Voices of Readiness Podcast

The days of linear career paths are over. People are switching jobs more often, making their career journeys more complex than ever. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that people only stay in their jobs for an average of four years. That much change and complexity can be intimidating for students and professionals to navigate. How, as an educator, do you get your students ready to enter their own careers, when it may feel like a quest without a map? Enter: Jessica Lindl.

Jessica Lindl is the author of The Career Game Loop: Learn to Earn in the New Economy and VP of Ecosystem Growth at Unity Technologies. She has over 20 years of experience running various education and impact business ventures and P&Ls.

Over her career, she has focused on empowering millio ns of learners building careers and businesses with technology. In her work at Unity Technologies, Common Sense Media, GlassLab and LRNG (now part of Southern New Hampshire University), Scientific Learning, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she has worked to improve learning outcomes and earning potential for all learners worldwide by blending effectiveness with ground-breaking engagement.

In this episode, we chat with Jessica about her new book, The Career Game Loop. We discuss helping students upskill and achieve their career goals using gaming principles. Covering everything from quests, levels, and community, Jessica shares how you can prepare your learners for the careers of their dreams.

Want to learn more about Jessica's book? Get all the details here.

Check out resources from Jessica's team at Unity here.

Connect with fellow educators in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here.

We've finalized our CERTIFIED Educator Conference breakout and workshop sessions, and we can hardly wait to learn with all of you. In the coming weeks, we'll be sharing teaser episodes with some of our breakout presenters. In this episode, we're learning from Amy Water, an AI aficionado.

Amy Waters is a 36-year veteran teacher at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana, with no plans of retiring any time soon. She is a complete nerd who has taught everything from Latin to computer programming and still loves learning new things and sharing that knowledge with everyone. She is constantly trying to find new and creative ways to teach lessons that will reach all her students and works hard to make sure that every one of them walks away with a sense of accomplishment.

Amy will share suggestions for using AI both to lessen your workload and improve your students' experience in the classroom. We talk about the benefits and pitfalls of AI, and how you can and should be using this growing technology in your work. If you're nervous about AI, but curious about how to get started, Amy's here to help.

Interested in learning more about AI? Get ideas from another AI expert here.

Connect with 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.

What does it take to compete in the MOS World Championship? Now you can find out. Our team was privileged to work with the Australian production company, GoodThing Productions, on their new documentary, Spreadsheet Champions. During filming, they followed six students on their journey to becoming Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Champions.

The documentary premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, and we could hardly wait to chat with one of the documentary's stars, Mason Braithwaite. Mason is a quirky and endearing American teen whose love for spreadsheets is matched only by his fascination with ham radio.

During this episode, Mason tells us all about his love for technology and how he got involved in Microsoft certification. He shares what it was like to compete in the MOS US National and World Championship events. We even dive into the documentary and talk about what it was like to watch it live at SXSW earlier this year.

Ready to find out how you can help your students become spreadsheet champions?

Learn more about the documentary, Spreadsheet Champions, here.

Find out how to help your students compete in the MOS Championship here.

Connect with other tech educators in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here.

It's 2025 and we're ready to close the technology skills gap and support women in tech! According to a report from the (US) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, women comprise only 35% of STEM professionals.

In this episode, we chat with two amazing women in technology: Ashlyn Dumaw and Ashley Masters. Ashlyn is a senior at Cornell University studying chemical engineering with a concentration in fiber science. She's passionate about the intersection of STEM and design, or the combination of technicality and creativity. Following her graduation in May, she will be working as a Management Consultant with Qral Group, guiding pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies through their product life cycle and business challenges.

Ashley has worked at Microsoft for nearly five years and is currently focused on driving Copilot Adoption for Business Users by meeting them where they are, on Instagram & LinkedIn. She completed her MBA in Finance from WSU in 2023 and her undergraduate degree in Finance & Economics in 2020 from CWU.

Ashlyn and Ashley discuss how they decided to pursue technological careers, and career tips they have for their fellow female techies and their educators. Plus, they share their experiences with Microsoft Office Specialist certification and how getting certified prepared them for educational and career opportunities they never thought possible.

This episode was pulled from a recent CERTIFIED Academy webinar. Join us for future CERTIFIED Academy sessions: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2025/January/Join-us-for-CERTIFIED-Academy-2025.

