Open Forum

Hello!

My high school is pushing for more CTE classes to get certifications relevant to their fields. I've looked into Presett and eSET, but I'm unsure about it for my students. My school does have access to certiport, which allows them to certify in different software applications. Would it be relevant for a high school student to become a Certified AutoCAD User?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Scott Ferrell
Humanities Instructor
Blytheville AR
------------------------------

We are heavy into CTE at our school as well. I would say, any certification can't hurt them, and may help them as they find jobs or apply to colleges. Most of all though, CTE certifications are a way to show mastery on an examination that extends beyond your school in a subject that may not have another way to demonstrate that mastery. This makes your school, program, and ultimately it's teachers and students look like they are working at a more universally accepted level of rigor. 

Did you know that some states have developed their own CTE programs that even include theatre?! I was excited to hear this, but push back in my state, Florida, is so strong against it, that it's likely never going to happen here. You may want to do a little research though through these discussion threads about what CTE certifications other schools are using in coordination with theatre classes. 

Personally and at my school we have played around with Microsoft certifications in coordination with publicity and entertainment management through our theatre program; however, we recently settled on focusing more towards AP courses through theatre, rather than keep trying to cram into the CTE box that just doesn't seem to be fitting us. I am teaching AP Studio Art 3D (theatre focused so we work on costume construction, performance art, set design,...) and AP Capstone (playwriting and production focused). This seems to be a better fit, as it's a more flexible approach, and more highly desirable to colleges. 

I'm not sure if this addressed your question completely, but I hope it helped.

------------------------------
Kathleen McNulty Mann
mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.us

Program Director
Arnold High School Theatre
Thespian Troupe 6371
Panama City Beach, FL

District 10 Chair & State Logistics
Florida State Junior Thespians

Board Member
Membership Committee Chair
Florida Association for Theatre Education
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 08:48
From: Scott Ferrell
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

Hello!

My high school is pushing for more CTE classes to get certifications relevant to their fields. I've looked into Presett and eSET, but I'm unsure about it for my students. My school does have access to certiport, which allows them to certify in different software applications. Would it be relevant for a high school student to become a Certified AutoCAD User?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Scott Ferrell
Humanities Instructor
Blytheville AR
------------------------------

AutoCAD is basically a replacement for an old-fashioned drafting table with a huge amount of tools. I used it for many years and it did make things faster and more efficient, but I still had to learn how to draft (know what I wanted to do) before the program's many tools would make any sense to me. There are several certification options, but all of them are geared towards being proficient in the program itself. IOW, a student would really have to want to get into drafting, in and of itself, in order to be interested in getting certified in AutoCAD.

Now, if that student wants to get into 3D modeling... well... that's a different conversation. There are options that include AutoCAD and options that replace AutoCAD.

Most of us in set design who use AutoCAD for shop drawings actually use only a small fraction of the program's tools. In my case, working on complex theme-park attractions for several years, I needed only a fraction of what the program could do. Later, working on live theater, I used a twenty-year-old version of AutoCAD LT (a "light" version of the full program) until a few years ago, when I switched to SketchUp and LayOut, and haven't had any need to go back. And even then I needed only a fraction of AutoCAD LT's many tools.

That being said, a certification is a certification, and it can't hurt. That same student may discover he or she likes drafting and decide to go into architecture, engineering, aerospace, exhibits, the movie industry, or some other field that uses AutoCAD drafters -- and there are many such fields.


------------------------------
George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
www.georgefledo.net
http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 11:17
From: Kathleen McNulty Mann
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

We are heavy into CTE at our school as well. I would say, any certification can't hurt them, and may help them as they find jobs or apply to colleges. Most of all though, CTE certifications are a way to show mastery on an examination that extends beyond your school in a subject that may not have another way to demonstrate that mastery. This makes your school, program, and ultimately it's teachers and students look like they are working at a more universally accepted level of rigor.

Did you know that some states have developed their own CTE programs that even include theatre?! I was excited to hear this, but push back in my state, Florida, is so strong against it, that it's likely never going to happen here. You may want to do a little research though through these discussion threads about what CTE certifications other schools are using in coordination with theatre classes.

