CI-TEAM Implementation Project: Native American Regional IT Industry Workforce Development Project (NA-CIT)

犹他州、亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州的美洲原住民部落政府和公共教育工作者开发了一种新的创造性和加速手段，以推动广泛的急需的信息技术教育和培训。他们的目标是使成年公民和K-16学生群体受益，以满足日益增长的大学预科和区域/部落劳动力对21世纪世纪数字工作就绪IT技能的需求。犹他州山谷大学（UVU）由经验丰富的学生成功研究人员，导师和美国土著K-12教育专家团队领导，与全球IT行业认证和培训领导者合作，研究-基于网络的学习环境，能够切实满足传统上服务不足的美洲原住民社区和个人所面临的具体教育挑战，研究和学习项目。美洲原住民区域信息技术产业劳动力发展项目（NA-CIT）建立在最佳做法和从以前的2008-10年CI-TEAM示范项目中吸取的经验教训，以实现其主要目标。这个跨机构和广泛的IT学科管理的多州计划部署了协同的，文化相关的在线交付（Web 2.0）方法，加上严格的过程评估和指导支持机制，以最大限度地提高参与者的学习成功率和成果。教室和CI（硬件/软件）以前在三个主要培训中心：中央/东南犹他州，霍尔布鲁克，亚利桑那州和温多罗克/英尺。纳瓦霍民族的反抗。这一项目目标的实现预示着将产生深远的影响，使美洲土著青年和年轻人（12-50岁）更容易获得网络技术，并为他们打开大门，作为科学家、工程师、教育工作者和社区领袖直接为社会作出贡献。NA-CIT在24个月的项目期间培训了400-500名参与者。拟议的示范项目是：（1）组织和实施协同CI使能的教学交付支持系统（高科技）与当地辅导员，导师和教师（高接触）和学生在3个地区的地点都通过互联网和技术辅助课堂，教师主导和同侪导师支持的环境，以及（2）评估和评价上述协同方法在使参与者在广泛的工作场所就绪技能组合内达到高水平平均验证能力方面的有效性（从基本的计算机基础知识到网页设计，网络管理/支持和编程的更高层次的能力，例如MS.Net和Linux.Net）。所有方案的实施都是为了将类似的方法扩展到信息技术领域未来可能的全学位课程，并使这种综合学习系统可扩展和复制到其他土著教育环境。更广泛的影响：这一实施项目将为世界各地许多土著、农村和其他少数民族人口的科学、工程和技术教育提供一个模式，这些人口在这些领域难以获得学习机会。由于所有的指令和建议的课程都有一个健全的综合设计，与此选择人口的积极经验将有类似的部署在线和/或辅导课堂IT教育环境的广泛影响。该项目成功的可能性得到了已经到位的基础和物理网络基础设施工作以及与公司和教育专家的合作努力的提高，这些公司和教育专家已经在这一人口中的学生的技术教育方面取得了很大成就。智力优势：这个项目的智力价值与其说是在单个组件的开发，因为它是在所有组件的结合，提供一个沉浸式的学习环境与学习活动，学生跟踪，动手指导和评估的做法，将从事和激励学生在课程中达到高水平的能力在完成课程的主题领域。CI使能的环境和课程与基于美洲原住民哲学和宇宙学范式的策略的融合，影响了美洲原住民的思考和学习方式，这是基于当前的教育研究，并增加了项目的复杂性和价值。

Native American tribal governments and public educators in UT, AZ and NM have developed a new creative and accelerated means to propel forward a broad spectrum of much-needed Information Technology (IT) education and training. Their goal is to benefit adult citizenry and K-16 student populations to meet escalating college preparatory and regional/tribal workforce demands for 21st century digital job-ready IT skills. Utah Valley University (UVU), led by a team of experienced student success researchers, mentors and Native American K-12 educational specialists, have joined with global IT industry certification and training leaders to create an innovative, research-based cyber learning environment capable of realistically meeting the specific educational challenges faced by the traditionally underserved Native American communities and individuals with a 2 year integrated research and leaning project. The Native American Regional IT Industry Workforce Development Project (NA-CIT) builds upon best practices and lessons learned from a previous 2008-10 CI-TEAM demonstration project in order to accomplish its major objectives. This multi-state program, managed across institutions and a broad range of IT disciplines, deploys a synergized, culturally-relevant online delivery (Web 2.0) methodology coupled with stringent process assessment and mentored support mechanisms to maximize participant learning\success rates and outcomes. A classroom and CI (hardware/software) were previously in place at the three primary training hubs: Central/Southeast Utah, Holbrook, AZ and Window Rock/Ft. Defiance on the Navajo Nation. Accomplishment of the objectives of this project portends to have far- reaching effect toward making cyber-technology more accessible to the Native American youth and young adults (age 12-50) and in opening doors for them to contribute directly to society as scientists, engineers, educators, and community leaders. NA-CIT is training between 400-500 participants over a 24 month project period. The proposed demonstration project is: (1) Organizing and implementing a synergistic CI enabled instructional delivery support system (high-tech) with local counselors, mentors and teachers (high-touch) and students at 3 regional locations both via the internet and within technology-assisted classroom, teacher-led and peer-mentor supported environments, and (2) Assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the above described synergistic approach in bringing the participants to a high level average validated competency within a broad spectrum of workplace ready skill-sets (from basic computer fundamentals to higher orders of competency in web-design, network administration/support and programming e.g. - MS.Net and Linux.Net). All programs are implemented with a view to extending a similar approach to possible future full degree level programs in the IT field, and to making this comprehensive learning system scalable and replicable to other Indigenous educational environments. Broader Impacts: This implementation project will provide a model for the scientific, engineering, and technology education of many indigenous, rural, and other minority populations throughout the world that do not have easy access to learning in these fields. Because all of the instruction and proposed coursework has a sound integrated design, a positive experience with this select population will have broad implications for similarly deployed online and/or mentored classroom IT educational environments. The probability of the success of this project is enhanced by the groundwork and physical cyber-infrastructure work that is already in place and by the cooperative efforts with companies and educational experts who have already accomplished a great deal in the technical education of the students within this demographic. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of this project is not so much in the development of the individual components as it is in the combining of all the components to provide an immersive learning environment with learning activities, student tracking, hands-on mentoring and assessment practices that will engages and motivates the students in the course to reach a high level of competency in the subject matter area at the completion of the coursework. The infusion of CI-enabled environments and curricula with strategies based on a Native American philosophical and cosmological paradigm that influences the way Native Americans think and learn is based on current educational research and adds to the complexity and merit of the project.