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Posts Tagged ‘engineering’

Exploring Career Paths with zSpace: AR/VR in CTE | 2024 Fall Meeting Platinum Sponsor: zSpace

Friday, October 11th, 2024

In today’s evolving educational landscape, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) are transforming traditional learning. Leading this change is zSpace, a company that uses immersive AR/VR technology to help learners in Career Technical Education (CTE) explore careers and build skills. This post highlights how zSpace supports career readiness through career awareness, exploration, and preparedness.

Career Awareness: Introducing Possibilities

A challenge in education is helping learners grasp the variety of careers available to them. Traditional methods often struggle to engage learners with real-world experiences. zSpace changes this by allowing learners to virtually explore careers—from marine biology to architecture—giving them hands-on insight into day-to-day job responsibilities.

zSpace’s interactive simulations let learners visualize themselves in various roles, sparking curiosity and helping them make informed career choices.

Career Exploration: Engaging in Real-World Simulations

After sparking interest, zSpace enables deeper exploration of specific fields. Learners interested in healthcare, for example, can use virtual anatomy applications to diagnose ailments or explore muscle movements. Those leaning toward engineering can design and test prototypes in a virtual environment, gaining practical knowledge of product development.

This active learning helps students build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, boosting their confidence and readiness for the next step.

Career Preparedness: Building Skills for the Future

As learners focus on their chosen fields, developing the right skills becomes crucial. zSpace offers virtual training modules that help learners practice industry-relevant techniques, such as virtual welding or automotive troubleshooting. These simulations provide instant feedback, allowing learners to master competencies at their own pace.

zSpace’s content is aligned with current industry standards, ensuring learners gain up-to-date skills valued in the job market. This prepares them for certification exams and career success.

Preparing the Next Generation

By combining career awareness, exploration, and preparedness, zSpace equips learners with the tools needed for future careers. With AR/VR shaping the future of workforce development, learners using zSpace are better prepared to pursue careers that drive innovation.

The journey from classroom to career has never been more exciting, and with zSpace leading the way, students have the opportunity to explore, learn, and succeed in a fast-changing world.

Unlock your learners’ potential in your state with zSpace’s immersive AR/VR career exploration before opportunities pass them by. Contact zSpace today for a personal demonstration: https://info.zspace.com/what-is-zspace-cte

Michael Carbenia, Senior Executive Director of Workforce, zSpace [email protected]

The views, opinions, services, and products shared in this post are solely for educational purposes and do not imply agreement or endorsement by Advance CTE, nor discrimination against similar brands, products, or services not mentioned.

By Layla Alagic in Meetings and Events
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Advance CTE Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, SME Education Foundation – Manufacturing CTE’s Role in Job Creation

Wednesday, September 27th, 2023

In the next decade, job seekers in manufacturing will find plenty of openings. It’s projected that nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled in the next 10 years. The challenge, however, is that there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill the positions. An aging workforce, changing technologies and misperceptions about the industry all contribute to the shortage. This has serious consequences for the manufacturing industry, which is overwhelmingly not prepared. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 manufacturers say that their company is having problems finding skilled workers in manufacturing. When it comes to filling this pipeline of manufacturing talent, state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders play an essential role in developing the next generation. 

It is important for industry and education to partner together to bring industry-relevant knowledge and skills to the classroom. Aside from learners, manufacturers are the most important customers of CTE programs, and programs should be aligned with the skills manufacturers need and want.  

It’s critical to embed manufacturers into the education process to ensure the curriculum and equipment align with their needs, asking questions such as: What is the market need? Which positions need to be filled? Which machines are you using? Which skills do you require? Which type of training programs do you use? Which certifications do you need?

Matching your state’s programs to local industry needs will ensure well-trained learners from your schools are in demand. Moreover, it can also lead to other opportunities like on-site tours, mentoring, equipment donations, internships, jobs, and even funding. 

Organizations like the SME Education Foundation are valuable partners in such a process. The Foundation’s signature program, SME PRIME®, is predicated on partnering private industry with educators to build transformational hands-on manufacturing education experiences.  Informed by private industry, SME PRIME® builds customized manufacturing and engineering programs in high schools across the country, providing equipment, curriculum, teacher training, student scholarships and funding for extra-curricular activities and program sustainability. SME PRIME® is tailored to meet the needs of local manufacturers and is aligned with over 30 industry-recognized certifications. 

In the past few years, the SME Education Foundation has partnered with both the Michigan Department of Education and the Georgia Department of Education to introduce SME PRIME® to dozens of high schools across each state, engaging hundreds of manufacturers in the process. Nationwide, SME PRIME® provides manufacturing and engineering education to more than 10,000 students at 109 schools in 23 states, and 91 percent of graduates pursue manufacturing post-graduation. Visit the SME Prime® webpage to learn more. 

The bottom line is that manufacturers and CTE leaders can move forward together to elevate CTE’s impact for a generation of learners. 

