Becomes A Cisco Regional Network Academy
High Technology H.S. (HTHS) has been selected as one of the first New Jersey Regional Cisco Networking Academies. Since January of 1999, students at HTHS, and local high school students have had the opportunity to learn the necessary computing and networking skills to move toward successful careers as Cisco Certified Network Associates. Through this partnership with Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, High Technology H.S. and partner local schools will offer four-semester programs of specially-created curriculum, network-related technological problem solving, and network certification testing.
The Cisco Systems Networking Academy Program is a complete, four-semester program on the principles and practice of designing, building, and maintaining networks capable of supporting national and global organizations. The Networking Academy is localized to individual needs of high schools and junior or community colleges, and features hands-on, project-driven training in high-demand job skills.
Through an innovative partnership with school districts and colleges across the U.S., Cisco Systems is preparing students for the demands and enormous opportunities of the information economy while creating a qualified talent pool for building and maintaining networks.
Now in the early stages of a nationwide rollout leading to international participation, the Networking Academies is a cooperative venture between schools, colleges and Cisco, the world leader in networking for the Internet. In a lab setting that closely corresponds to the real world, students get their hands on the building blocks of today's global information networks, learning by doing as they design and bring to life local and wide-area networks.
Using Web-based instruction, students will learn the conceptual and technical skills to design, install, operate and maintain state-of-the-art computer networks. In a lab setting that closely corresponds to the real world, students get their hands on the building blocks of today's global information networks, learning by doing as they design and bring to life local and wide-area networks. These are the skills that can potentially lead graduates to careers developing computer networks for academic institutions and major corporations.
The information economy will demand an unprecedented level of technology literacy from tomorrow's workers. A few statistics foreshadow a potential crisis in the American workplace:
- Currently, mid-to large-sized companies in the U.S. alone have about 190,000 unfilled technology jobs. And 82 percent of technology companies expect to increase their information technology (IT) staff in the next several years.
- Nearly 70 percent of technology companies cite a lack of skilled IT workers as a barrier to growth.
- As teachers around the world begin to integrate the vast resources available to them on the Internet and as networks become an important tool of boosting administrative efficiency and communications, education institutions face the same shortage of network-support personnel.
- Schools are under pressure to prepare students with the necessary skills to be successful in the 21st century. Eighty-six percent of America's classrooms lack a direct Internet connection.
Through the Cisco Network Academies program, high school and college students can learn the information needed to prepare them for the Cisco Certified Networking Associates exam. This certification positions them for immediate openings in a talent-hungry job market.
Cisco Network Academies provide course work for a complete range of basic through advanced networking concepts -- from pulling cable through such complex concepts as subnet masking rules and strategies.
The academy design accommodates diverse learning styles. For those who learn by reading, text is available. More-visual learners can focus on the course material's extensive graphics and QuickTime movies. To promote development of the personal skills that underpin success careers, projects require students not only to resolve technical issues, but also to successfully address network users' needs.
