Empowering your students with industry-recognized credentials is just the first step toward their career success. Teaching students valuable skills so they can advance into meaningful employment is the goal. To help bridge the gap between classroom and career, Certiport has partnered with Career.io.

In this week's episode, we were able to sit down with Career.io's very own Amanda Augustine. Amanda is the resident career expert for Career.io and its sister brands, Resume.io, TopResume, TopCV, and TopInterview. As a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), she has spent over 15 years helping professionals of all stages improve their careers and land the right job sooner.

We chatted with Amanda all about what resources Career.io has available for educators and learners, plus how educators can effectively prepare students for the workforce. Get valuable advice for how to help prepare students for the job hunt, including a list of activities you can complete in the classroom to help students feel prepared when they walk into their interviews.

If you want your students to start their job search off on the right foot, this episode is for you.

Learn more about Career.io on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2023/October/Help-students-advance-with-Career-io.

We'll also have more content related to job preparation on the blog coming soon.

Your students are full of potential and helping them reach that potential means they need to be challenged in a rigorous learning environment. At CERTIFIED 2023, Jenny Mohess talked about using rigor in the classroom.

Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Jenny has lived in Osceola County (City of Kissimmee), for over 22 years. She first stepped onto Valencia's Campus in 2000 as an international student. There she earned an A.S. in Graphic Design. While working for Apple, she earned a bachelor's in business from USF, and master's in art education from Boston University. These experiences led to jobs at Apple, Microsoft, and eventually, her own design studio.

Jenny currently teaches at Valencia College and has found genuine purpose in mentoring future graphic/web designers through the Valencia Graphics Program. She is now building the program at Tohopekaliga High School and sharing real-world experiences with her students. Through all the real-world projects and certifications, her students are coming to the realization that they can become Adobe Certified Professional World Champions and professional designers.

In today's episode, we recapped Jenny's CERTIFIED presentation. We talk about challenging students and helping them gain valuable soft skills. Jenny also discusses how she gets to know the "whole student", and how understanding your students on a deeper level helps you create a more impactful learning environment.

Learn more from Jenny's CERTIFIED 2023 presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxhz9ycLdIg.

Get other ideas for your classroom on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/blog.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Jenny, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

How do you bridge the gap between abstract knowledge and the real-world task- and project-based skills your students need to succeed in their careers? In this episode, science, STEM, and engineering teacher John Beale explores the answers.

John Beale has been in the classroom for six years teaching science, STEM, and engineering at Nease High School in St. Augustine, Florida. Over the course of his teaching career, he has also created curriculum for a seventh and eighth grade marine science STEM program and an eleventh-grade level computer integrated manufacturing class. Before beginning his high school teaching career, John worked for more than a decade directing experiential learning in museums around Florida for people of all ages.

John discusses the importance of group work in his classroom, how it helps his students learn critical workforce skills. He also discusses how he formulates his groups using the Archer Method, and how these groups help students emphasize their strengths.

You'll also learn about his hands-on projects, and how he creates projects to give practical applications to abstract skills. John walks through his process, so you can create projects like this in your own classroom.

John has graciously offered to share his grading sheets and Microsoft Forms that he mentioned in the episode. You can find the Form here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ShareFormPage.aspx?id=V9CzsxL8P0-S9HK-boRDUfG8hYV11EpPpwLHiIyvJx5UREYxRFJDSEdVRFpPUktOUUlKMDlGTVpHUC4u&sharetoken=N5lUKI7wEu4SDQzNA1TA&wdLOR=cA28D86D9-8054-493D-85F3-0820D75DD70A. The example grading sheet is available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NnQ-HXvttSH4cM6sPySDsTGv3wXe_jBn6rfqJntJ-dc/edit#gid=0.

Get other fun ideas for your classroom on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/blog.

Connect with your fellow educators, like John, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

How many times do students walk into your classroom and ask, "Can we do something fun today?" Chances are you hear that often. So why not make your class more fun? Amy Waters shows us how.

Amy Waters is a 34-year veteran classroom teacher who currently works at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana. Throughout her career, she has proven her nerd force bona-fides by teaching diverse subjects from Latin to computer programming. Amy is passionate about constantly creating, adapting, and improving lessons to reach all students. She currently teaches classes in business computer applications; Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Programming.

In this episode, we talk with Amy about her CERTIFIED 2023 breakout presentation. She talks about why it's important to incorporate fun in the classroom. Amy gives some of her best fun project successes and failures, plus some advice for how you can keep your students excited and engaged.

"Sometimes you have to give up what you think is going to work and just listen to your students." If you want your classroom to be more fun and engaging, Amy is here to help.

Connect with Amy for additional ideas and brainstorming: [email protected].