Rob Luce, Vice President, SME Education Foundation 

By Layla Alagic in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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This Week in CTE

Friday, December 4th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

SCHOLARSHIP OF THE WEEK 

A new scholarship opportunity for learners seeking college funding, a mentorship and have an interest in transportation has been announced. The purpose of The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)’s Diversity Scholars Program is to grow underrepresented populations’ participation in the transportation profession by supporting increased diversity at the undergraduate level. Diversity in the transportation industry is critical as practitioners seek to fully understand the transportation needs of communities and develop equitable mobility improvements to many areas of our society. 

This program is open to any U.S. high school student of Black; Native American, Alaskan, and Hawaiian; or Latinx heritage with an interest in a career in transportation and who is seeking to study transportation engineering, planning, or in a related-field at a school with an established ITE Student Chapter. 

For more information and to apply, click here. Applications are due March 15, 2021.

CTE PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

One Nevada school has been responsive to industry changes in their area and adopted a new manufacturing program tying in curriculum from Project Lead the Way and Intelitek. Palo Verde High School will have a four-year program teaching learner 3D modeling, applied physics, computer-integrated manufacturing and engineering design. 

Stephen Turbie, Engineering Instructor, says, “Automation is an essential part of any manufacturing business. Learning about automation and manufacturing provides good training for many future technical careers.”

Learn more about the addition of this manufacturing program in this article published by SmartBrief. 

CTSO OF THE WEEK

Despite the challenges states have faced with offering work-based learning opportunities during the pandemic, students from King City High School’s (King City, California) agricultural pathway and members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) have worked diligently to utilize social media to overcome barriers and continue to have their work-based learning opportunities, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), externships and virtual career fairs for the current school year.

Learn more in this article on how CTE teachers and students in California are working together despite the virtual learning challenges. King City High School FFA students are also ranked number one in the region and third in the state of California.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Following the retirement of House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) was voted to be the new committee chair. DeLauro’s win came after her endorsement by the Democratic House Steering and Policy Committee earlier this week. Currently, DeLauro serves as the Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) Appropriations Subcommittee so she is well versed in Career Technical Education (CTE), education and workforce funding.

View more Legislative Updates from this week here. 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Recent calculations suggested that 32-42 percent of job losses that have resulted from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) may be permanent. CTE can reskill and upskill learners and prepare them for reentry into the workforce by offering industry-recognized credentials of value. 

Credential Currency: How States Can Identify and Promote Credentials of Value is a roadmap for how states can identify which credentials have labor market value, and recommended strategies and opportunities to advance learner attainment. This roadmap is informed by national, state and local CTE leaders from K-12 education, postsecondary education and industry. 

View Credential Currency: How States Can Identify and Promote Credentials of Value in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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Report Examines Differences between “Traditional” and “New Era” CTE

Friday, May 10th, 2019

Last week, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a report examining course taking and learner outcomes in CTE. The author used data pulled from the School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED), and looked specifically at CTE credits taken across 12 occupational areas from 1985 through 2013. The occupational areas were largely divided into two categories: “traditional,” which includes manufacturing, human services, transportation, construction, agriculture and public service; and “new era,” which includes engineering, computer science, communications, health care and hospitality.

The report found that while course taking in the “traditional” areas have either remained stable or declined over time, course taking for “new era” programs increased by 238 percent. The author also pointed to data that show while CTE students on average have outcomes on par with non-CTE students, that overall average masks differences in outcomes between students in “traditional” and “new era” programs, where those in the former are generally not experiencing the same positive outcomes and experiences as those in the latter.

The author recommends that policymakers address these gaps when developing CTE-related policies, and work to ensure that as CTE becomes more popular with more students, students who need higher-quality programs and more supports are not forgotten in a data system that still shows overall gains.

While this report contains a lot of valuable and interesting discussion, there are a few additional points to consider. What the report calls “new era” CTE are the program areas that represent growing industry sectors across the country, so the increase in course taking is an incredibly positive data point, worth celebrating. That finding validates that the field has been and continues to evolve to better meet the needs of the full economy. The occupational areas deemed “traditional” are still incredibly robust and vital fields but do not occupy the same share of the economy as they once did. For example, over 18 million jobs in 1980 were in the manufacturing sector, and that number declined to 12 million by 2013. The work is still rigorous and important, but increasing course taking in an area with declining job opportunities would not serve students or the economy well. CTE should encompass the entire world of work, not just a few limited fields.

An extremely important aspect of the report centers around data. State leaders continue to grapple with finding a better understanding of who is being served by the CTE system, and importantly, who is being served well. To date, states and locals have not been required under federal accountability systems to examine performance data by both student population and Career Cluster or program level to understand where programs are and are not having positive impacts. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) presents important opportunities to address this knowledge gap with intention, and states should take advantage.

Ashleigh McFadden, State Policy Manager

By admin in Uncategorized
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