Vo-Tech goes hi-tech.

Algonac, Mich., converts part of its vocational space into facilities for technology education

Technology is transforming vocational education in Algonac, Mich. Gone, for the most part, are the traditional metal and woodworking shops still found in many middle and high schools. Instead, Algonac's former industrial arts classrooms now rely on technology, particularly computers, to teach marketplace-oriented skills.

"We are trying to make vocational education...relevant to

students today," says Dr. Dennis Guiser, superintendent for the Algonac Community Schools. "Technology, computers - that's what students today are expected to learn and to apply in the work world. What we're trying to do is show students that if you can use technology, you can solve real-world problems."

In the early 199s, the St. Clair Intermediate School District - a regional body that serves six other districts in addition to Algonac - made available one-time, $50,000 grants to each middle school in each district, earmarked for development of new high-tech shop space. The ISD realized that vocational ed enrollments were dropping systemwide, including at the ISD's own vo-tech center for high school students. Worse, students, parents and the community seemed apathetic about new courses such as computer-aided design, robotics and multimedia - which offer better job opportunities than the traditional building trades, Guiser says.

The ISD reasoned that if students were exposed to new vocational opportunities in middle school, they might have greater interest in the ISD's advanced vocational training.

"The concept behind vocational education is that the schools are providing experience so that students can find work based on that experience," says Guiser. "The problem was, with our current vocational education programs, we were teaching students how to build birdhouses - not enough to transition to the level of master home-building.

"I'm not saying that there aren't kids who need those opportunities to work with wood, metal, machining and welding, but the reality today is it's technology and knowing how to use that technology that employers want. We were giving students vocational hobbies, not careers. We weren't teaching them how to put together a multimedia class presentation and all the skills that that requires."

In addition to taking the ISD up on its offer, the Algonac district - which culled many ideas from similar programs in Delta County, Colo. - added $50,000 of its own money for improving its vocational facilities. In summer 1991, Algonac split its 7,600-square-foot middle school woodworking and metal shop space. Half the area was turned into a high-tech classroom that includes 16 to 18 work stations, depending upon how it is configured; the other half holds consolidated space for wood and metal working.

Manufactured by Synergistic Systems, each new work station is equipped with a computer, TV, VCR and related accessories. Carpeted floors and dropped ceilings are a distinct departure from the traditional sawdust-on-the-floor atmosphere.

The middle school uses Synergistic's modular technology curriculum, which introduces students to computer career skills, including word processing and robotics. Students spend eight to nine weeks on each topic, plus more traditional life skills such as cooking. Projects include "building" a computer-based wind tunnel and automobile and testing how the automobile performs in various wind conditions.

Equipment Inspires Upgrades

The high-tech push at the middle school was almost immediately felt at the district's high school and four elementary schools, where parents and administrators began asking for many of the same amenities. None of the elementary schools had computer labs of any kind, while the high school had one lab stocked with 286-level PCs.

In 1994, Algonac High School used some $140,000 from a previous bond issue and from the general district fund to renovate and open its own high-tech vocational classrooms, converting the former woodwork, metalwork and welding shops. One small area still contains traditional machines, but the rest of the space is devoted to computer work stations and high-tech curricula. More than $30,000 worth of video equipment, including purchases made with an $18,000 grant from local cable company Harron Cable, recently went into a new audio/video production studio.

"Our metal shop was down to being used one hour per day, and it was a large space, with a lot of old, antiquated machinery," says principal Tom Baldwin. "It didn't appear to be a good use of space."

Juniors and seniors interested in carpentry, plumbing and other building trades still have access to those courses at the ISD's vo-tech center. "There is still in this area of Michigan a need for some of the building construction trades, but there is a greater need for people with technology skills in manufacturing," Baldwin says.

The new 5,200-square-foot space includes a central octagonal demonstration area where the teacher can project images onto an LCD panel. Power Macintosh computers are arrayed around the perimeter of the demonstration space. There are no fixed walls; the entire space is modular, except for the central demonstration space, allowing the space to be re-configured as needed. The area can support up to 100 students and teachers at one time, Baldwin says.

Curriculum includes basic computer skills, scanners, multimedia programs and CD-ROMs. The introductory course requires students to complete a multimedia presentation. Students can take electronic communications courses, emphasizing topics such as networking, the Internet and desktop publishing. An engineering/manufacturing module covers CAD design and an introduction to a computer numerical control machine: a $30,000 system that lets the operator design and create a model out of wax. "If you can operate a CNC machine, there are jobs out there - lots of jobs," says Baldwin.

Further Upgrades on Tap

As people in the district are exposed to Algonac's new computer capabilities, they continue to push for better technology in general - not just in the vocational ed context. A new elementary school was an early beneficiary of this demand. "We put many high-tech elements into it, such as wiring the school and each classroom for transmission of voice, data and video," says Guiser.

The other three elementary schools also are being wired for computers, and eventually, the board of education plans to have all of Algonac's schools networked.

The ISD now is working to network all K-12 school libraries with public libraries and the local community college. This will allow students to search for books and materials throughout the county, and will enable students, administrators and staff to use e-mail and explore the Internet.

Algonac has allocated about $500,000 in the 1995-96 budget for districtwide technology improvements. "We recognize that this is something we have to fund and upgrade every year," says Guiser. "This is not a onetime job."

Algonac at a Glance

Location: Algonac, Mich.

Key administrators: Dennis Guiser, superintendent; Maryann Drob, school board president; Sandra Weir, business manager; Bill Foster, assistant superintendent for facilities

Students: 2,500

Annual budget: $14 million

Per pupil expenditure: $5,300

Schools: 1 high school, 1 middle school, 4 elementary schools

RELATED ARTICLE: High School Design Scheme Advocates Computers in Vocational Education

Many districts still operate traditional industrial arts classrooms in their middle and high schools. That attitude may well change as business steps up its demand for technologically savvy employees.

A program called "New Designs for the Comprehensive High School," associated with the University of Minnesota-St. Paul, aims to help districts cope with this marketplace shift. The program addresses both facilities and curriculum.

"We work with districts that want to build a new school incorporating the new technology, as well as districts that refuse to do any renovation of space," says George Copa, a professor in the university's department of work, community and family education. "We do feel strongly that the classroom space is contingent on learning outcomes."

In the New Designs model, computers are the conduit through which all disciplines, including vocational ed courses, are taught. Students are assigned an individual work space, with work stations clustered in groups of five to 10. Within a classroom, there might be as many as 20 groups of ten students, with three to five teachers. The environment can be configured to meet the needs of the day's curriculum, whether in large or small groups.

More specialized classroom facilities, called "studios," can be set up for specific purposes, such as science laboratories.

"Our goal is not specifically to teach vocational education but to strengthen the entire learning process," says Copa. "We feel strongly that the way to do this is to integrate vocational education into the entire curriculum."

There are about a dozen schools nationwide currently using the New Designs program, with several others scheduled to open this year. The staff of New Designs, which acts as consultants to school districts, also has presented its educational ideas to schools in Australia, Austria and the Netherlands.

For more information about New Designs, call 612/624-9284.

Laurie Freeman is a freelance writer based in Edina, Minn.