February 2008 — News
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STEM Education: High School Students Network with the Community
Quaker Valley High School has long been known as a technology powerhouse. The high-achieving school, which graduates 150 students a year, initiated a laptop technology program in 2000 after winning a $5 million grant from Pennsylvania. It consistently ranks among top public high schools nationwide.
A big plus with the program, Mariano said, is that it gives Quaker Valley graduates an advantage on college applications by giving them hands-on experience in networking and computers, without the focus on computer gaming that is common among high school students. "We've found that a big benefit [of the program] is [that] it separates our students from other schools in terms of skills," Mariano said.
The two-year program at Quaker Valley consists of four semesters of work and basically covers what's required to pass Cisco's CCNA exam certification. That includes 16 courses covering a range of topics from basics on how to build and maintain a network to creating a Web site, object-oriented programming, and more complex IT concepts, such as applying advanced troubleshooting tools. Quaker Valley also offers an Information in Technology course that can prepare a student to obtain the A+ certification from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
The lab at Quaker Valley includes 16 PCs, one per student, along with a simulation of a wiring closet, two floor-to-ceiling racks, and Cisco routers and switches that can be used to simulate how a network would be set up within a building.
One advantage of working closely with Cisco: The networking giant supplies the curriculum, which is all online and changes yearly as networking, especially wireless technologies, change rapidly.
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About the author: Linda L. Briggs is a freelance writer based in San Diego, CA.
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