While the majority of our nation’s students were on summer break or finishing up their last exams, students from New York City High Schools of Instructional Technology Programs were hard at work installing and setting up a networked classroom for a very large audience. In an unprecedented event, these students were called upon to demonstrate the skills-based, job-ready training being taught in the NYC schools and across the nation. They showed off their knowledge and skills of computers, cabling and networking to more than 10,000 industry representatives from all over the world. The setting for this international event was the Jacob K. Javits Center.
These activities were taking place during the CeBIT America Trade Fair (June 19-20) and served to demonstrate the abilities of educators to deliver work-ready training converting the youth of today into tomorrow’s technology-oriented labor force. CeBIT, a U.S.-based affiliate of the famous Hannover Fairs Group, attracted dignitaries and exhibitors from many countries. CeBIT ranks as the world’s number one event for the information and communications technology sector where representatives of business, science, politics and media can see all the latest trends in a single location.
This convergence of education and industry was hosted by TECH CORPS and co-sponsored by the New York City Department of Education, Cisco Networking Academies and C-Tech. TECH CORPS is a leading national nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize technology volunteers into schools, offering tech support and teacher training. The organization was initially contacted by CeBIT to highlight the place of technology in education today and to demonstrate excellent programs already in place that enhance the value of students as they prepare to enter the workplace—a workplace that is represented by the hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees at CeBIT.
When the NYC Department of Education (DOE) was approached to participate in this event, they opted to feature three certification programs: A+, C-Tech’s Network Cabling Specialist and Cisco’s CCNA.
According to Josè Otero, director of computer technology academies for the NYC DOE, “We want industry and colleges to understand that today’s graduates are not your typical students. They are professionally prepared to embark on career paths and or a college of choice. These young people have dual certifications on their diplomas and have been aggressively trained and certified to function in a fast-paced, competitive environment. Our partnering companies set the benchmarks of excellence nationwide and provide us with rigorous, state-approved curriculum. We partner with the best New York City has to offer so that we can graduate New York’s brightest.”
The networked classroom monopolized 1,250 square feet of the show floor. Inside the “classroom” was a glass enclosed “Telecommunications Room” that was wired to a unique cabling wall and then to the tables surrounding the outside perimeter where students continued to work throughout the event. In addition to the non-stop onlookers, tours were conducted inside the classroom, giving students the opportunity to speak directly with attendees and present their activities.
In order to help the DOE accomplish its goal, C-Tech developed a portable cabling wall and Freestanding Overhead Cabling Pathway ™ for the event. “The schools wanted to make the demonstration as real world as possible,” explains Ed Hart, C-Tech’s chief of engineering. “In a tradeshow environment, you don’t have the same abilities as you do within a building or a home. So, we used a portable stand from our Interactive Telecommunications Board to create a wall with multiple 110 Terminal Blocks and a patch panel. We simulated a drop ceiling and cinderblock walls in order to showcase Firestopping techniques.”
“There was approximately 20 feet from the cabling wall to the tables where the workstations were to be set up,” continues Hart. “In order to accomplish this, we developed the prototype for the Freestanding Overhead Cabling Pathway ™ that will be featured in the cabling lab at this year’s ACTE Convention.”
As attendees looked on, students from New Utrecht High School were building computers, while students from Chelsea and McKee High Schools were running, terminating, testing and troubleshooting Category 5e cable. Once the cabling was complete, students from Edison and Westinghouse High Schools made sure the network was up and running.
But it wasn’t only a data network. Students also “patched in” to one of C-Tech’s voice communications training aids. This provided for further workplace simulation, since the completed workstations consisted of telephones as well as computers. Students could actually call one another over the voice network if they needed to converse.
While for some students it was work, work, work, for others it was fun and games. Students from Gompers High School manned C-Tech’s Battle Pod, which will also be featured at the ACTE Convention next month. The “Battle Pod” is a network cabling troubleshooting competition based upon one of the company’s student trainers. These students not only competed against one another, but also trained other students and attendees in the troubleshooting techniques.
“The CeBIT show was exciting as I saw the whole world of technology at once,” shares Esuasi Segbefia, Gompers’ valedictorian. “The troubleshooting process was very challenging because it put me in a situation where I had to apply analytical and creative thinking to solve a problem in a real-life scenario. This experience gave me the opportunity to meet engineers and great people in the trade world, which in turn served as motivation to me. I would not have asked for any better ending of my high school education.”
The event represented a convergence of industry and education. Without the industry support, the event could never have taken place. C-Tech provided tools and test equipment, and obtained participation of some of its certification Program Recognizers—Berk-Tek, Hubbell Premise Wiring, Leviton Voice & Data and Specified Technologies, Inc.—who donated all of the necessary equipment and supplies. Hubbell Premise Wiring and Leviton Voice & Data donated connectivity products. Berk-Tek gave all of the necessary cabling, and Specified Technologies, Inc. contributed Firestop materials.
