Voices of Readiness Podcast

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on October 5, 2022.

As an educator, it's easy to get into a silo. Having a demanding teaching schedule can make collaborating and connecting with other educators seem impossible. However, those who reach outside the classroom can learn valuable lessons from other educators and expand their available resources. And Denise Spence has the experience to prove it.

Denise Spence has been an educator for almost 25 years. She has earned her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, emphasis in Instructional Technology. Over the years, Denise has taught the correlated course content and earned various IT certification credentials. Her accomplishments include being selected as 1 of 3 finalists for Lee County's Teacher of the Year in 2000; she was the 1st ever Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year for Lee County in 2006; she was named Certiport's Global Summit's Teacher of the Year for 2010. Denise was also a 2011 and a 2012 finalist for the Microsoft Innovation Forum.

During this episode, Denise talked about the value of collaborating and learning from other educators. She gives practical advice for how to find the time and tools to make collaboration easy.

Looking for opportunities to connect and collaborate with your fellow CTE educators? Join our Certiport Academy trainings each month! Get all the details on the Certiport blog: www.certiport.com/blog. You can see past sessions in our Educator Resource Library here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Resources.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on December 15, 2021.

Students shouldn't leave their CTE programs without a polished and professional resume. It's impossible to transition to the workforce without one. Building a resume can require some handholding and lots of advice. So we brought in our expert, James Boshier, to help give you all the steps you need to help your students build a fantastic resume. James is the Head of Product Success at Resume-Library. As Head of Product, he owns the Resume-Library roadmap and works out what new features are added to the site.

In this episode, James gives advice on building and polishing the best resume, what students should know about cover letters (spoiler alert: they're on the way out), and how candidates should conduct themselves in a job interview. He also talks through all the resources that Certiport candidates have access to when they're ready for the job search.

You can learn more about Resume-Library on our blog: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2021/May/Why-Your-Students-Need-Resume-Library.

Resume-Library also has an entire blog dedicated to career advice. You can find articles and relevant content for your students here: https://www.resume-library.com/career-advice/.

If you're interested in checking out the newly launched UK CV Builder James mentioned, you'll find that here: https://www.cv-library.co.uk/free-cv-builder.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on January 12, 2022.

You know when something is so good, you just want to tell everyone about it? That's how we felt about our latest CSB Academy webinar with Jennifer Stubblefield. We couldn't keep this one to ourselves, so we wanted to make sure our listeners had a chance to get Jennifer's advice.

Jennifer Stubblefield is Certiport's new Customer Success Manager, current KBEA President, a former KY business educator, and the 2019 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year. Plus, she's the face and voice behind the LearnKey Communication Skills for Business curriculum. We got a peek inside Jennifer's treasure chest of experience during this episode. We talk about her favorite projects for teaching communication skills in the classroom. We discussed everything from Fortune 500 projects and portfolios to elevator pitches and the importance of an undershirt in mock interviews. If you teach any business course, you'll want to listen, save, and share this episode. Just trust us on this one.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on May 25, 2022.

As part of our IT Specialist Academy training, we held a webinar addressing computational thinking. This one was so good, that we just had to share it here as well. We were lucky enough to feature two of our new CERTIFIED Ambassadors on this episode: Tracey Sigers and Damiano Mastandrea.

Tracey Sigers is the Department Chair of Information Technology at the National Center for Urban Solutions in Columbus, Ohio. Tracey holds an MBA with an emphasis in technology leadership, a bachelor's degree in information technology, and an associate degree in technology. Tracey has twenty years of business background in computer systems management, college study skills, and Microsoft software experience. She's eager to bring students into the twenty-first century using enthusiastic and dynamic teaching to help them become lifelong learners.

Damiano Mastrandrea is a Career and Technical Education Director at the Brooklyn STEAM Center. He manages the CTE portfolio of the school to ensure that they are highly relevant and rigorous. He also strategizes various career readiness approaches through workplace immersion programs supported by data-driven decisions. Damiano is a big believer in changing education as a system that works for everyone instead of the selected few and pursuing education to all corners. His passion for education has led him to earn three college degrees including a doctorate, as well last 26 industry certifications. When he has a free moment, Damiano likes to write short stories, play games, and, if he's feeling daring, bake!

