Career Sector Information and Communications Technology

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PATHWAYS

What is Technical Arts? To put things simply and realistically, Technical Arts is the future of our modern world. Our society nowadays is practically based upon information technology, whether it be from various software developments and social media, to the actual internet itself, that is continuing to grow and develop with every passing day. As such, it is vital that students be able to learn and understand these important skills. Here at Hillside Middle School, we have the opportunity to take numerous classes that provide their students with an abundance of information, but also gives them experience with technology and software that will truly help down the line in their education. Mr. Wozniak heads this pathway, and has contributed time and effort in order to provide the students in these classes with high quality materials and technology. While working on their courses, students will also be provided with a fun learning environment, which helps reduce any stress that one might have, and also will make them more efficient in their work. In this pathway, students will have the opportunity to learn about fields such as Computer Programming, Web Design, and more.

 

FEATURED TEACHER INTERVIEW: MR. WOZNIAK

Q1. What would you say is your favorite thing about this pathway?
A1. It is an exciting time to be working in this pathway. Just a few years ago, you could only find programming and web design classes in a few high schools or just in college. Bringing classes like this to the middle school shows how important Computer Science has become. I love how excited my students are to learn CS and create the things they want to want.

Q2. How does this pathway help students prepare for future careers?
A2. Computer Science touches every career imaginable now. But if you really want to guarantee yourself a high paying job that is in high demand, you should major in a CS related field. There are not enough graduates to fill the jobs we have and this trend will continue.

Q3. How do the classes in this pathway help diversify a student’s skillsets?
A3. These classes build their understanding of computer systems and networks and how to develop software to meet the needs of users. Students also learn how to design interfaces to make things interesting and engaging for users. These skills can be applied in many different fields as well.

Q4. Does this pathway typically improve student’s performance in their academics?
A4. Courses in this Pathway are strongly tied to standards in both English and Math, and consequently affect all other academics as well. For example, students not only create websites and code the pages, but they write the content for those pages. Computer Programming concepts are very mathematical, although it's not the kind of math you may think. Programming is conceptual like algebra, so these courses help students understand  abstract mathematical ideas and prepares them for higher math.

Q5. What advice would you offer to students considering to take this pathway?
A5. Don't be intimidated. You can start with Computer Science 1 and/or 2 and get some experience with both HTML and computer programming. If you enjoy those experiences, jump into Web Design and Computer Programming next. These Pathways lead into richer experiences at each of our high schools.

 

FEATURED STUDENT INTERVIEW: JAKE L.

Q1. Why did you choose to take classes in this pathway?
A1. I just like computers and other things that have to do with the field of technology, and I want to learn more about things like that because I feel that it would be beneficial for a future career.

Q2. What do you enjoy most about this pathway?
A2. I like the interaction with technology and computers, you get to be very hands on in the class and get to learn many things that you wouldn’t think you would be able to learn at a middle school.

Q3. What class (or classes depending on how many they have taken) have you taken in this pathway?
A3. I have taken all of these classes, and other computer classes including; Computer Apps 1 and 2, Computer Programming, and Web Design, which is what I am currently taking.

Q4. Do you feel that the pathway helped prepare you for future classes and concepts in this field?
A4. Yes absolutely, I have learned a lot about programming and other things that you can do with a computer, which has helped me in some of the other classes I have taken in the pathway. Computer Programming was a good preparation for Web Design, because it gave me some experience with programming so I had some idea of what I was getting into and it ended up being a lot of fun.

Q5. What advice would you offer to students considering to take this pathway?
A5. Well some people might have the idea that programming is complicated and scary, but it’s actually a lot of fun because you get to see your creations come to life on a computer. I think it’s really cool to build everything from scratch.

INFORMATION SERVICES AND SUPPORT PATHWAY

In Computer Science 1, students at Hillside Middle School will learn about the basics of a computer, from the hardware that allows it to work, to working with various applications that will make students more comfortable with using technology. While taking Computer Science 2, students will go into greater depth on the ideas and concepts that they learned about during Computer Science I, and will also begin to work with new concepts such as software, animation and virtual reality.

 

SOFTWARE AND SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY

In Web Design, students will learn how to write and interact with hypertext markup language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), that will enable students with the ability to properly create and design websites, just like this one! This website is just an example of the creations that the students here at Hillside Middle School were able to create. Students in Computer Programming learn Javascript and advanced students can continue and learn the Python programming language.