Other participants provided the necessary networking equipment (Cisco), computers, and a Smart Board®. All of the donated equipment and leftover supplies were divided up among the participating schools. Additionally, C-Tech and its industry partners provided customized shirts to all of those students participating in the cabling of the classroom.
Todd Harpel, RCDD, is the director of marketing for Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, a leading manufacturer of copper and fiber optic communications cabling. According to Harpel, “Berk-Tek supported the NYC DOE and its students at the CeBIT event as part of our ongoing commitment to the creation and development of a knowledgeable and professional labor pool in the communications industry.”
Schools are faced with many challenges today—funding, compliance and career vs. college preparation, to name a few. Choosing and implementing a mission for a school is becoming more and more difficult. When a school chooses to focus on technology that either prepares students for the workforce or advanced education, the school needs to ensure that the choices made will address the needs of the student population as well as the industry for which they are being trained.
John Rullan, an assistant director for the NYC Department of Education and a C-Tech Certified Instructor, asserts, “The three days spent at CeBIT America provided an excellent opportunity for our students to demonstrate, for the world to see, their knowledge and abilities in the varying technologies. This was an excellent opportunity to showcase the collaboration between industry and education by providing the students with real-life experience, based upon today’s industry standards and practices. The networked classroom was the first of its kind at this level, and the NYC DOE students set the benchmark for future events.”
And the next event will be taking place in December in Orlando, this time with C-Tech as host.
“The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) constantly strives to make its Annual Convention & Career Tech Expo an event where career and technical educators can see and learn firsthand what is shaping the profession,” according to Julia Richardson, senior director of business and professional development for ACTE. “ACTE believes C-Tech’s cabling lab offers a unique and excellent opportunity for educators from around the United States to experience in-demand job-ready training firsthand.”
“The CeBIT show was outstanding, and when ACTE asked us to participate at this year’s event, we readily agreed,” explains Ken Lowenstein, director of marketing with C-Tech. ACTE’s cabling lab will feature data and voice communications systems with copper and fiber optics. Students will be installing, terminating, testing and troubleshooting the cable runs, patch cords and systems. It will provide Expo attendees with the opportunity to see firsthand the type of skills being developed within our schools that are preparing students for careers or for advanced education or training.
When asked why Berk-Tek partners with C-Tech as a Program Recognizer, Harpel responds, “We entered into this agreement with C-Tech because we saw an opportunity to provide an added-value service to our network of over 500 OASIS Certified Integrators in the U.S. and around the world. By hiring C-Tech certified specialists, we are confident that our Integrators will see the immediate benefit of employing entry-level technicians with a standard, basic skills set. We are always looking for ways to better serve our OASIS Integrators. By assisting them in creating relationships with local training providers, we see a tremendous benefit for the integrators, the schools and especially the students as they begin their careers. We want to help provide students with this opportunity.”
“The future of technology education within our nation’s schools is constantly coming under scrutiny,” comments William McGurgan, C-Tech’s director of programs and training. “The New York City Department of Education’s classroom at CeBIT America is an outstanding example of excellence in technology education. The featured schools are proactive in identifying high-growth careers and programs to address the growing need for trained technicians.”
“It was a great showcase of the NYC DOE’s students—assembling computers, networking them and then disassembling them in repeated exhibits for the show attendees,” states Mike Hayes, TECH CORPS’ director of operations. “The students proved to be a major highlight of the show, and their skills were ably demonstrated in a Fastest Tech competition where they consistently overwhelmed the other contestants.”
To learn more about the show and the organizations that participated in “Technology in Education Day,” go to the following Web sites:
CeBIT America (
www.cebit-america.com), New York City Department of Education (
www.nycenet.edu), TECH CORPS (
www.techcorps.org), C-TECH (
www.c-techtraining.com); Cisco (
www.cisco.netacad.net); Berk-Tek, a Nexans company (
www.berktek.com), Hubbell Premise Wiring (
www.hubbell-premise.com), Leviton Voice & Data (
www.levitonvoicedata.com) and Specified Technologies, Inc. (
www.stifirestop.com).
Wendie R. Blanchard is the director of the Educational Technology Training Center (ETTC) in Sussex County, New Jersey, which along with 18 other ETTCs in New Jersey provide professional development for teachers under the auspices of the New Jersey Department of Education. Additionally she writes and monitors grants for Sussex County Technical School. As a freelance writer, she recently received the Parenting Publications of America’s national journalism award for her article entitled “Kids Safe in Cyber Space.”
