Eldon schools introduce informatics program

Informatics instructor Steve Walker assists Eldon senior Tatum Husong with her Microsoft Excel database project during class Wednesday at the Eldon Career Center.
Informatics instructor Steve Walker assists Eldon senior Tatum Husong with her Microsoft Excel database project during class Wednesday at the Eldon Career Center.

ELDON, Mo. - Eldon High School senior Alexa Belshe is undecided on a career path. However, a new program, informatics, piqued her interest.

The program allows students to receive hands-on experience designing, building and testing computer databases to collect information on products and consumer habits for business optimization in a data-rich digital world.

Now, Belshe is one of 20 students to take the informatics course at the Eldon R-1 School District, which is the first to offer the program at the high school level in Missouri.

"Informatics interested me because it is business-oriented. It is a new and developing field with many job opportunities," Belshe said. "I am currently undecided on what career I want to pursue, so I figured informatics would be a new and interesting class. Hopefully, it will help me decide on my major."

Implementing informatics

In wanting to offer additional courses that allowed students to receive new skills for career and college pursuits, the Eldon R-1 School District partnered with the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and did analysis on emerging career fields and skills needed for those jobs. Informatics was one of the top six skilled career areas highlighted in its findings.

According to SREB's advanced career curriculum, informatics designs systems that take raw data and converts it into new knowledge that can be applied to any field while considering the impact on individuals, organizations and society. The ability to collect vast amounts of information cost-effectively is changing the way business manages information, creates knowledge and makes decisions, SREB's information said.

"SREB developed the informatics curriculum, and we follow that curriculum," said Steve Walker, informatics teacher at Eldon schools.

SREB's has implemented informatics as an advanced career program, which puts emphasis on five key areas 75 percent of employers say they want: critical thinking, complex problem solving, written and oral communication, and applied knowledge in real-world settings. Career opportunities using informatics include bioinformaticist, data mapper, database designer, digital artist, software engineer, human-computer interface designer, information architect and project manager.

Walker, who retired from the U.S. Air Force two years ago, teaches and is an assistant football coach at Eldon High School. He completed a two-week training for informatics at Northern Kentucky University during the summer. Having flown C-130s for most of his military career and working with computer applications for flight planning and other duties, he sees how developing database application skills are useful for students.

"Being able to use these applications and get into a technology-based career field is the growing trend out there for job opportunities," he said. "For our first year, we were expecting maybe 10 or 12 students interested, but having 20 is a great start. We are excited about it, and we want it to continue to grow and develop the program."

 

Teaching informatics

Right now, the district is offering the first of four project learning-based courses available in SREB's informatics program curriculum. Students in course 1, "Computers, Networks and Databases," work collaboratively in teams to design systems, solve problems, think critically, be creative and communicate with each other and business partners. They also design an inventory system for a retail store, compare stores in a company to project future sales and track customer buying habits.

Walker said the yearlong course is split into developing three projects each semester using two separate software programs: Microsoft Excel in the first semester and Microsoft Access in the second. Currently, the students are working with Microsoft Excel, first learning to build spreadsheet applications and do data analysis from a business standpoint; two additional Microsoft Excel projects will add on more features of the software.

The students are split into teams of two to four students who work together on each project, which takes 30-35 days to complete.

"It is a different course because I don't stand up every day and do PowerPoint instruction. I do a lot of stuff in front of starting the project, but since it is a project-based learning class, the kids just work on their projects," he said. "They are working with that team for each project. We want them to work with people since they will be doing that for the rest of their lives. Knowing their strengths that they bring to the team, the things that they need to work on and being in that team environment is part of the goal of the class, as well."

Future plans for expansion

Walker said the district hopes to integrate course 2 of the informatics program, which starts applying the design process to create systems like a cloud-based digital storage system, in a couple of years.

"The last three courses get into cloud concepts and using the cloud for information storage and design from that standpoint. The last course focuses on developing and excelling in using a cloud system and its presence," Walker said. "Course 1 is what we are going to do for the first couple of years. Following that, we will work toward integrating course 2, and then eventually all four courses."

Walker also said once the full four-course curriculum is implemented, dual credit, with college credit awarded, will be available for students in the informatics program.

Another aspect of the informatics program is connecting students with business partners in the Eldon community and surrounding area. Walker said, for example, students make a presentation at the end of each project. Eventually, they would invite business partners to watch those presentations and give students feedback.

"That is the end goal, but we're not there yet since we just started. We would like to reach out in the Eldon community. There are all sorts of businesses we can have a partnership with, such as Walmart, the auto parts place," he said. "We hope that we can help them from a business standpoint and possibly improve them through some of these projects."