Connect with other tech educators 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/.

One of the biggest challenges teachers face is keeping students motivated. According to a 2023 survey by the EdWeek Research Center, more than 4 in 10 educators said students are not inspired to do their best in school. To help set your learners up for long-term success, it's crucial to create excitement and engagement in your classroom.

In this week's episode, we sat down with Aaron Daenell to talk about how to get your students excited about learning. Aaron is a Marketing & Management, Business, and Information Technology educator at Cumberland County High School in Crossville, Tennessee. After leaving the business world in 2005, Aaron earned his alternative teaching certification in Manatee County, Florida and was hired to start a new middle school business program at a Title I school in his area. Within two years, they had the most successful industry certification program of all the middle schools in central Florida. He now works in Tennessee, working in a high school as well as managing the school's FBLA chapter. He strives each day to help his students break industry certification records in their county and region.

Aaron shares his thoughts on student engagement, or lack thereof, as well as how he gets students excited to learn. We dive deeper into his classroom approach, and how he uses relationships to help students see the value in his course, their futures, and industry certification.

If you feel like your students are lagging, or just want to infuse a little excitement into your everyday, Aaron's here to help.

Get additional ideas for student engagement here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2024/November/How-to-spark-motivation-in-your-students.

Looking for more inspiration? Aaron recommends both Mel Robbins (https://www.melrobbins.com/) and Tony Robbins (https://www.tonyrobbins.com/)

Connect with educators like Aaron 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/.

Marketing and technological expertise are critical not only for marketing students, but also for any student who dreams of building a business, growing an online audience, or sharing a message with the world.

In this episode, we sat down with a panel of creative and marketing educators: Aaron Daenell, Marketing & Management, Business, and Information Technology Educator; Jenny Mohess, CTE Department Chair and Graphic Design Educator; and Jodi Pelini, Media Production & Digital Literacy Educator. Together we discussed strategies for nurturing the next generation of business leaders, creative thinkers, and storytellers.

Aaron, Jenny, and Jodi talked about resources they love for teaching marketing and creative skills to their students, as well as the role AI is playing in their classroom today. They also shared ideas for projects that help prepare their students for the real world, plus valuable advice to help your students become the marketers, entrepreneurs, and creators of the future.

Looking for more ideas for your creative classroom? We're here to help: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2023/July/Tips-for-Teaching-Graphic-Design.

Empower your creative students with an Adobe Certified Professional certification. Learn more here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Adobe/ACP/Overview.

Tomorrow's marketers are in your classroom today. Give them skills that matter with the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate Certification. Learn more here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Meta/Certification/Overview.

Connect with educators like Aaron, Jodi, and 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/.

January rolls in with big plans and ambitions for the coming year. However, commitment to New Year's resolutions often flags by the end of January. To keep you excited and committed to your goals, we sat down with three of our CERTIFIED Ambassadors, Laurene Klassen, Ashley Faulkner, and Karen Coulombe, to talk about 2025 goals.

Laurene is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Assistant Director of IT Training & Communications at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She took her first Microsoft Office Specialist exam in 2010 for personal development and has been hooked ever since. In 2017, she spearheaded the MOS program at SMU after attending her first CERTIFIED conference. Their program has now certified over 3 5,000 students within 4 years. Laurene oversees the administrative side of their program working with over 15 faculty members to integrate the MOS exams into their curriculum. She frequently teaches Office workshops to students. She is a native of Massachusetts but now calls Texas her home.

Ashley is a teacher at Triton High School in North Carolina, where she is a strong certification advocate. Over the past 11 years, Ashley has earned more than 40 certifications—and helped her students earn more than 1,150 individual certifications. She has also served as an FBLA adviser and as the North Carolina Southeast Region advisor. Outside her teaching career, Ashley is the chief financial officer for Simple Web Solutions, Inc., EM Audio, Inc., and Butler Faulkner Enterprise, and she is the mother of two active children.

