Welcome to the Kuskokwim Campus ITS program website...this site has been developed to provide students and faculty with ITS related contact, class and student enrollment information...we welcome comments, suggestions and additions... email: martinl@bethel.uaf.edu

The purpose of the Information Technology Specialist Program is to train students for entry-level computer support positions. Students will develop skills applicable to small to middle size offices and to self-employment. Students will have skills that, with further training, could be used to gain other certification.

Students will learn to use the essential office applications including word processing, databases, graphics, desktop publishing, and the Internet.

Students will learn to install, troubleshoot, and configure hardware and software. The skill of troubleshooting will include both research and application.

Students will learn to research computer problems, provide computer support, and to learn new computer applications. Students will learn to acquire new skills independently in order to keep their skills current.

Students will learn to help other computer users, develop training and maintenance plans and to translate their knowledge so that others can use it. Students will also learn to respect and meet the diverse technical support needs of computer users.

Students will learn to document their work, write clearly and appropriately in an Information Technology context, respect user’s data, including backup and security, and to think through the ethical consequences of Information Technology decisions.

Students will learn to plan, implement and manage projects. Students will be able to organize, budget, evaluate, and finish projects that meet IT needs.

Students will be able to develop IT skills through our certification programs and our professional development courses. Students who are non-degree seeking will be able to acquire skills that are current and comprehensive. We are constantly adding and revising our courses to meet the professional development needs of the Information Technology field.

Students will need minimum computer knowledge in order to be admitted to the Information Technology Specialist Program. If students do not have minimum skills, they can take the CIOS 150 Computer Business Applications course.

Students will follow the normal UAF admissions process to apply for a degree or certificate. Students will be assigned an advisor, that will work with the student to evaluate skills and develop an individual program design. The advisor will also coordinate the independent project and participate in the certification review committee.

Student’s current computer skills will be evaluated. An individual educational plan will be developed to match student skills and goals. Credit for prior learning will be granted using current UAF procedures.

Students will select courses from the CIOS offerings that match the student’s interests and goals. The program design must be developed with the student’s advisor.

All Information Technology Specialist students will be required to take a core sequence of Microcomputer Operating Systems, Hardware and Software Configuration and Troubleshooting, Networking and Communications, Computer Technical Support, and an Independent Project. No credit for prior learning, with the exception of Microcomputer Operating Systems, will be granted for these classes. The Independent Project class (CIOS 276) should be taken during the final semester of the degree program.

Students will be required to complete an individual project. The project could be an internship, learning a new computer application, or developing a set of new skills not covered in the courses. The purpose of the independent project is to prepare students for the challenges of providing computer support.

All students are required to pass a certification review, which will evaluate a student’s skills. The review includes a portfolio of projects that will be presented to a committee. In addition to the portfolio presentation, students will demonstrate their IT skills by installing or configuring a computer from scratch or troubleshooting computers that are not working. If a student does not pass the certification review, students will need to revise and resubmit the work until it is satisfactory. You must pass the certification review in order to receive the degree or certificate.

What skills does IC³ cover? The IC³ training and certification program covers a broad range of computing knowledge and skills that proves competency in the areas described below. Individuals seeking IC³ certification are required to take and pass all three IC³ exams: Computing Fundamentals, Key Applications, and Living Online.

Identify different types of software, the tasks for which each type of software is most suited, and the popular programs in each software category

The Kuskokwim Campus (KuC), at the request of the telecommunications industry, has initiated the Village Technology Specialist Program. The primary impetus for the program is to support the growth and development and use of data communications services in the Y-K Delta region of Alaska. This VTS program is to be initiated in conjunction with data and internet-based infrastructure development in the region and serves as the primary ‘infostructure’ component of the project.

· Install and provide the technical support for small public access computer lab facilities in village-based operations centers. [Net+ training]

· Understand and provide technical and instructional assistance with basic computer applications and data communications skill functions. [IC3training]

· Provide customer support-type services to village-based clients and students using public access computer lab facilities. [IT Workplace Basics]

· Coordinate, support and market the functions and services provided through the village-based public access computer lab facilities. [IT Workplace Basics, IC3 and Net+ Practicum]

The proposed program of study also prepares students for more advanced technical training should they choose to continue on this career pathway. College credit and professional certification testing and preparation will give students options for continuing on both academic and career oriented pathways. Additional information: http://fc.bethel.uaf.edu/~its_program/

The VTS program utilizes content area specific, industry recognized curricula to develop the student’s IT expertise. Trainings include: IC³ intermediate level computer applications (MS Word. Excel, Operating Systems and Internet and Communications Software); Network Hardware / LAN installation and support training (abridged Net+ curriculum); and the IT workplace basics course-ware is developed to accommodate the specific workforce goals necessary to support the project’s needs and incorporates the specific educational needs of our unique group of learners in the Delta.

The IC³ training and certification program covers a broad range of computing knowledge and skills that proves competency in the areas described below. Individuals seeking IC³ certification are required to take and pass all three IC³ exams: Computing Fundamentals, Key Applications, and Living Online.

IC3 is becoming the ideal curriculum for quantifying basic and intermediate computer and internet-based competencies throughout the Y-K Delta. Numerous organizations are currently working with the KuC to develop appropriate IT training scenarios with the primary goal of providing standards-based curriculum for their workforce.

All instruction, content and delivery, is adapted specifically to VTS students needs. The following outlines the components of the IC3 program.

