Innovation Spaces

Career and Technical Education ("CTE") today is much more than the woodshop, agriculture, home economics, and welding classes of yesterday. Innovation-focused CTE spaces utilize the latest technologies and teaching practices to prepare students for the yet-to-be-invented careers of tomorrow.

What is CTE? CTE provides students with the academic and technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers.

What Innovative Career-relevant Learning Matters. Students who took 3 or more CTE courses were 21% more likely to graduate high school.

Elements of a Modern Computer Science Learning Space: Computational & design thinking resources, Digital media creation tools, 3D modeling & manufacturing devices, Coding & simulation software, High-performance computers

Career Technical Education: A Definition

Career Technical Education (CTE) is the teaching of specific career skills to students in middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions.

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Why Career-Based Education Matters

This skills-based approach is different from the academics and theory-based approaches of traditional schooling.

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The Evolving History of CTE

CTE encompasses a wide range of activities intended to foster work readiness. But it is hardly a new trend.

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Career Ready Practices

Career Ready Practices are exactly that: practices that provide a solid foundation for students in their career preparedness.

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Innovation Spaces: Hardware Options

A modern Innovation Space requires robust hardware to truly train today’s students to thrive in tomorrow’s workforce.

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Innovation Spaces: Software Options

An Innovation Space needs to prepare students for an uncertain future with jobs that have not even conceived of yet.

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Keeping Innovation at the Center of Learning in K-12 Classrooms

Innovation focused career technology education spaces utilize the latest technologies to prepare students for the careers of tomorrow.

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Leagues of Learning: The Rising Tide of Esports in Education

This white paper helps educators to understand the esports movement and its possible applications within an educational context.

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Funding a Career-based Learning Space

The intent of modern Career Technical Education is to develop a student’s employability skills and set them on a pathway into a fulfilling 21st Century career.

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Career Technical Education and Esports

Esports is competitive, organized video gaming where competitors from different teams face off playing popular video games. These gamers are followed by millions of fans all over the world.

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Professional Development Resources for Educators

Professional development for educators is evolving from a “sitting in workshops for a prescribed amount of time” requirement to PD that is more job-embedded.

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Blueprints for Modern Innovation Spaces

Modern innovation spaces take a variety of forms that are reflective of a program’s unique choices and are designed to prepare students for jobs focused on specialized technology skills.

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Common Career Technical Core Standards

The Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) standards are a state-led initiative to establish a set of benchmark standards for Career Technical Education that states can voluntarily adopt.

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Devices: The Right Windows Device for K-12 Education

This paper explores the effects of device performance on teaching, learning, and total cost of ownership of student and educator devices.

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Devices: The Right Windows Device for K-12 Education Infographic

A companion 1-page infographic the highlights the effects of device selection on teaching, learing, and total cost of ownership of Windows-based devices in K-12 education.

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Devices: The Right Chromebook for K-12 Education

White paper comparing processor performance across four different Chromebook devices currently used in K-12 education.

Adopt, Adapt and Improve: Metro Nashville Public Schools Redefines School Libraries

Tennessee's Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is blazing trails in innovative library and media center design to bring true 21^st Century literacy to 83,000 students in more than 150 schools.

Rethinking the Library Media Center

Four library media specialists share stories about transforming libraries into next-generation resource centers that students and teachers love to visit.

Stanford d.School Case Study

The d.School's philosophy holds that space, furniture, tools, and technology are integral to pedagogy. Students are encouraged to display their ideas and work in progress. See how they use their space to promote behaviors critical to design thinking, such as empathy and experimentation.

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	Augmented Vs. Virtual Reality: Which Will Transform Education? Numerous studies have shown the strengths of both virtual and augmented reality use in the classroom. But which is the best fit for today's schools?	Blog
	STEMming the Tide: STEM Tools for All Levels of Education Utilizing hands-on curriculum is the key to inspiring our children to pursue STEM-related fields. It is vital that these lesson plans be engaging and accessible to all students.	Useful links
	Five Things to Know about Design Thinking Design thinking is a pretty hot topic for teachers and for schools. David Jakes has invested five years learning design and shares his five key points to consider.	Blog

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