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"NovaNET is self-prescriptive and provides each student with an individual education plan that is faster and has more accuracy than would be available in a large classroom run by a single teacher. We are able to remediate a large group of people to the vocational level they need, enabling us to spend time with those students who really need the one on one attention to achieve their success."
     Rex Phelps, Instructor, Pinellas Technical Education Center

Highlights

• Enrollment at Pinellas Technical Education Center (PTEC) has been steadily increasing since implementing Pearson Digital Learning NovaNET® in 2001. During the 2001-2002 year, 65 students earned their GED and an additional 84 students earned their GED in 2002-2003. During the 2003-2004 school year, that number increased to 102. Already in the 2004-2005 year, 22 diplomas have been attained, with a substantial number of students awaiting their results.
• Since August 2002, Pinellas Technical Education Center, with the help of NovaNET, increased its High School Diploma graduating class by 50 percent. That number is holding at that rate, and we are anticipating an increase for this year.  
  

Profile

There are two Florida technical training centers in the Pinellas County School System. One is located in Clearwater and the other in St. Petersburg, Florida. Both public two-year campuses are full-service schools providing quality comprehensive services to students and residents in the community. A variety of technical programs and courses from evening and extended day programs to specialized programs and services are available at the centers.

The St. Petersburg center is located in an urban area surrounded by enterprise zones scheduled for economic redevelopment. The City of St. Petersburg has nearly 15 percent, or 45,000 citizens, over the age of twenty-five who do not have a high school diploma.

Challenge

PTEC in St. Petersburg faced the challenge of providing the correct type of learning vehicle for a broad cross section of learners who had failed to retain or initially learn the various skills needed to compete in a high wage workforce during their formal education years. Pinellas wanted to provide students with the tools to reach their greatest potential and success.

Solution

In 1998, the St. Petersburg PTEC purchased and installed NovaNET in its 68-computer lab for the Adult Education Center. The system was up and running within a school term with no "phase in" process needed.

NovaNET was brought in as the prime teaching tool in the Technical Resource Center, so teachers are significantly involved and familiar with the online courseware. Outside of the TRC, NovaNET is used as a supplement to enhance various courses and programs. PTEC students enjoy using the NovaNET approach because they are in control of their learning. They proceed at their own pace, and there are no excuses that a teacher is moving too fast or not providing clear instruction. Since the learning is done on a computer devoid of subjective input, the students either get the answer or they don't. PTEC uses NovaNET in classroom activities, and also as a curriculum tool for the center’s GED Online program.

GED Online Program

In 2001, Rex Phelps, instructor for PTEC, began a program called GED Online to "bridge the digital divide" for citizens who do not have access to the Internet or whose life and commitments do not include a formal classroom setting. PTEC, the City of St. Petersburg, and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, utilizing the NovaNET courseware system, joined together to present the High School Diploma (GED) Online Preparatory Course at recreation centers and libraries around the city. The course is tuition-free to any Florida resident who does not have a high school diploma. To register, a person needs to e-mail Rex Phelps, rphelps@ptec.pinellas.k12.fl.us, at the St. Petersburg Campus for an enrollment time, and will then take a short assessment called the TABE, or Test of Adult Basic Education. Students with no high school diploma and appropriates TABE-level scores are selected for the program. Once enrolled, students are assigned coursework based on their TABE, or BASI results.

Originally, the GED Online program was placed in five recreation centers and two libraries in a team effort with the City of St. Petersburg Leisure Services Department and the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative. More sites were added as word of mouth spread, and there are now 350-400 computers in 24 labs available for people to use at no charge to get their high school diploma using NovaNET. With the implementation of the GED Online Program, students began to take advantage of NovaNET's 24/7 capability. They could now set their own time for education and not have to miss work. Currently, a large number of students work from their home computers as the information about the Online program spreads throughout the county. PTEC has added Worknet Pinellas as a partner in their efforts to include as many organizations and people as possible who want to further their education.

"We use NovaNET to reach as many people as possible to obtain a high school diploma. Florida promises that any resident without a high school diploma may enroll tuition-free in a GED program. NovaNET and our GED Online program allow a significantly larger segment of the population to get their diplomas, thus reducing the cost to the participant and the school on a per person basis," says Rex Phelps.

Rex Phelps gives a GED-Online demonstration with NovaNET at a branch grand opening.

ICAN of Florida Partnership

NovaNET is installed on computers in various recreation centers, neighborhood family centers, and Pinellas County Library facilities in a not-for-profit partnership effort called ICAN of Florida (Internet for Citizens Access Network). The purpose of ICAN is to raise the level of digital inclusion by providing access to computers, the Internet, and technology-based instruction to the disadvantaged children and adults of the community. The program provides easy, free access to vocational education and pre-testing applications, career counseling, and life wellness programs. ICAN also provides mentoring and basic computer skills training. The program allows students to do their work at home or in a learning facility according to their busy schedules. The flexibility of the ICAN program permits the learner to achieve goals that would otherwise be unattainable due to income/job pressure, family or personal issues, and jail time.

Celebrating a new library branch opening for the GED Online Program.

Roe Kirbach, Pearson Digital Learning, I-CAN / Power-Up co-coordinator Tim Conwell, and City Deputy Mayor, Mike Dove.

Results

Strategies for meeting the goals and making the program successful include using various written curricula, face-to-face instruction, and pre-testing and post testing to determine success. Progress is monitored by recording TABE and GED retest information for comparison to prior and future years. Program availability has been a key factor for success: students are allowed to use NovaNET from their homes, the office, and the library site at their convenience, rather than being required to attend class.

NovaNET helps keep track of student progress, and according to Phelps, "The reporting process in NovaNET is more accurate than any I have used in the field. With the report formats built into the system, we are able to tell exactly how much time students have logged online and whether or not they actually spent the time in the lesson. With this information, I can accurately determine problem areas for students."

According to Phelps, "NovaNET works better than could have been expected. People like it, it gives them the necessary success to keep them motivated, and since August of 2002, when the school year began, PTEC had increased its High School Diploma graduating class by 50 percent!"

Enrollment at PTEC has been steadily increasing since implementing NovaNET in 2001. During the 2001-2002 year, 65 students earned their GED and an additional 84 students earned their GED in 2002-2003. In 2003-2004, 102 students earned their GED.

Pinellas Technical Education Center has been getting requests to visit other Florida locations to demonstrate its implementation. The center has succeeded in helping the citizens of St. Petersburg reach their greatest potential within the community.
 

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