Personally and at my school we have played around with Microsoft certifications in coordination with publicity and entertainment management through our theatre program; however, we recently settled on focusing more towards AP courses through theatre, rather than keep trying to cram into the CTE box that just doesn't seem to be fitting us. I am teaching AP Studio Art 3D (theatre focused so we work on costume construction, performance art, set design,...) and AP Capstone (playwriting and production focused). This seems to be a better fit, as it's a more flexible approach, and more highly desirable to colleges.

I'm not sure if this addressed your question completely, but I hope it helped.

------------------------------
Kathleen McNulty Mann
mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.us

Program Director
Arnold High School Theatre
Thespian Troupe 6371
Panama City Beach, FL

District 10 Chair & State Logistics
Florida State Junior Thespians

Board Member
Membership Committee Chair
Florida Association for Theatre Education

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 08:48
From: Scott Ferrell
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

Hello!

My high school is pushing for more CTE classes to get certifications relevant to their fields. I've looked into Presett and eSET, but I'm unsure about it for my students. My school does have access to certiport, which allows them to certify in different software applications. Would it be relevant for a high school student to become a Certified AutoCAD User?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Scott Ferrell
Humanities Instructor
Blytheville AR
------------------------------

AP courses are not a substitute for CTE courses – at least not in the eyes of the Department of Labor and Industries. Check out the CTE Technical Theatre Certification discussion.

------------------------------
Beth Rand, EBMS
Lighting Designer
School Theatre Operations Coach

NEW!
ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

"HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

www.PRESETT.org
Westminster, CO
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 11:17
From: Kathleen McNulty Mann
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

We are heavy into CTE at our school as well. I would say, any certification can't hurt them, and may help them as they find jobs or apply to colleges. Most of all though, CTE certifications are a way to show mastery on an examination that extends beyond your school in a subject that may not have another way to demonstrate that mastery. This makes your school, program, and ultimately it's teachers and students look like they are working at a more universally accepted level of rigor.

Did you know that some states have developed their own CTE programs that even include theatre?! I was excited to hear this, but push back in my state, Florida, is so strong against it, that it's likely never going to happen here. You may want to do a little research though through these discussion threads about what CTE certifications other schools are using in coordination with theatre classes.

Personally and at my school we have played around with Microsoft certifications in coordination with publicity and entertainment management through our theatre program; however, we recently settled on focusing more towards AP courses through theatre, rather than keep trying to cram into the CTE box that just doesn't seem to be fitting us. I am teaching AP Studio Art 3D (theatre focused so we work on costume construction, performance art, set design,...) and AP Capstone (playwriting and production focused). This seems to be a better fit, as it's a more flexible approach, and more highly desirable to colleges.

I'm not sure if this addressed your question completely, but I hope it helped.

------------------------------
Kathleen McNulty Mann
mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.us

Program Director
Arnold High School Theatre
Thespian Troupe 6371
Panama City Beach, FL

District 10 Chair & State Logistics
Florida State Junior Thespians

Board Member
Membership Committee Chair
Florida Association for Theatre Education

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 08:48
From: Scott Ferrell
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

Hello!

My high school is pushing for more CTE classes to get certifications relevant to their fields. I've looked into Presett and eSET, but I'm unsure about it for my students. My school does have access to certiport, which allows them to certify in different software applications. Would it be relevant for a high school student to become a Certified AutoCAD User?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Scott Ferrell
Humanities Instructor
Blytheville AR
------------------------------

Thanks for checking into PRESETT's certificate courses for high school tech students!

Another idea might be Solidworks. My son is a robotics geek college student and just finished an exam to get certified (it was 3 hours long though). That won't help for lighting, but it might help for set design? Also a great endorsement to put on a resume!

------------------------------
Beth Rand, EBMS
Lighting Designer
School Theatre Operations Coach

NEW!
ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

"HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

www.PRESETT.org
Westminster, CO
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 08:48
From: Scott Ferrell
Subject: AutoCAD Certification

Hello!

My high school is pushing for more CTE classes to get certifications relevant to their fields. I've looked into Presett and eSET, but I'm unsure about it for my students. My school does have access to certiport, which allows them to certify in different software applications. Would it be relevant for a high school student to become a Certified AutoCAD User?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Scott Ferrell
Humanities Instructor
Blytheville AR
------------------------------