We sat down with Tracey and Damiano to learn more about computational thinking. According to ComputationalThinking.org, these skills are increasingly critical for individuals and organizations as the use of computation becomes more central to every activity and every innovation. In this episode, we took a deep dive into computational thinking. Our guests taught us more about what it is, why it's valuable for students, and how you can teach this industry-demanded skillset in the classroom.

You can learn more about the IT Specialist Computational Thinking certification exam here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/ITSpecialist/Certification/Certify

You can also watch this, and other IT Specialist Academy trainings here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2022/April/IT-Specialist-Academy-2022

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on September 28, 2022.

According to a 2022 study by the CDC, 37% of U.S. high schoolers have faced mental health struggles amid the COVID pandemic. These struggles highlight students' need for a positive, welcoming environment during the new school year. We couldn't think of a better guest to discuss positivity than CERTIFIED Ambassador, Abner Soto-Henry.

Abner Soto-Henry has taught information technology education for nearly 20 years at the Latin American Youth Center Career Academy, specializing in Microsoft certifications, IC3 Digital Literacy certifications, and CompTIA certifications. In total, Mr. Soto-Henry has more than 24 years of experience in education.

Originally from Costa Rica, Abner speaks fluent Spanish, English, and Portuguese, enabling him to connect with the students he serves. He has received several awards, including being named Certiport's 2021 Educator of the Year. A former professional soccer player, his passion for teaching is only rivaled by his love of the game.

In this episode, we talk with Abner about the positive and negative influences at play in the lives of today's students. Abner paints a picture of the ideal classroom and talks about ways to connect with students to make your dream classroom a reality. And last, but certainly not least, he offers advice for how to fill your own cup, so you can emanate positivity in the classroom each and every day.

Want to connect with Abner for more positive energy and advice? Reach out to him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-sotohenry20/. You can also learn more about Abner, and all our other CERTIFIED Ambassadors here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2022/May/Meet-the-CERTIFIED-Ambassadors.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on June 6, 2022.

According to reports from Burning Glass, nearly 2.3 million job postings in the last year have requested project management skills, which is great news for teachers looking to help their students find jobs immediately upon graduation. Plus, project management instills additional skills such as time management, communication, and teamwork; all soft skills that are highly demanded by today's employers.

In this episode, we sat down with one of our amazing CERTIFIED Ambassadors, Carol York. Carol York is a Business Education teacher at Cary High school in Cary North Carolina. After many years of experience in Private industry, Carol has been teaching for 12 years. She has been teaching project management for 8 years and was on the curriculum development team for both project management one and two for the state of North Carolina. She's recently earned her PMI Project Management Ready certification, which adds to her MOS Expert certification and National Board Teacher certification.

Carol discusses her journey into teaching project management, and why these skills are applicable for all students. With a 100% certification pass rate this year, Carol has helpful ideas for how you can help your students buy into project management.

You can learn more about the PMI Project Management Ready certification here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/pmi/Certifications/Overview.

For advice on how to build a project management program at your school, check out this blog post: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2021/April/Building-a-Successful-Project-Management-Program.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on January 4, 2023.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 13% of engineers are women. Helping the next generation of female students pursue careers in engineering requires concerted focus and dedication from professionals and educators alike. In this week’s episode, we’re highlighting a panel discussion we hosted with five incredible female engineers: Kaylee Janett, a fourth year chemical engineering student at the University of Idaho; Meridian Haas, a mechanical and aerospace engineering PhD candidate at the University of California at Davis; Samantha Daniels, a Massachusetts Builder Designer with EDM; Natalie Nguyen, Oklahoma Mechanical Engineer with Balon Corporation; and Elowyn Yager, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Idaho. 

These incredible women shared their passion for engineering and talked about how they first decided to pursue this traditionally male-dominated field. They shared vulnerable experiences they’ve had, facing sexist views in their education and workplace journeys. Most importantly, they discuss strategies to expand access to engineering learning for tomorrow’s female engineers.