You can catch Amy's full presentation from CERTIFIED here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyGxwoI5kFM.

Get other fun ideas for your classroom on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/blog.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Amy, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Today's workplace is full of undeniable talent in technology (which is especially important), communication skills can propel students far beyond the "just getting hired" rung on the success ladder. In this episode, Jennifer Stubblefield talks all about communication.

Jennifer Stubblefield taught Business Education in KY for 27 years where she created and managed an award-winning certification classroom in the areas of MOS, ESB, & CSB. She is currently serving as the President of the Kentucky Business Education Association and is a mentor coach for new Business teachers in KY. In 2019, Jennifer was named the Certiport Educator of the Year and was awarded as the 2018 Southern Business Education Teacher of the Year. She is a frequent speaker at conferences around the US and is known for her energetic and real-life approach to teaching. In 2021, Jennifer officially became part of the Certiport team where she now serves as the Customer Success Manager.

Join us as we talk about the importance of communication skills, specifically in the post-pandemic workplace. We discuss what communication skills learners need to excel in the workplace, and how you can teach these skills in the classroom. With Jennifer's advice, you'll be able to make your students unforgettable.

Connect with Jennifer via email: [email protected].

Get other ideas for teaching communication skills on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/Communication-Skills-For-Business.

You can also learn more from Jennifer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mCa-7-JW6hI and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdCkWISr3DQ.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Jennifer, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Are you new to certifying your students? This episode is for you. Veteran teacher and certification expert, Scott Rolando, knows what it's like to launch a new certification program, both the struggles and the triumphs.

Scott Rolando has been a full-time teacher for 22 years, and he has taught CTE classes for the past five years. Scott currently teaches an impressively diverse range of courses at Lakeland High School in White Lake, Michigan, including business, management, technology 1 and 2, sports and entertainment marketing, cybersecurity, web design, and basic and advanced video production.

In this episode, Scott shares practical tips and step-by-step suggestions for launching a successful certification program at your school. This includes insights and ideas for getting your program going, aligning specific certifications with your current classes, getting funding, scheduling certifications into your existing programs, and more.

Connect with Scott via email: [email protected].

Get other ideas for launching and maintaining your certification program on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/blog.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Scott, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Efficient and effective work is all about finding the right tools for the right job. And no one shares that message more clearly than Erica Blum.

Erica Blum is the program coordinator and an associate professor for the art and design degree at Lindenwood University. She is an Adobe Education leader and an Adobe Creative Educator Level 1. She has obtained many certifications, including the Adobe Certified Associate in Graphic Design and Illustration Using Adobe Illustrator, the ACA in Visual Communication Using Adobe Photoshop, the Adobe Certified Professional in Print and Digital Publication Using Adobe InDesign, and the Adobe Visual Design Specialist CC 2018. Professor Blum was honored to speak during the Adobe Certified Professional launch party in 2021. In addition, she is a member of the Adobe Education Exchange and has over 13 years of teaching and training in graphics, web and design concepts, printing techniques, and software applications. She has designed websites, newsletters, logos, T-shirts, brochures, cards, and more. Her artwork has been displayed in numerous arts shows and has been presented at several summits and workshops. Professor Blum spent a year studying at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art (now known as the Kubert School) working on her comic book skills. Before becoming a designer, she was an Equity stage manager in and around New York City, a database administrator, an IT worker, and a camera/teleprompter/stage manager for tv and movies.

In this episode with Erica, we talk all about her CERTIFIED Educator Conference session, and why she's so passionate about helping educators and students find the right tool for the right job. Erica shares the importance of knowing your software, and what other skills creatives should be building before entering the workforce. We also talk through free and exciting resources available for all educators and Creative Cloud users. If you're looking to add tools to your design toolbox, this episode is for you.

Don't miss out on the amazing resources that Erica mentioned.

1. Adobe Launch Party: https://youtube.com/live/8OvvmNsbDaM.

2. Adobe Character Animator: https://www.adobe.com/products/character-animator.html.

3. Adobe Capture: https://www.adobe.com/products/capture.html.

4. Adobe Color: https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel.

5. Adobe Fonts: https://fonts.adobe.com/.

Connect with Erica via email at [email protected].

You can also learn more about Erica's program at Lindenwood University here: https://www.lindenwood.edu/arts-and-humanities/art-production-and-design/.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Erica, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Certification programs have the power to change lives and create new opportunities for deserving people who need them most. In this week's episode, we hear about the impact of certification from long-time educator, Brian Foutty.

