Garden Valley Collegiate has recently launched a new Information
Technology program to help prepare students for rapid advances
with computer technology.
Starting this fall, GVC is offering six of a projected cluster
of twelve information technology courses. Two of the popular
new courses are offered at the Grade 11 level: "Basics In
Troubleshooting" and "Advanced Operating Systems."
Two additional new courses, slated to be introduced next year
and offered at the Senior Grade 12 level, will extend what students
learn in these technical courses.
Patterned in part on a similar program at Tech Voc Secondary
School in Winnipeg, the new program offers students a certificate
in information technology. The courses also provide students
knowledge needed to become Novel, Microsoft, IBM, Apple and A+
certified. Being certified means having the knowledge to deal
with hardware and software problems. GVC hopes to off students
high school courses that could cost them as much as $16,000 to
$20,000 through post-secondary programs.
"We want to give the our information- technology students
a jump on things, just as our automotive students now have,"
says Dan Giesbrccht, vice principal at GVC. "The Information
Technology program designed to give the students a broader horizon
of job opportunities."
The goal of the new program is to prepare students for the
working world.
"We want students to be able to walk out of our high
school and get a job, that's the key." esays Justin Deshauer
, who teaches the demanding Troubleshooting and Operating Systems
courses.
What the students previously did with Deshauer in their spare
time is now a formal course and they receive credit for what
they learn and do.
.
W.C. Miller Collegiate in nearby Altona, Manitoba, is also planning
to create a similar program, but it will be limited to only a
few students. |