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Guidance Central |
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The Department of Education is making this complete
suite of online career planning tools available to public high
schools in South Dakota. It will be available online free of charge
for the 2006-07 school year. Guidance Central consists of three
major components.
Choices®ExplorerThe Choices®Explorer program lets students explore a variety of career paths. They can take quizzes to assess their interests. They can watch videos about particular careers. When a student begins to take an interest in a specific path, the Choices® Planner program identifies courses and educational paths that they can take to properly prepare for a career. Then the third component, called testGEAR™, offers students the tools to help them perform well on college entrance exams. Choices® Explorer gets students excited about their future by giving them a glimpse of the real world. Students can start by taking the Career Finder or Major Finder quiz to discover their best career options. In addition, lesson plans allow teachers to integrate subject-specific information into their curriculum. Choices® presents engaging articles based on a variety of interests. The entertaining information is easy to locate and is always the most current career information available. Finally, each student is able to create a portfolio, allowing them to save articles and meaningful information for future use. Use of the portfolio function also allows for an easy transition to the next program in the Guidance Central suite. Choices® PlannerChoices® Planner furthers the Guidance Central experience by preparing students for higher education and a preferred line of work. Assessments and surveys gauge students’ skills, interests and values. These assessments are valuable resources as students make important decisions relating to post-secondary education and potential careers. One unique feature of the program is a career comparison tool. This function lets students compare two careers side by side. It also allows them to compare their personal preferences to different schools and careers. Like the Explorer program, Planner’s accountability tools let educators observe student progress and adapt instruction accordingly. The planner program offers students continued use of their personalized profile. TestGEAR™TestGEAR™, the third component of the Guidance Central suite, works to prepare students for college entrance exams that they may take. The comprehensive software is designed to assess student performance on a series of self-assessment and objective-assessment questions. Furthermore, each student is given a personalized study plan. Each personalized plan is aligned to a specific student’s needs. TestGEAR™ is a very dynamic tool when used by educators. The program’s built-in evaluation tool allows educators to follow and assess students’ performance. In addition, the content offered by testGEAR™ is aligned to state standards. Easy access and individualized curriculum make testGear™ the perfect tool to raise students’ college entrance exam scores. ContactFor more information about the Guidance Central package, contact Steven Rounds, Department of Education at (605) 773-7006 or steven.rounds@state.sd.us. |
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