Karen has taught a variety of Career and Technical Education courses at the 8th -12th grade level as well as the Community College since the early 2000's. Her focus is on expanding hands-on and experiential learning in meaningful ways to add valuable "tools" to the students' toolbox, building confidence and a resume of tangible skills to market in the workplace. Karen has seen certifications used to enhance resumes for those who need to get right to work; as well as to differentiate students working towards competitive internships, scholarships, and college programs. The most significant connection from certification to the real world is understanding how to work to achieve goals using the resources available. Before teaching, Karen worked for over a decade as an Avionics Technician with Boeing, DynCorp Aerospace and the US Air Force on programs including Air Force 1, the B2 Bomber, and multiple F-16 deployments abroad.

In this episode, we discuss these three veteran educators' approach to setting goals, how you can decide where to focus your efforts, and how you can keep yourself motivated. If you want to expand your vision for 2025 goal setting, these ladies have the advice and ideas you need.

Connect with your fellow educators to talk about goals and other topics 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/.

It's a new year and we're so happy to be back with a new episode of the CERTIFIED podcast. In this week's episode, we wanted to talk about money, both for you and your students. We're diving into ACE credit and Perkins funding with Certiport's Vanessa Buffry, Senior Manager of Strategic Funding.

Vanessa Buffry and her team identify funding sources to support educators and workforce initiatives, track policy that governs and enhances certification quality, and ensure certifications meet workforce, industry, and customer needs. Her previous work experience included teaching high school, serving as a school board director, and directing non-profit education initiatives that merited her recognition as a 30 Under 30 (Pittsburgh, 2021). Vanessa holds an MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon. Vanessa is based in Denver, CO with her family. She is certified in Professional Communication, Pearson Gen AI Foundations, Intuit Personal Finance, and next plans to conquer MOS Excel Associate and Expert.

Vanessa walks us through the details of ACE credit, and how this can be a huge money and time saver for students looking to pursue higher education. She also shares details about Perkins funding, and how states, districts, and educators can be leveraging this funding in their classrooms. Looking for details on how to access more funding in 2025? This episode is for you.

Learn more about ACE credit: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Learner-resources/College-Credit.aspx.

Interested in connecting with your Certiport Territory Manager to talk about Perkins funding? Contact them here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Buy/School.

Connect with your fellow educators to talk about funding and other topics 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/.

Discover how digital literacy paves the way for a successful IT support career. In this episode, captured during a recent CERTIFIED Academy training, we explore the importance of digital literacy skills with CERTIFIED Ambassador, Jessie Kalloo.

Jessie Kalloo is a CTE Instructor and Program Approval Coordinator for the Information Technology programs at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School located in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Jessie is also a Cisco Networking Academy Instructor Trainer for IT Essentials, CCNA, CCNA Security, and CCNA CyberOps covering areas throughout the United States. Being a product of CTE as a graduate of Thomas Edison High has provided him the opportunity to view teaching through a different lens. Through the various partnerships he has formed with the industry he is able to inspire, motivate and provide opportunities to his students that truly help them prepare for their future. The training he has done in and out of the classroom combined with his unique approach to teaching, has allowed for creative ways to spark the curiosity in students, helping them continuously challenge themselves to do better.

Jessie shares how basic technical problem-solving, hardware and software knowledge, and strong communication skills are pivotal for IT support professionals. We discuss how digital literacy not only helps in adapting to new technologies but also in navigating diverse digital environments. A large percentage of IT professionals start their careers in IT support roles, and this episode offers valuable insights and practical advice to help you effectively support this career trajectory.

Learn more about our IC3 Digital Literacy certification program here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/IC3/Digital-Literacy-Certification/Overview.

Connect with your fellow educators, like Jessie, 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/.

The Health Sciences sector employs approximately 16 million people in the U.S. alone and is expected to grow by 13% from 2022 to 2032, which is faster than the averages for other employment sectors. The new Health Sciences Careers program provides students with the foundational knowledge needed to prepare for in demand roles in the Health Sciences field.

In this episode, we sat down with Caroline Manning to talk all things healthcare. Caroline Manning is a Medical Administrative Assistant for Easter Seals in Florida. She has used her professional experience to help ensure that Certiport's Medical Administrative Assistant certification certifies that candidates have the knowledge and skills required to be successful in the role.

Caroline shares her insights on our newest certification, plus dives into her experience working in the healthcare industry. We discuss what skills learners need to thrive. Preparing students for careers in health science? This episode is a great peek into our new program.

Learn more about the Health Sciences Careers program: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Health/Certification/Overview.

Connect with your fellow educators 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/.