Why Math Is So Important

Many students fail to see the importance of math after high school. This article discusses how math can change your future, even if you never really have to apply the Pythagorean Theorem.

Why Math is Important

Many students wonder if they’ll ever really need to know how to use the quadratic equation or find the volume of a cone. Not realizing how useful math can be, some choose to only fulfill the minimum requirements that their high schools requires. This can be a mistake, and here are several reasons why:

College

According to the professionals at College Board (www.collegeboard.com), students who take geometry in high school have about an 80 percent chance of attending college regardless of race, religion and family income. Taking math is important if you’re considering attending a college, university or technical school. Many of these institutions require students to take at least two to three years of math; however, four years of math is strongly recommended.

You not only need to take math so you can have it on your transcript, you also need math skills for standardized tests such as the SATs and ACT. You need to take these tests to qualify for admission as well. Your math skills will also be useful once you begin attending a college or university. Many schools have general education (GE) requirements that require students to take at least one quarter or a semester of math.

Career

Those at College Board also emphasize how math can help you prepare for a career. The skills that you learn in math courses may be applicable down the line, even if you are not studying to become an engineer or an accountant. Many entry-level jobs require employees to have some math knowledge. Even understanding the basic math functions can be advantageous.

From the professionals at College Board, here is a list of important skills obtained from math courses:

-The ability to identify and analyze patterns

-Logic and critical thinking skills

-Ability to see relationships

-Problem solving skills.

Go to diploma guide to read the full article.

Watch this ATETV.org video and experience how math prepares you for your future  career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The CoE for ICT, for 2010, is again assembling a group of IT/CS industry professionals (up to 30 professionals from multiple program pathways – web programming, programming, networking, systems, database, hardware/software technicians, gaming, etc.) to review up to twelve state CTC IT/CS program degrees and certificates currently in place (one degree or certificate per college).  This service will be offered at no charge to the twelve participating state CTCs. The deadline for completing the application form on the CoE website is Friday, November 5, 2010.

The panel will assess alignment of program’s course offerings and curriculum to determine if the programs are currently preparing students to successfully enter the workforce.  The December 2nd and 3rd, 2010 review sessions will not be open to participating college administrators and/or faculty  in order to optimize the free flow of feedback and information from the industry professionals.

• Upon completion of the industry analysis, the Center will issue a five-page, high level recommendation and plan for action report to each college.  The participating CTC will be asked to provide feedback about any future action or action plans based upon the review process and report.  The CoE for IT will upon request review action plans; provide feedback and advice to participating CTCs.  Industry professionals will review and provide analysis of progress.
• Follow-up interviews and/or evaluations with participating colleges will assess the projects level of impact for the respective colleges.  The CoE will provide mentoring upon request.
• The process and reports documenting the process will be disseminated, including specifics related to the return on investment on the Center’s website, e-newsletter, and at related conferences and events.

Last year the Center reviewed and issued reports to:

• Big Bend Community College
• Bellevue College
• Cascadia Community College
• Everett Community College
• Lower Columbia Community College
• Seattle Central Community College

The 27 industry participants include professionals from Microsoft, Affirma Consulting,  Akvelon, Boeing, Starbucks, Click-Network, and Hitachi Consulting.

Interested in having your program reviewed?  Complete our online application!

The following resources were developed and are available for download and dissemination.

Bringing Together Student: Success and Workforce Development: The Next Challenge for Community Colleges by Dr. Jim Jacobs, Macomb Community College

Stem to Stern Student Outcomes

Stem to Stern Preliminary Findings from Employer Research

For more information, please contact Cheryl Vermilyea,Cheryl.vermilyea@bellevuecollege.edu Phone: 425-564-2431

The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition. Beginning with local and regional competitions, Imagine Cup 2011 comes to an exciting finale at the Worldwide Finals held this year in New York City, United States.  Overall, the idea is to show how technology can help solve the world’s toughest problems (Based upon the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals). And the solution? Well, that’s entirely up to you—and your imagination.

The Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology is inviting up to five teams (comprised of four community and technical college students) and a faculty mentor to compete in Microsoft’s 2011 Imagine Cup, with the national completion hosted at Microsoft’s Redmond campus.

The five different competition categories (with specific competition themes, descriptions, deadlines and due dates, and other details attached) in which teams can compete are:

• Software Design
• Embedded Development
• Game Design
  • Windows/Xbox
  • Web (Silverlight)
  • Mobile (Zune/Phone)
  • Specific Rules for Game Design
• Digital Media
• IT Challenge

* Official Rules

The Center is accepting Imagine Cup 2011 Competition team applications from the CTC system through September 30, 2010.  Each team selected for support by the Center of Excellence will receive a $3,000 stipend for the faculty mentor for release time or travel expenditures.  The funds cannot be used for software or equipment per state rules and laws.  However, check out dreamspark.com for free software downloads provided by Microsoft.

Faculty, Students, the Public-at-Large:  Please join us to find out about the Sustainable Business Practices program and…

• People—Planet—and Profits — creating a better balance between social, environmental and economic factors for short- and long-term performance
• Energy and resource efficiencies are critical to decrease the environmental impact of organizations while at the same time improve financial health
• Conserving, recovering and managing resources ensure that companies have long term access to potentially finite assets

WHEN: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 12pm-1pm (Light snacks and refreshments will be served)

WHERE: N201, the N-building

WHO CAN ATTEND? Anyone!  Students, faculty, the public-at-large

This Green IT presentation is free and sponsored by the State’s Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology

The Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology recently had an in-depth orientation on three Microsoft programs that are available to faculty and students at no-cost.  The Students to Business (S2B), Imagine Cup, and Dream Spark programs are exciting and designed to engage, stimulate innovation and competition, provide opportunities for valuable certifications, and help your students find entry-level and internship positions.

The Students to Business (S2B) program is a Microsoft® Community Initiative designed to connect Microsoft partners and customers with qualified students for entry-level and internship positions.

The objective of the S2B program is to inspire local businesses to communicate the competency requirements for new talent, to evaluate the skills of students ready for an entry-level job or internship and collaborate with Microsoft and local education institutions to provide the curriculum and training needed to ensure students are prepared to meet the innovation needs of company’s around the globe.

Using your local Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) program your university can:

• Register students to receive Microsoft-job opportunities in your region
• Connect to local industry leaders for technology spotlights and career mentoring
• Offer students internships and jobs using Microsoft Technologies
• Promote course offerings to students looking to enhance their career skills
• Enhance your universities reputation with the local software industry.

Imagine Cup: Solve the World’s Toughest Problems

The Imagine Cup encourages young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. Now in its eighth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to real world issues. Register and find out more…

Competition Categories

• Software Design
• Embedded Development
• Game Design
• Digital Media
• IT Challenge

Dream Spark: Dream Today. Create Tomorrow

DreamSpark provides professional-level developer and design tools to students and educators around the world at no charge. These Microsoft tools will help you advance your learning and skills through technical design, technology, math, science, and engineering activities.  High Schools, Vocational and Trade Schools, Community Colleges, and Universities are all eligible to participate in the DreamSpark program. Simply put, any accredited school around the world is eligible.  DreamSpark has loads of products! You can see the entire list by visiting the DreamSpark home page all of them are listed for easy access.

Oh, and by the way? These are the serious versions for serious people. We’re talking, the big-time stuff.

Looking Ahead, John Perera, General Manager, Educational Marketing, Microsoft

Web 2.0 Technologies for Your Classrom, Jean Kent, North Seattle Community College

Online Collaborations: SharePoint 2010, Office Web Apps, Web Services, Lance Baldwin, Business Development Manager, Education Product Groups, Microsoft

Shared Source, Windows Academic and Faculty Curriculum Resources: Supporting Teaching and Research World-Wide, Arkady Retik, Director, Windows Group, Microsoft

Productivity in the Age of Information Overload: Office 2010, Scott Kennedy, Solution Specialist, Microsoft Corporation

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Bellevue College first-year funding of $3.36 million to lead a 10-state consortium of community colleges in expanding health information technology (health IT) training over the next two years.

