EdGate General Manager  

Growing Popularity of CTE Programs

     

Over the last 20 years, skill-based education has been making the transformation from "vocational" studies to "career and technical" education. Traditional "vocational" studies were designed to help students enter the work force directly from high school. CTE provides students with skills that can transfer directly to jobs while paving the way for students to take these skills to the next level through higher education.

New York City is being used as a model for this educational path. State and local officials support CTE as a way to prepare students for what comes after high school while engaging them in their current academic endeavors. About 40 percent of high-school students take at least one CTE course, and nearly 10 percent attend a dedicated CTE school, according to calculations based on Department of Education data cited in the report.

As CTE programs expand to include new fields, the certification process is slowed by the state's approval process, which is intended to ensure that new courses will prepare students for college and careers. The approval process can take years, and can discourage businesses from partnering with schools. According to Kathryn Wyled, the CEO of the Partnership for New York City, the "sense of urgency at [the State Education Department] doesn't match the practical demands on the schools of a rapidly changing economy." State officials are currently working to solve the problem.

EdGate has been working with CTE standards for years and is constantly expanding its reach to tie educators and institutions together to make career and technical education a reality for a new generation of students.

For more information about EdGate's CTE standards licensing and correlation services visit: http://correlation.edgate.com/cte 

 

Many teachers feel they are not utilizing technology effectively in the classroom. According to a recent University of Phoenix College of Education survey, two in five (43%) of teachers rated themselves average or below average in educational technology skills. While schools are equipped with laptops, netbooks, interactive white boards, tablets, LCD projectors and digital cameras, teachers say they still have more to learn about integrating technology in the classroom. Technology integration has become a substantial component to teacher preparation programs, but educators already in the field face obstacles such as a lack of district funding and not having time to learn about the tools available.

 

Kathy Cook, Dean of Educational Technology at the University of Phoenix College of Education , recommends having a starting point to bring technology into the classroom. EdGate's Curriculum Matrix product eases teachers into the world of instructional technology by giving access to more than 500,000 grade-specific vetted digital resources that have been aligned to educational standards by teachers for teachers. This tool can empower today's educators to self-start their digital and EdTech education by supplementing the work they are already doing in the classroom.

 

For more information about Curriculum Matrix: http://www.curriculummatrix.com/