'it's learning' Helps McKinley Technology High School Revamp Its Internship Program

Online platform provides mentoring, behavior tracking, and attendance tools that will aid in managing successful internship experiences

BURLINGTON, Mass., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- McKinley Technology High School has incorporated it's learning (www.itslearning.net), an individualized learning platform for K-12 and higher education, into its internship program to provide the framework for increased organization, program structure, and accountability measures. The Washington, D.C.-based high school, which focuses heavily on STEM curricula for its grade 9-12 students, will predominantly use the platform's mentoring, behavior tracking and attendance features throughout the internship process.

Gideon Sanders, recently appointed Director or Partnerships and Internships at McKinley Technology High School, determined that the internship program previously in place needed to be better organized in order for students to succeed and gain the most from the program's offerings. Sanders, who used it's learning for his daily instructional practices and helped to implement the platform school-wide, decided that it's learning could provide the tools and resources needed to increase accountability for students while making teachers and program mentors more active in the internship process.

"This year we are expecting between 60 and 80 senior students to participate in the internship program in order to gain workforce experience at businesses located throughout the metropolitan area," said Sanders. "We are making sure that students remain accountable for their work by collaborating with site mentors in establishing benchmarks and implementing individual learning plans (ILP) that outline measures for success during the internship. Program mentors will also take an active role in the new process by providing guidance and making sure that students are meeting their benchmarks. it's learning provides an easily accessible platform for mentors to comment on student work and to assess student progress, while allowing educators to easily view and track student performance."  

Every two weeks on-site job mentors will assign students benchmarks such as learning new computer skills, completing project tasks, etc. Students are required to meet all benchmarks during the internship. These benchmarks will be part of the students' ILPs that will be loaded into it's learning and mentors will use the platform to let Sanders and members of the internship team, including assistant principals and guidance counselors, know when each benchmark has been completed. The ILPs will also allow for Sanders to easily identify if a student is struggling and intervene if necessary.

In addition, Sanders will use the platform's behavior tracking and attendance features to ensure that the right students are eligible for the internship program and to make sure that these students are staying on track throughout the duration of their internship.

To learn more about McKinley Technology High School, visit www.mckinleytech.org. For more information about it's learning, visit www.itslearning.net.

About it's learning, Inc.

Since 1999, the company has provided it's learning – The Individual Learning Platform™ to European clients in K-12 and higher education. In order to provide more effective service to North American schools and universities, in the spring of 2009 it added a North American headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts.  In additional to its global headquarters in Bergen, Norway, the company has offices in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain. Investing in the future of education, in 2009, it's learning dedicated more than 40 percent of its revenue to the design and development of its products. The company's goals are to offer the best learning platform and related services worldwide and to be the most innovative organization within the education market. For more information visit, www.itslearning.net.

SOURCE it's learning, inc.