If you work with female engineering students, this is one episode you don’t want to miss. 

Strong design-software skills are a great asset in both the academic and professional arenas. Autodesk Certified User (ACU) certification can make a difference for your learners. Discover more here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Autodesk/Certifications/Overview.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on February 1, 2023.

Have you signed up for CERTIFIED Academy: Business yet? If not, this is your sign to register and join us! CERTIFIED Academy: Business is an immersive online professional development program for business educators. This is your chance to learn from your fellow business educators and industry professionals.

From now until March, we'll be hosting training sessions to help you learn from business education experts and industry professionals. Discover new ways of teaching, and dive into available resources for your classroom. Plus, those who register will receive a professional development certificate, allowing you to demonstrate the hours you spent learning and growing through CERTIFIED Academy.

In our latest CERTIFIED Academy: Business webinar, we focused on the four Cs of workforce readiness with veteran educator and Certiport's Customer Success Manager, Jennifer Stubblefield. We talked with Jennifer about how to teach soft skills in the classroom, specifically communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Jennifer also shares how to create projects that nurture these workforce-demanded competencies.

Join us for future CERTIFIED Academy Business sessions here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2023/January/Join-us-for-CERTIFIED-Academy-Business.

This session was sponsored by our Communication Skills for Business (CSB) certification program. Learn more about CSB here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/CSB/Certification/Overview.

Welcome to our Summer Replay series. We wanted to revisit some of our previous episodes. These episodes were previously recorded and aired at an earlier date. This episode originally aired on June 30, 2021.

Are you new to the world of certification? New to Certiport? Happy to meet you! In this episode, we sit down with David Watkins, Certiport's Director of Product Management. Learn about Certiport's history, our model for certification success, and our new "My Pathway" resources to help students find their path to certified success.

Get all the details about our "My Pathway" resources here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2021/February/Do-You-Know-Your-Pathway

Learn more about Certiport here: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/

For many students, college has been the main goal. But what happens after college graduation? Are students planning and preparing for their transition into the workforce? Dr. Krystal Rawls thinks there's more that educators can be doing to help students be prepared for their first job.

Dr. Rawls is the designer of the Workforce Integration Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Building on a foundation of theoretically sound and data-driven practices, Rawls endeavors to create transparency and equity in workforce development programming to develop a more diverse, digitally competent, and skilled class of worker. Dr. Rawls draws on her transdisciplinary background in Education, Psychology, and Business to inform her innovative approach to empowering students to take their place in the modern workforce. Using labor market information to identify the skills needs of employers and curriculum data to evidence skills developed in the academic experience, Krystal creates community through skill-based language. In her role as an analyst and faculty member, Krystal gets to indulge her passion for building opportunities and relationships that are beneficial to the student, educator/worker, as well as industry and community partners. Dr. Rawls welcomes opportunities to create meaningful workforce partnerships and develop pathways for positive economic outcomes for all.

In this episode, we're dishing out advice for both students and educators. We talk about the transition into that first "real-world job", and how educators can use big and small means to get students ready for that next step. If you're looking for tangible, applicable advice you can start using today, Dr. Rawls delivers.

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference to learn from educators like Dr. Rawls. Get all the details at https://certified.certiport.com/.

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

Looking for more advice from Dr. Rawls? Listen to her previous episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0wGcCPbLY6zTXdNdAO3vLO.

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

If you're looking for additional learning opportunities, Dr. Rawls recommends the following books or resources:

1. Supporting Working-Class Students in Higher Education

2. Assessing and Validating Digital Skills: DRAW Detailed Discussion and Findings

3. High-Impact Practices and Gains in Student Learning: Evidence from Georgia, Montana, and Wisconsin

4. Honing Self-Awareness of Faculty and Future Business Leaders

5. "Psychological safety as an effective measurement in engineering classrooms" from the 2019 ASEE annual conference & exposition.

6. "Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum" from the Journal of Teacher Education.