Innovative Job Shadows for Area Students

Students from area high schools in southwest Iowa were able to learn practical skills during their recent job shadows with area businesses. The College Career Academies, a partnership between Iowa Western Community College and the Loess Hills Area Education Agency 13, provided students with these innovative workplace learning experiences. Google participated in virtual job shadows where students learned Google's core web applications. Geek Squad helped students learn how to configure a wireless router. CyaNetSports showed students how to create a video podcast. DARMEDIA helped students learn how to prepare, process and present images for use on a web site.

Students also learned about the history, customers, and necessary employment requirements of each business. Tyler Ruse, from Fremont-Mills High School said, "I learned a lot about the way Geek Squad handles their customers, how they trouble shoot computers and what it takes to fix them. My experience at this job shadow was a blast!"

Nate Jones, from Lewis Central High School said, " I learned how to use the Google core web applications and enjoyed meeting Googler, Josh Crass."

Zach Schoning, from Griswold High School commented about his DARMEDIA job shadow saying, "I learned a ton of information in a short amount of time and was able to understand what I was doing. The whole time was hands on work which I loved a lot."

The goal of these IT job shadows was to connect students with businesses to increase the relevancy of education and help them become more engaged learners.

Glenn Grove, Chief Administrator of the AEA 13 said, "We want to develop the regional workforce by preparing students to be college and career ready to compete in a global, high-tech marketplace."

Over twenty students provided video testimonials about their experiences. Click here to view.