Teachers at training

OTTUMWA ? More than 500 Iowa students can now work with leading industry technology, develop their information technology skills and potentially earn Oracle certification due to a private-public partnership and the dedication of some area educators.

The Oracle Academy, the Iowa Department of Education and the Technology Association of Iowa collaborated to provide training to Iowa college and high school instructors through The Oracle Academy Instructor?s Institute, an intensive professional development program that prepares faculty to teach Oracle?s technology and business curriculum.

Indian Hills Community College instructors Ray Ryon, Susan Wilson, Kevin Throckmorton and Mark Van Velsor, who teach in the software development program, and area high school instructors Susan Ambrose (Albia), Susan Seuferer (Chariton), Sandy Warning (Davis County) and Mary Sedering (Van Buren County), all took part in the training. They will now be able to teach students in highly sought-after job skills close to the students? homes.

Plans are for Davis County High School to offer an Oracle class in the upcoming school year. IHCC and Davis County are exploring offering concurrent credit for the course.

The IHCC faculty members also recently offered area high school educators a workshop in the 3-D programming language ?Alice.? With this training, the high school teachers can offer instruction to their students in Alice.

Educators taking part were Sharon Flinspach (Fairfield), Ted Banning and Susan Ambrose (Albia), Michelle Grove (Davis County) and Susan Seuferer (Chariton).

Davis County High School could begin offering a course in Alice programming during the next school year with concurrent enrollment at IHCC a possibility.