Vocational schools aim to train the skilled labour required in business sector. In this sense, Ministry of Education and representatives of the business sectors in Turkey have been involved in certain projects especially during the recent years. Moreover, the curriculum of the trainings prepared within the frame of Developing Vocational Training Project were developed with the contribution of the representatives of the sector. As a matter of fact, vocational schools sign protocols with certain firms with the aim of increasing the employment opportunities for their graduates. Furthermore, senior students in vocational schools have the opportunity to put theory into practice by doing internship in firms three times a week. However, the training offered in vocational schools and firms is open to discussion. In fact, it seems quite difficult to provide quality training especially in rapidly changing fields such as Information Technologies (IT).
Apart from the quality of the training in IT, another problem could be the fact that female students have little interest in this area. According to the 2017 edition of the OECD’s Education at a Glance report, 3 of each 4 students who prefer IT are male students. In the same report, the ratio of female students undertaking studies in the field of IT is reported as 19%. It seems that it is not different in Turkey. However, it is vital that female students who study IT get quality education in this field and use technology efficiently.
In this regard, one of the vocational schools which provide training in the field of IT in Ankara has signed a protocol with one of the leading technology firms just before the training. Pursuant to the agreement, the firm did not only provide the school with necessary software and curriculum but also hold workshops at the school. It also gave certificates to successful students. The researcher provided face-to-face training in line with the given curriculum and establish communication between the students and the firm.
The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of technology training to female students given through school-industrypartnership. The study group of this research is composed of female students of Atatürk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Altındağ, Ankara. The study was completed in 10 months between September 2017 and June 2018.
Our Minecraft Workshop
Arduino Camp
Internet Security Training for Students
Internet Security Training for Parents
Cyber Security Training
IT Tools and Career Opportunities Seminar
Girls in ICT Day
Webinars
Competitions
National Game Design Competition Winner (Students: Gizem and Özlem)
National Artificial Intelligence Composition Competition Winner (Student: Seyma)
Regional Photography Awards 2nd Place (Student: Zeynep)
Also I organised some competitions in my school.
Innovation Awards
“Girls Encountering Technology” have succeeded in being among the selected projects among the thousands of projects at the innovation awards organized by ministry of education.
One More Award
“Girls Encountering Technology” was selected as winner of Digital Education Award by Istanbul University-Future Learning Conference.
Conclusion
I am doing this at zero cost while trying to improve girls in the ICT field. Microsoft has been committed to organizing technology training at my school as a reward because I have not been elected a Wonder Creator Teacher. In this context, we have been a member of the Microsoft Imagine Academy program free of charge for the past year. Around 1000 girls who are studying at our school participated in this program and received training in the ICT field. Some of this training was done through distance learning, while some was done by workshops organized by Microsoft Trainer. My students take a big step in their ICT career by getting Microsoft Certified certificates at the end of this training. There are 13 different occupations in my school. The ICT area preference rate, which was 11% previously, has risen to 60% after these studies. My two girl students Özlem and Gizem are entitled to receive a scholarship of learning as the first in a nationwide game development competition. Students with insufficient financial resources will be able to continue their educational life more easily thanks to this scholarship. They also had great pride in receiving thank-you certificates from two different ministries. I met with the leading universities of Turkey’s Hacettepe University and I want to carry the project forward together. We conducted a social responsibility project with 20 students and organized a training camp for coding. At the end of the week-long camp, the students had the opportunity to present a wide audience with an exhibition of their work. I liked many of the products that came out. Students are making use of the power of the university to produce technology instead of consuming technology. Moreover, this study is also the first project supported by universities. I witnessed my students being exposed to bulimia. I should have been focused on solutions and I went to the Information and Communication Agency without spending time with them and said that I wanted to do a study on cyber-bullying and safe internet in my school. I found support for my work and I organized training for my school to use cyber-bullying and safe internet. We even gave this training to the students and parents and shared this success story. Another girl student, İlkim, was awarded an internship at Microsoft after successful work. I attended the invitation of the Minister of International Girls in ICT Day on the last Thursday of April every year, which was celebrated all over the world and my students talked about ICT work at my school by making the opening speech of this big organization. Moreover, this innovation award within the scope of my work in my country, my school organized by the ministry of education and the sample was examined by a visit to Turkey was shared by all as a study.
Meslek liselerinin iş sektörünün ihtiyaç duyduğu nitelikli eleman yetiştirme amacı bulunmaktadır. Bu kapsamda özellikle son yıllarda Türkiye Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB) ile sektör temsilcileri arasında bir takım çalışmalar bulunmaktadır. Hatta Mesleki Eğitimi Geliştirme Projesi (MEGEP) kapsamında hazırlanan eğitim içerikleri sektör temsilcilerinin de katılımı ile hazırlanmıştır. Meslek liseleri de bazı firmalarla protokoller imzalayarak öğrencilerinin mezun olduğunda istihdam edilmesine yönelik çalışmalar yapmaktadır. Ayrıca meslek lisesi öğrencileri son sınıfta haftada 3 gün işletmelerde staj yaparak okulda öğrendikleri teorik bilgileri pratikte kullanma fırsatı elde etmektedir. Ancak gerek meslek liselerinde gerekse işletmelerde verilen eğitimin tartışma konusu olduğu da açıktır. Özellikle Bilişim Teknolojileri (BT) gibi hızlı değişen bir alanda öğrencilerin nitelikli bir şekilde yetiştirilmesi son derece zor gözükmektedir.
BT alanında verilen eğitimin niteliği dışında başka bir problemin de kız öğrencilerin bu alana olan ilgisinin azlığı olduğu söylenebilir. OECD (2017) tarafından yayınlanan “Bir Bakışta Eğitim” raporunda Bilişim Teknolojileri alanını tercih eden her 4 kişiden 3’ünün erkek öğrenciler olduğu belirtilmektedir. Aynı raporda kız öğrencilerin Bilişim Teknolojilerine yönelik çalışmalara girme oranı %19 olarak ifade edilmektedir. Ülkemizde de bu durumun farklı olmadığı düşünülmektedir. Bu açıdan bakıldığında BT Alanında eğitim gören kız öğrencilerin nitelikli eğitim alması, teknolojiyi etkili kullanmaları önemli görülmektedir.
Bu kapsamda Ankara’da Bilişim Teknolojileri Alanında eğitim veren bir meslek lisesi dünyanın önde gelen teknoloji firmalarından biri ile eğitim sürecinden hemen önce bir protokol imzalamıştır. Bu protokole göre firma okula gerekli yazılımları ve öğrencilere eğitim içeriklerini sağlayacak, okulda workshoplar düzenleyecektir. Ayrıca öğrencilerin sertifikasyonundan da sorumludur. Araştırmacı ise öğrencilere müfredat kapsamında yüz yüze eğitim verecek ve öğrencilerle firma arasındaki bağlantıyı kuracaktır.
Bu çalışma kapsamında Okul-Sektör İşbirliğinde kız öğrencilere verilen teknoloji eğitiminin, öğrencilerin teknoloji kullanımına katkısının incelenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu Ankara Altındağ Atatürk Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesinde öğrenim gören kız öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın uygulama süreci Eylül 2017 ile Haziran 2018 arasındaki 10 aylık süreci kapsamaktadır.
