A Tool for Retention

1. A Tool for Retention ITE 105 IT Careers & CyberEthics Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

2. Today’s agenda • Why we developed it • Student Outcomes • Scope • Techniques • Challenges • Observed Outcomes • Resources Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

3. Why we developed ITE 105 • Give students a better intro to college • Awareness of themselves • Understanding of IT careers • Development of educational goal/plan • Boost their success skills • Manage their expectations • Developing a sense of Ethics All to retain the students through Graduation! Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

4. Scope of Course • Introductory Level • Focus on “Soft Skills” • 2 credit-hour course • Low tech approach in beginning • Primarily individual effort assignments • Forming learning communities Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

5. Expected Student Outcomes • Understand what IT is • Find opportunities in IT • Make career choices • Form an educational plan • Join a learning community • Develop a code of ethics Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

6. Assessment Tools • Typing Speed & Accuracy • Personality Assessment • Learning with Style • Honesty Test Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

7. Typing test & tutorial Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

8. Personality Assessment • http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/freetests.xml Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

9. Honesty Test • Career TestsWant to see all of our career tests? Sign up for My Profile! We'll sort the tests by topic and alphabetically, tell you which ones you've already taken and suggest other tests ... plus you’ll get access to the tests only for Profile members. And all this for free! Want access to more free tests? Sign up for My Profile! As of today QueenDom contains 225 Tests! See them all. • classic tests • Honesty Test Do you think honesty is the best policy? • Management Style Test How do you do the job? • Burnout Test - Revised Cruising at top speed towards a meltdown? • Career Advancement Is your job tapping into your true potential? • Coping Skills Test How well are you dealing with life's trials and tribulations? • Creative Problem-Solving Test Are you a creative or a more pragmatic problem-solver? • Leadership - Revised Got the stuff of Gandhi, Napoleon or Joan of Arc? • Procrastination Test Putting things off bringing you down? Abridged VersionSelf-Monitoring Test How much control do you have over your mind and actions? featured test Take the Accident Proneness Test to find out if your personality, attitudes, and behaviors might cause you to take unnecessary chances or be blind to the risks inherent in everyday life. Accident Proneness Test Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

10. Learning with Style • Four Learning Styles • There are four basic learning styles. When you have finished answering all of the questions, this web application will add up your scores and give you feedback about these four learning styles: • "People" "Facts and Theories" • "Problem Solving" "Visionary" • http://www.teachingforachange.com Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

11. Career Choices • Myths about IT • Who are IT workers? • Is technical knowledge enough? • Degree or certifications? • Getting the first job in IT Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

12. Image of IT workers What image comes to mind when someone mentions an IT worker? Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

13. Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

14. Are these in your image? • Programmer in striped pants & checked shirt with a pocket protector full of pens? • In a cubicle • Hunched over a keyboard? • A jolt (or mountain dew) cola and a twinkie within reach? • Hair still wet from the shower? Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

15. 5 Myths Number one. All IT professionals are techie gear-heads with little interest in anything outside of technology. (What are your interest? Do you wear headgear most of the time?) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

16. 5 Myths Number two. IT professionals possess a complete disregard for business concerns. (Do you know accounting, business forms, project management, psychology?) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

17. 5 Myths Number three. Once you join the ranks of IT, you’ll work in solitary confinement for the rest of your life, living only for weekend movie marathons of the Sci Fi Channel. (What is your ideal IT job?) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

18. 5 Myths PCMCIA IEEE SCSIACL BIOS DNS DHCP CAL FDDI GNOME HCL P2P RAID VFAT GPO IRQ OU SID Number four. If you don’t understand acronym-speak, don’t ever think of conversing with an IT professional. (If you can’t talk the talk (jargon), you can’t walk the walk of IT.) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

19. 5 Myths Number five. You must have a computer science degree to get a job in IT. (Do you know the difference between CSC and ITx?) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

20. What ITers Really Do • Define and solve problems • Participate in strategy meetings • Interact with other company departments • Have ties to top management • Create competitive edge for company Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

21. What ITers Really Do (cont.) • Track schedules and budgets • Modify current programs and processes to meet changing needs • Write documentation • Support the company’s business goals • Move through the levels of management right on up to the CEO slot Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

22. Successful ITers • Develop expertise in multiple fields such as accounting, production, marketing advertising, human resources, research and development. • You have to understand multiple facets of a company before you can contribute to its success. Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

23. You are on your way! • ITE 105 IT Careers and CyberEthics is the course offered in the NRCC IT degree program that teaches you all about IT Careers. Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

24. Know Yourself • What do I do best? • How do I assess my skills? • What is my learning style? • How does it help or hurt me? • How can I put it to work for me? Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

25. Educational Plan • What skills do I already have? • What skills do I need to acquire? • What courses will help me acquire them? • How do I choose my courses? • How do I make corrections in my plan? Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

26. Students ask “How do I…” • Locate the jobs? • Find the requirements? • Learn the salary? • Apply for the position? • Get the interview? • And land the job? Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

27. My Ideal IT Job Write a resumé Virginia Business Resource Directory CD Universal Product Codes: What next? Sarbanes Oxley Research Case Study Final Exam Sample Assignments Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

28. CyberEthics • What Ethics is and is not • How it applies to IT • Computer crime • Privacy Issues • Freedom of Expression • Intellectual Property • Employer/Employee Issues Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

29. Code of Ethics • Association for Computer Machinery • Association of Information Technology • Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice • Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

30. Challenges • Getting students to take it seriously • Limitations 2 credit hour course • Focus • Grading Opinions • Team Learning • Leadership development Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

31. Observed Results • Students happier with their educational choices • They feel more in control of their education • Can fit details into the big picture • More realistic about their skills • More focused on their studies • Understand how to get help and use campus resources. Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

32. Students comment Asked what they liked best about the course: • Teaches me self morals • The interaction • …fun discussion • Learn how to deal with people daily • Class time is used good • The way our teacher talks and involves the class in discussion so we all can express our opinions. Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

33. Sample Resources • Brainbench Assessments & Certifications • MSN Careers • Salary.com Newswire • Careerprospects.org (Honesty test) • GlobalKnowledge.com (Salary information) • Virginia Business Resource Directory CD • Teachingforachange.org (Learning styles) Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

34. Thank You • Sandra Daniels, Associate Professor • 540-674-3600 ext 4272 • http://www.nr.edu/daniels • nrdanis@nr.edu • Carlotta Eaton, Professor • 540-674-3600 ext 4250 • http://www.nr.edu/eaton • nreatoc@nr.edu Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College

35. Q & A Sandra Daniels & Carlotta Eaton New River Community College