks, and will be scalable. The courses will be delivered using open source tools such as Moodle, Atutor, Eliademy, ILIAS and OLAT. The coursework will be hybrid, providing a face-to-face instructor as well as an LMS with assignments throughout the week. Other educational technologies will be utilized such as social media, blogging, mobile learning and online video based training. Utilizing open source LMS, as well as open documentation (i.e. Wikipedia and other reference materials) which features useful interfaces, multimedia support, mobile-friendly support and community-based learning provides a rich and economical approach to teaching community based adult education courses (Pappas, 2017).
Since many of the target audience may work low-paying retail or food service jobs, they will need a schedule to support evening and weekend availability. Therefore, the course timeline will be structured to be offered for 4 hours once a week, M-F 6-10, or Saturday from 8-12 and 1-5. It will have some aspects of boot camps already established, and may refer to content in openly available MOOCs.
The course will utilize facilities either provided through public education venues such as K-12 rooms after hours, within community colleges, or in spaces available from corporate donors. The learning environments will resemble traditional adult education classrooms, with additional online components necessary to assimilate knowledge during the time between class meetings. There will be group-based and active learning activities to cover objectives, using such things as flash cards (paper or electronic), hands-on labs breakdown of computers, laptops and other computer systems. The aim of the training is to simulate real-world environments so the resources would include realistic scenario’s using modern systems, networks and software.
Evaluation Procedures/Assessment
Informal assessments will be administered regularly in order to measure student learning. The expectation is that some students will succeed at a particular certification, and others will choose different learning paths, perhaps to a less involved certification.
Since the training will be mapped to large certifiable content through CompTIA, the courses may piecemeal the content into several sections. For example, splitting the A+ (Hardware and Operating Systems) into 10 modules which can be taken in sequence. Beyond the 10-module sequence for A+, there will be advanced courses with multiple modules, covering networking, computer security and cybersecurity.
Communications and Marketing Plan
The coursework will be published on a website and posted in various local publications, as well as on bulletin boards at companies which the target audience may be employed. There will be active communication and solicitation to the community with the message that economic development can be furthered for those that participate in the program. Partnerships will be formed with manufacturing companies, community colleges, job placement organizations, local governments and municipalities, churches and other religious organizations, and other public areas (supermarkets, etc.). Direct mail can also be used to gain participants.
Budget
Estimated Costs
Start-Up Costs: $12,000.00
- 12 seats per venue x $1000 per seat, including computer workstations, tools, breakdown computers.
- The workstations should be portable so they can be popped-up anywhere for training to commence.
On-Going Costs Per Session: $4,800.00
- $20.00 per pupil contact hour. Limiting courses to 12 students x 4 hours per week x 5 weeks. This will cover the books, materials, online/software based resources, venue, and instructional costs.
- Cost per student/session will be $400.00
- Trainer Cost Per Session: $2000.00
- Materials Cost Per Session: $1600.00
- Facilities Cost Per Session: $1200.00
Annual Cost for Six Sessions
- 1 Course Per Session (including start-up): $40,800.00
- Annually there will be six sessions, at least 1 course per venue
References:
Combéfis, S., Bibal, A., & Van Roy, P. (2014). Recasting a Traditional Course into a MOOC by Means of a SPOC. Proceedings of the European MOOCs Stakeholders Summit, 205-208.
CompTIA A. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2017, from https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/a
Howley, C. Serving Displaced Workers: A Rural Community College Initiative.
Jill Jusko | May 14, 2012. (2014, January 08). Training the Manufacturing Workforce: Don’t Go It Alone. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from http://www.industryweek.com/workforce-training
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2015). Adult learning: linking theory and practice.
Pappas, C. (2017, August 02). The Top 8 Open Source Learning Management Systems. Retrieved August 10, 2017, from https://elearningindustry.com/top-open-source-learning-management-systems
Sum, S., Mathews, R. M., Pourghasem, M., & Hughes, I. (2009). Internet use as a predictor of sense of community in older people. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 235-239.
Daniel Grigoletti 