 Highlights
- Enrollment at Pinellas Technical Education Center
(PTEC) has been steadily increasing since implementing
Pearson
Digital Learning NovaNET® in 2001.
During the 2001-2002 year, 65 students earned their
GED and an additional 84 students earned their GED
in 2002-2003.
- Since August 2002, Pinellas Technical Education
Center, with the help of NovaNET, increased its High
School Diploma graduating class by 50 percent.
Profile
There are two technical training centers in the Pinellas
County, Florida, School System. One is located in Clearwater
and the other in St. Petersburg. Both public two-year
campuses are full-service schools providing quality
comprehensive services to students and residents in
the community. A variety of technical programs and courses
from evening and extended day programs to specialized
programs and services are available at the centers.
The St. Petersburg center is located in an urban area
surrounded by enterprise zones scheduled for economic
redevelopment. The City of St. Petersburg has nearly
15 percent, or 45,000 citizens, over the age of 25 who
do not have a high school diploma.
Challenge
PTEC in St. Petersburg faced the challenge of providing
the correct type of learning vehicle for a broad cross
section of learners who had failed to retain or initially
learn the various skills needed to compete in a high
wage workforce during their formal education years.
Pinellas wanted to provide students with the tools to
reach their greatest potential and success.
Solution
In 1998, the St. Petersburg PTEC purchased and installed
NovaNET in its 68-computer lab for the Adult Education
Center. The system was up and running within a school
term with no “phase in” process needed.
NovaNET was brought in as the prime teaching tool in
the Technical Resource Center, so teachers are significantly
involved and familiar with the online courseware. Outside
of the TRC, NovaNET is used as a supplement to enhance
various courses and programs. PTEC students enjoy using
the NovaNET approach because they are in control of
their learning. They proceed at their own pace, and
there are no excuses that a teacher is moving too fast
or not providing clear instruction. Since the learning
is done on a computer devoid of subjective input, the
students either get the answer or they don’t.
PTEC uses NovaNET in classroom activities, and also
as a curriculum tool for the center’s GED Online
program.
 GED
Online Program
In 2001, Rex Phelps, instructor for PTEC, began a program
called GED Online to “bridge the digital divide”
for citizens who do not have access to the Internet
or whose life and commitments do not include a formal
classroom setting. PTEC, the City of St. Petersburg,
and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, utilizing
the NovaNET courseware system, joined together to present
the High School Diploma (GED) Online Preparatory Course
at recreation centers and libraries around the city.
The course is tuition-free to any Florida resident who
does not have a high school diploma. To register, a
person needs to e-mail Rex Phelps, rphelps@ptec.pinellas.k12.fl.us,
at the St. Petersburg Campus for an enrollment time,
and will then take a short assessment called the TABE,
or Test of Adult Basic Education. Students with no high
school diploma and appropriate TABE-level scores are
selected for the program. Once enrolled, students are
assigned coursework based on their TABE results.
Originally, the GED Online program was placed in five
recreation centers and two libraries in a team effort
with the City of St. Petersburg Leisure Services Department
and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative. More sites
were added as word of mouth spread, and there are now
350-400 computers in 24 labs available for people to
use at no charge to get their high school diploma using
NovaNET. With the implementation of the GED Online Program,
students began to take advantage of NovaNET’s
24/7 capability. They could now set their own time for
education and not have to miss work.
“We use NovaNET to reach as many people as possible
to obtain a high school diploma. Florida promises that
any resident without a high school diploma may enroll
tuition-free in a GED program. NovaNET and our GED Online
program allow a significantly larger segment of the
population to get their diplomas, thus reducing the
cost to the participant and the school on a per person
basis,” says Rex Phelps.
ICAN of Florida Partnership
NovaNET is installed on computers in various recreation
centers, neighborhood family centers, and Pinellas County
Library facilities in a not-for-profit partnership effort
called ICAN of Florida (Internet for Citizens Access
Network). The purpose of ICAN is to raise the level
of digital inclusion by providing access to computers,
the Internet, and technology-based instruction to the
disadvantaged children and adults of the community.
The program provides easy, free access to vocational
education and pre-testing applications, career counseling,
and life wellness programs. ICAN also provides mentoring
and basic computer skills training. The program allows
students to do their work at home or in a learning facility
according to their busy schedules. The flexibility of
the ICAN program permits the learner to achieve goals
that would otherwise be unattainable due to income/job
pressure, family or personal issues, and jail time.
Results
Strategies for meeting the goals and making the program
successful include using various written curricula,
face-to-face instruction, and pre-testing and post testing
to determine success. Progress is monitored by recording
TABE and GED retest information for comparison to prior
and future years. Program availability has been a key
factor for success: students are allowed to use NovaNET
from their homes, the office, and the library site at
their convenience, rather than being required to attend
class.
NovaNET helps keep track of student progress, and according
to Phelps, “The reporting process in NovaNET is
more accurate than any I have used in the field. With
the report formats built into the system, we are able
to tell exactly how much time students have logged online
and whether or not they actually spent the time in the
lesson. With this information, I can accurately determine
problem areas for students.”
According to Phelps, “NovaNET works better than
could have been expected. People like it, it gives them
the necessary success to keep them motivated, and since
August of 2002, when the school year began, PTEC had
increased its High School Diploma graduating class by
50 percent!”
Enrollment at PTEC has been steadily increasing since
implementing NovaNET in 2001. During the 2001-2002 year,
65 students earned their GED and an additional 84 students
earned their GED in 2002-2003.
Pinellas
Technical Education Center has been getting requests
to visit other Florida locations to demonstrate its
implementation. The center has succeeded in helping
the citizens of St. Petersburg reach their greatest
potential within the community.
For more information on how Pearson Digital Learning
can help you achieve results, visit http://www.pearsonedtech.com/
or call 888/627-5327; Canada and other international
locations: 800/400-6192. |
