MC2 Academy shows needed technology advances in classroom, workforce
John Allen, standing at right, prepares for the next session as teachers gather at the Madison Core and Career Academy for Educators (MC2). (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – In its second year, Madison Core and Career Academy for Educators (MC2) focused on technology during sessions involving business people, educators and students.
Teachers met industry owners to discuss workforce expectations in the 21st century.
Academy participants considered how technology “has changed all of our lives, not just the use of cool ‘techno’ gadgets in their field,” John Allen said. Allen chairs the Madison City Career and Technical Education Committee, the event sponsor. He is president of Southern Construction & Design Inc.
Robby Parker and Julia West coordinated MC2. About a dozen Madison secondary teachers and five business leaders attended with several students from James Clemens and Bob Jones high schools.
Today’s employees must understand technology, its use and ways to apply their skill sets to perform their jobs with “tools in the toolbox,” Allen said. “Skill level, soft skills and communication capabilities all are important for teachers to see that it is more than just shoving someone out the door.”
“The reality is that all approaches in education must focus on career technical education,” Allen said. “The workforce of today is changing constantly, driven by technology and the need for higher skilled workers (strong) in English, math and science.”
Yesterday’s blue-collar jobs are changing into today’s gray-collar jobs, Allen said. “We (must) teach and educate” students who physically will swing a hammer, manufacture the hammer or design the hammer.
Along with classroom study, academy participants visited local business sites. “The most engaging portion of the two-day course was al.com, (which) has transformed their newspaper from standard print journalism to digital consumption,” Allen said.
“The class first-hand witnessed the impact of technology that changed an industry,” he said.
In a whiteboard session, participants described their own first computer and a contemporary techno-gadget “they can’t live without,” he said. They discussed technology’s impact in the classroom, Internet access on Madison campuses and computing devices in the classroom.
The MC2 Academy also visited WHNT 19, Lowe Mill, James Clemens and Bob Jones campuses and Madison Police Department at City Hall.