IC³ Living Online covers the following areas: Networks and the Internet, Electronic Mail, Using the Internet and The Impact of Computing and the Internet on Society

This course represents approximately seventy hours of intensive-style instruction and will be delivered on the Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel. Students will cover the complete IC3 curriculum over seven to eight days of full-time instruction. Students will also participate in two days of test prep and review prior to taking the IC3 certification exam. Certification exams will be administered through the campus VUE testing center. Make-up testing opportunities will be provided.

Upon completion, VTS students will have the skills necessary to support and enrich the basic IT services being delivered at each community center. Competent IC3 certificate holders could also provide basic level instructional support at their centers.

For degree seeking or continuing education students, this course is offered as two college credits, CIOS 152 Intro to Microcomputers and CIOS 146 Using the Internet.

This course will begin to develop the students’ technical abilities in networking administration and support. It will begin to build their knowledge of media and topologies, protocols and standards, network implementation, and network support.

This course is presented to students in an abridged Net+ form. It is designed to provide much of the foundation and basics for inter-networking and the development of small LANs and the practical theoretical knowledge needed to install and maintain the core facilities at their village public access technology centers. Emphasis will be placed on a ‘hands-on’ practicum where students will be provided with the opportunity to construct, troubleshoot and deconstruct engineering ‘mock-up’ of facilities to be emplaced at their village centers.

This course will be delivered in Bethel over a four-day intensive session with students aligned in cohorts around their respective demographic regions. Two days of instruction will cover theory and application specific to their village site. Two days for a hands-on engineering practicum will follow-up the theoretical instruction and students will have the opportunity to work with their own respective ‘mock-up’ facilities.

For degree seeking or continuing education students, this course is offered as two college credits, CIOS 282 Cooperative Work Experience and/or CIOS 245 Networking and Communications.

This course is designed around KuC’s very successful workplace basics curriculum that has trained over one hundred para-professionals currently employed and working in the field across the Y-K Delta.

This course offers a diverse variety of personal and career development skills, such as time and stress management and communication skills, along with study and test taking strategies for students entering academic and career environments. Instructors utilize a multi-sensory approach to enhance the learning experiences. These experiences provide the reinforcement and practical application necessary to function effectively in any workforce setting. The individualized and small group instruction fosters a supportive environment that will assist VTS students in demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to succeed in the IT workplace being created.

This practical course lays the groundwork (cohort, team building and vesting students’ interest) and immediately establishes a supportive setting for their future training and workplace environment.

The WP Basics instructional team is working directly with the KuC ITS program to tailor training for the development of skills directly related to managing, supporting and providing technology instruction at public access technology centers in a village setting.

An initial four day gathering will set the stage for upcoming technical training and provide the opportunity to begin to establish the cohorts and support that will assist them throughout the duration of the project.

Curriculum will include the above-mentioned topics. IT Workplace Basics staff will be present throughout the IC³ training time for follow-up and reinforcement activities during evening sessions. The course will culminate in a village/onsite practicum in which the VTS student trainee will plan for and hold an open house for the community in its new IT Center.

For degree seeking or continuing education students, this course is offered as two college credits, CIOS 282 Cooperative Work Experience and/or CIOS 260 Business Communications.

As a culminating experience, the VTS program initiative, KuC and UUI will provide the opportunity for VTS trainees and cohorts to participate in and on-site / village-based event. The event would bring together the technology and community in an ‘open house’ setting. VTS program instructors, support team and cohort members will participate in the design, marketing, setup and opening of a village public access technology center. A focused debriefing and follow-up for subsequent cohort practicums will take place.

The KuC recently initiated the development of a comprehensive Information Technology Specialist (ITS) program of study at the Bethel campus. The program is focused on the development of IT skills for Y-K Delta residents pursuing professional and academic career tracks in IT. The KuC recently completed major upgrade of on-campus LAN facilities that will enable access to advanced distance education resources.

The ITS program is in the process of completing the construction of dedicated lab facilities for Cisco, A+, NET+, Microsoft training as well as a VUE testing center. http://fc.bethel.uaf.edu/~its_program/

Martin Leonard has been designing and implementing technology and vocational education related training initiatives in rural Alaska, in both IT and Natural Resource sectors, for about 20 years. This includes first rural Alaska and K-12 implementations of the ‘Principles of Technology Program’ and ‘Computer-based Peer-to-Peer / Student to Instructor Distance Education’. Mr. Leonard is currently coordinating the University of Alaska’s ITS and STEM program development in the Y-K Delta and provides instruction in Cisco and other IT courses at the KuC.

Richard Taylor has been teaching and involved in technology training and related initiatives in the Y-K Delta for 20 years. He was one of the Delta’s first IT instructors, delivering courses to K-12 students in village communities as a certified teacher for the Lower Kuskokwim School District. In the last year Mr. Taylor trained over 400 students throughout the Delta, in Bethel and Y-K villages, in computer applications. He is currently full-time faculty at the KuC and a certified IC3 instructor.

Kathy Hanson has been on the faculty of Kuskokwim Campus for 16 years and lived in the YK delta for 26 years. As a faculty member she has taught developmental courses, adult basic education and GED preparation. She developed and implemented the Workplace Basics program that has become one of the important ways in which Kuskokwim Campus has tailored its instructional approaches to better fit with the mostly rural, mostly Alaska Native and English second-language learners that come to Kuskokwim Campus. Over the last 6 years, Workplace Basics has prepared over 100 individuals for successful careers in health, technology, construction, and business.