Brian Foutty brings 28 years of classroom teaching experience to his current job as a secondary math, app development and coding, and special education teacher at Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Warren, Ohio. He has also worked for the past seven years as a Mac and iPad systems administrator and a classroom technology integrator for the students and staff at Turnbull. Brian has been an active iOS app developer since 2011, and he worked for three years as an Apple Professional Learning Specialist. Brian firmly believes that all students can benefit and become better thinkers through formal coding learning experiences.

Learn how Brian has used Swift App Development certifications to transform student outcomes in an economically challenged area. Brian talks about the value of app development skills, and how he helps students successfully transition to their next step after high school. Brian also discusses the curriculum he uses in his classroom (it's available at no charge!), and how this program has transformed the lives of his students.

Check out Brian's blog for app and project ideas for your students: www.swiftteacher.org.

Connect with Brian on social: https://bio.site/swiftteacher.

Learn about Brian's program here: https://www.tctchome.com/.

Access free App Development in Swift curriculum here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Apple/App-Dev-With-Swift/Learn.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Brian, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Back to school season is here. Whether you're a seasoned Certiport veteran, or brand new to certification, we know this episode will help you have a successful year. We were lucky enough to sit down with two members of our Certiport team: Caitlin O'Brien and Jason Majors.

Caitlin O'Brien has been with Certiport for nearly 12 years with the entirety of her career spent in customer service and client support roles, most recently taking over management of the Candidate Services and Customer Support teams. She always tries to maintain a 'customer first' mindset and is a passionate advocate for the candidates and teachers her teams support. When not working Caitlin loves to spend time in her ceramics studio making pottery and enjoys the outdoors by hiking, climbing, and skiing.

Jason Majors is the Director of Global Deployment for Certiport. He comes from the classroom where he prepared students for Adobe Certified Professional and Microsoft Office Specialist certifications during his five years of leading the Digital Design Academy at Escambia High School in Pensacola, FL. While teaching, he was also the lead trainer for the Microsoft Imagine Academy and traveled around the United States training teachers on best practices for preparing students to successfully earn industry certifications. He now leads the Certiport Deployment team, working with large accounts to ensure teacher and student success with certification programs.

In this episode, we'll learn from Caitlin and Jason about how to launch and run a thriving certification program this year. We cover everything from teaching resources to IT set-up, and how to celebrate student success. You'll certainly walk away with ideas for how to streamline your certification classroom this year.

Caitlin and Jason mentioned a library full of resources to help you in your classroom. Find them all here:

• Learning Materials and Practice Tests: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Learning-products.

• Objective Domains: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Exam-details/Objective-domains.aspx.

• Certiport's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/certiportcomms.

• CATC Newsletter: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/CATCs/Newsletter

• CERTIFIED Educator LinkedIn Community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

• CATC Training Sessions: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/CATCs/Training-sessions

• Compass User Guides: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Support/Quick-reference-guides.

• My Pathway: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/My-Pathway.

• Badging: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Badging.

• Resume Library: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/resumelibrary.

• ACE College Credit: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/College-Credit.

Need additional support? Contact our fabulous Customer Service team: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Support.aspx.

Find your Certiport Territory Manager for one-on-one support: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Buy/School/Sales.

Get other fun ideas for your classroom on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/blog.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.

Are you looking for fresh, innovative ideas for using certifications to help your students and improve your school? Karen Coulombe is here to help.

Karen Coulombe is a career and technical education (CTE) teacher at Lake Stevens High School in Washington state. Karen teaches both computer applications and computer science to first-year high school students in Lake Stevens. She is also a robotics advisor for the largest VRC Robotics team in Washington. Before becoming a teacher, Karen worked for more than a decade as a licensed avionics technician and airframe and powerplant mechanic for the U.S. Air Force, DynCorp Aerospace, and the Boeing Company. She was also selected for special assignments involving Air Force One and the B2 stealth bomber.

Throughout her career, Karen has been a passionate believer in continuing education and giving back to her community. She has participated in the U.S. Naval Academy's SET SAIL, Certiport's National CERTIFIED Conference, STEM Guitars, Space Camp for Educators, the Washington Alliance for Better Schools STEM Externship, and multiple nanotechnology conferences. Karen also serves on the teacher advisory board for the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, and as a member of two technical advisory committees.

During this episode, we chatted with Karen about how to maximize the value of your certification investment. Karen discusses how she celebrates student success and maximizes engagement. Plus, how she gets them to leverage their certification in the workforce. Karen's a networking expert and knows how to help your students stay plugged into opportunities in your community. Get the most bang for your buck with Karen's advice.

Learn more about Karen on the blog (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2023/June/Karen-Coulombe-2023-CERTIFIED-Educator-of-the-Year) and on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC1m9kLUgug).

You can also connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-coulombe/.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Karen, in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.