Back St. Lucie West Centennial High School

In the Career and Tech departments of schools, the buzz word is 'industry certification.' Our students can not only open doors for themselves by earning these credentials, but their success can also impact our school grade. Our Allied Health curriculum covers medical assisting skills, EKG skills, nursing assistant, and First Responder skills and one of the industry certifications that the students are eligible to take is a CMAA or Certified Medical
Administrative Assistant. This kind of information is difficult to cover from a textbook and with the advent of electronic medical records; I've found that an effective way to cover these skills is with a computer program, Health Center 21. Health Center 21 covers all aspects of our curriculum. We allied health teachers face challenges like covering standards, reaching diverse learners, engaging students, integrating Web-based technologies, to name a few. This online software program helps address those issues by providing blendedlearning opportunities with engaging, interactive activities for all levels of learners. Some of the aspects of this program that I find most appealing are the student engagement factor. They require more interactive learning vs. passive learning. They expect immediate responses and an instant assessment. Traditional textbooks and lectures with notes are no longer the way this generation learns. The program allows for the lessons to be student-directed so the student works at their own pace. They allow for continuous, formative assessments and immediate feedback. And students can remediate themselves. Students using the program will be handed the reins of responsibility for their learning success. Since the programs are studentdirected, it frees up teacher time to allow the teacher to spend more one-on-one time with students. My colleagues from other counties have allowed me to test drive this program and I can only see benefits for my allied health students.

1) How is your project innovative? {25 points)
21st century students have come to expect more hands-on, engaging lessons. Although my Allied Health students
participate in an on-the-job internship, they need to learn the basics of medical office management prior to this
work experience. With the advent of electronic medical records, textbooks cannot bring this lesson alive for the
students. The computer program Health Center 21 was created to offer the student self-directed lessons covering
our entire curriculum that the students can work at in the classroom, at home, or even on a cell phone.

2) How will it fit into your curriculum (include standards)? {10 points)
Our standards clearly list:
01.0 Demonstrate knowledge of the health care delivery system and health occupations.
02.0 Use oral and written communication skills in creating, expressing and interpreting information and ideas.
03.0 Describe the importance of professional ethics and legal responsibilities.
04.0 Demonstrate an understanding of and apply wellness and disease concepts.
05.0 Demonstrate the importance of health, safety, and environmental management systems in organizations and their
importance to organizational performance and regulatory compliance.
06.0 Recognize and respond to emergency situations.
07.0 Recognize and practice infection control procedures.
08.0 Use information technology tools.
09.0 Explain the importance of employability skill and entrepreneurship skills.
10.0 Demonstrate knowledge of blood borne diseases, including HlV / AIDS.
11.0 Demonstrate mathematics and science knowledge and skills.
12.0 Demonstrate language arts knowledge and skills.
13.0 Demonstrate personal money-management concepts, procedures, and strategies.
14.0 Solve problems using critical thinking skills, creativity and innovation.
15.0 Describe the roles within teams, work units, departments, organizations, inter-organizational systems, and the larger16.0 Demonstrate leadership and teamwork skills needed to accomplish team goals and objectives.
Health Center 21 closely aligns their software with these standards and they continually update them.

3) How will it encourage long-lasting change in your classroom, school or community? {20 points)
With the ever-changing health field that my students are all interested in, purchasing and completion of this
program will increase student knowledge in the areas of allied health allowing them to successfully pass their
industry certification exams. This will increase their employability and give them a head start when they begin
their college career. This will also benefit our school because passage of these industry cert exams benefits the
school grade. And finally, this will all benefit the community because our students will be better prepared when
they take employment in the healthcare field of our local hospitals and healthcare facilities.

4) How will technology be utilized? (20 points)
A license will be purchased for each student in the Allied Health program. This license will allow the student access
to the program from the classroom, from home, or even from their cell phone. I have 28 laptops and 4 desktop
computers availal;lle for student use in my room. The program allows for the lessons to be student-directed so the
student works at their own pace. They allow for continuous, formative assessments and immediate feedback. And
students can remediate themselves as much or as little as they feel they need. Students using the program will be
handed the reins of responsibility for their learning success. Since the programs are student-directed, it frees up
teacher time to allow the teacher to spend more one-on-one time with students.

5) What evidence will you collect to show student gain? {10 points)
I will have teacher access to view student progress on assignments, homework, and assessments.

6) How will participants share your project results with the community? {15 points)
I plan to share our success with the community by having the students write about the project. I will have an article
posted on the school website, the school board website and online newsletter, and in the Career and Technical
Education newsletter. I also have availability in the local newspapers to have articles posted about our student
success. My students also belong to a national student organization, HOSA-Future Health Professionals and we will be
able to have articles posted on both the FL HOSA website and newsletter and the National HOSA website and
newsletter.