Under the grant, Bellevue College will join four other community colleges — from Ohio, Virginia, California and North Carolina – in leading one of the five, multi-state community college consortia HHS is establishing to expand health IT training in all 50 states.

Each consortium will develop and launch new programs to train workers across its region in computer-based tools such as digital medical records; billing, scheduling, patient monitoring and decision-making programs; and systems for communicating with patients and consumers. Applying these tools in hospitals, clinics and physician’s offices is believed by many to be one of the most productive ways to improve the quality and efficiency of American health care.

Bellevue College will use $1.6 million of the grant to administer the consortium and develop programs in Washington, disbursing the remainder to the other seven consortium members: Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.), North Idaho College (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho), Salt Lake Community College (Salt Lake City, Utah), Montana Tech (Butte, Mont.), Pueblo Community College ( Pueblo, Col.), Dakota State University (Madison, S. D.), and Lake Region State College (Devils Lake, N. D.).

Each college will use its funds to implement nationally developed health IT curricula, and support learners in finding related employment. In addition to colleges in the members’ states, schools in Alaska and Wyoming are expected to be involved in this aspect of the project.

Altogether, the consortium plans to train a total of 2,400 new health IT workers over the next two years – 300 in Washington state alone – and assist them in finding jobs.

Bellevue College has been heavily involved in the new field of life science informatics since 2004, which when it received $875,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor to serve as the Life Science Informatics Center of Excellence of the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce. Under that grant, the college developed job skill standards and curricula that are used now as a national resource by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

As the designated Center for Information Technology Excellence for Washington’s community and technical colleges, Bellevue College has already developed an 18-credit, online certificate program to train dislocated IT workers for jobs in the healthcare industry. This curriculum is now being implemented by five Washington state community colleges (including Bellevue).

Earlier this year, Washington’s Health Care Authority selected Bellevue College, through a competitive process, to lead American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-related development and technical training of Washington’s health IT workforce.

The grant from HHS, part of a total $144 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds the department is disbursing, in its words, to “enlist the talent and resources of some of the nation’s leading universities, community colleges and major research centers to advance the widespread adoption and meaningful use of health IT.”

The 2010 Washington State IT Futures Education Summit is scheduled for Friday, May 21st, 2010, at the Microsoft Corporate Conference Center. Register for this free events so you can join your technical and workforce development instructors and colleagues across the state in discovering new and innovative ways to improve IT education. This one-day free event features several industry and education speakers in various disciplines of IT to share the impacts, challenges, growth and demands of technology.

Session titles are listed below. Included within the day’s activities are drawings for great giveaways (books, a seat to the 2010 Working Connections IT Faculty Development Institute, a Kindle, a Xbox 360, and a portable DVD player funded by the BC Foundation. Morning and afternoon refreshments will be served, as well as lunch, and parking is free.

Session #1:

• How to Refresh Your IT Program (Microsoft IT Academy)
• Productivity in the Age of Information Overload (Office 2010)
• Web 2.0 Technologies for Your Classroom

Session #2:

• The Evolution of the Windows Kernel Architecture (Windows 7 and beyond)
• Software Development (Visual Studio 2010)
• Adobe Creative Suite 4

Round Table Lunchtime Sessions:

• Cloud Computing (Azure) – Microsoft
• Virtualization (Hyper V, Virtual PC and server)
• Online Collaboration (SharePoint 2010, Office Web Apps, Windows Live Services)

Session #3:

SAVE THE DATE! for the College and Career Fair

Friday, April 23, 2010

11:00-1:00 pm at Marysville Mountain View High School
Please contact the email below for more information. Contact Marianne_Pauley@msvl.k12.wa.us if you have further questions or would like to be featured as a career speaker.

Thanks for your consideration & helping us connect our students with real career opportunities!

From: Marianne Pauley, CTE Business Education Marysville Mountain View High School 4317 76^th Street NE Marysville, WA  98270 Phone: (360) 651-5761 Fax:  (360) 629-1989