LearnKey Blog

New Course Release – Computer Foundations 2014

What’s my favorite part about our Computer Foundations 2014 course? It’s stunning. I have to give credit, applause, high-five, two thumbs up to our design team. I know that I speak for everyone in the company when I say that this course looks fantastic. This course has more than its looks going for it. This course is perfect for anyone who is wanting to learn the basics and is full of helpful facts and tips about computing.

Computer Foundations 2014

This course covers the basic foundations of using a computer, while ensuring that the content is easy to understand and follow. Students will learn how to choose the appropriate programs to complete important and useful tasks. By the end of this course students will feel comfortable using the technology presented and be confident in their skills and knowledge.

Our hope is that through our courseware we may continually provide learners with the guidance, preparation, and skills they need to succeed. For more information and additional LearnKey products visit our website.

Updated LearnKey Veteran Services Website

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that our LearnKey Veteran Services website (www.veterans.learnkey.com) has been updated since yesterday. This is more than a mere update; it is a redesign of the existing website. The goal of this new design was two-fold:

  1. Adjust the colors of the LKVS website to be more universal to all branches of the military
  2. Bring the design of the LKVS website into harmony with the recently updated LearnKey.com design

I believe we have accomplished our goal. We used the stylesheet from the new LearnKey website design, but changed the colors so as to set the LKVS site apart from the regular LearnKey website. We also moved away from the camouflage design we were using in the old design, deciding instead on a red, white, and blue color scheme to suggest the American flag.

Two new features of the redesigned LearnKey Veteran Services site are the new Student Resource Center page and the Live Chat option. The live chat option allows students the option of chatting with a VR&E counselor to get answers to time-sensitive questions, while the Student Resource Center provides information on resources available to LKVS students and advisors. This page will be updated from time to time as more resources become available.

LearnKey Veteran Services design

Remembering September 11th

For many people, the mere mention of a specific date can often bring a tide of memories and emotions rising to the surface. For those living in the United States of America, September 11th is one of those dates. Today marks the thirteenth year since all America watched in horror as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, killing nearly 3000 people and plunging the world into the “War on Terror.”

Though I was nowhere near ground zero, I have written several times over the years about my experiences in the aftermath of the attacks. I was living in California at the time, 2500 miles away from New York City, but the aftershocks of the attacks could be felt in the local community for months afterwards. For those Americans of Middle Eastern descent the fallout lasted much longer, and many American troops continue to suffer the effects of the attacks.

United States President George W. Bush proclaimed September 11, 2002, as Patriot Day. Each year since 2009, President Barack Obama has proclaimed the day Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. In honor of all those killed in the attacks, and in the many battles which have been fought since, we fly our flags at half-mast. Take a moment out of your busy day today to remember those killed on September 11th or visit with a Veteran and thank them for their service.

Two beams of light represent the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center during the 2004 memorial of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Two beams of light represent the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center during the 2004 memorial of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Newest EOM problem solver, master of Rubik’s cube and trivia!

Bill Wilhelm

It’s safe to say our Better Learning Systems & LearnKey employees of the month are great at doing more than just one thing and this month’s recipient is no different. We are congratulating Bill Wilhelm from our Cedar City office. Bill has been with LearnKey Cedar City for over a year and a half and in that time he has become one of our most valued employees and built a reputation for being a master of  everything he touches.

Take for example needing help with the right combinations of a code fix for a demo file? Or how about fixing OnlineExpert.com to pause correctly? Better yet, what about secrets of a Rubik’s cube? Bill to the rescue, says his leadership team. Probably one of the greatest qualities of Bill’s contributions is he does his job with a very easy-going attitude which makes him a great team player.

Get to know Bill a bit more through some fun Q&A:

1. How many siblings do you have?

One sister, younger

2. What is your favorite movie?

Bandits. It features a Suburban like mine as the bank robbers’ getaway car (see question 8).

3. What is your favorite band?

Bloc Party

4. What is your favorite vacation spot?

I absolutely love being on the water at Lake Powell.

5. What was your high school’s mascot?

Falcons. Beware our astounding ability to plummet toward the earth really, really fast combined with incredible visual acuity! *

* (The FDA has not verified the falcon-like capabilities of all high school students. Your specific animal-based traits may vary.)

6. What is the weirdest combination of foods you have eaten?

Once, on a whim, I requested a deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich with onion gravy on top. My co-worker actually made the thing, and I did try a bite. It was every bit as nasty as your imagination can make it.

7. What is/was the name of your favorite pet?

Dewey, he was a miniature dachshund with a great temperament.

8. What was is your first car?

1970 Chevrolet Suburban. I still have it and drive it regularly.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?

My wife and I would like to go on vacation to Thailand together some day.

10. Would you rather sky dive, bungee jump, zip line, or parasail?

Why not all four? I’d be up for any/all of them.

11. What is the funniest saying you have heard while working here?

There are too many Chris-ims to pick from, but a good recent one was “Sincerity is so hard when you don’t mean it!”

12. If you could eat dinner with anyone from the past, present, or future, who would it be and why?

I could over analyze the hypothetical ramifications of this question for weeks. Instead I’ll say Nikola Tesla. We’d have ever so much fun pontificating on his plans and apparatuses which are now lost to history while enjoying a specially prepared entrée of legume and fruit paste, surrounded by baked dough slices and briefly submerged in hot fat!

 

We are very fortunate to have Bill as part of the BLS/LearnKey family and value his contributions. He exemplifies our core values through making it easy for team members to work with him, providing problem solving skills that are of great value, and building trust with his leadership team.

Thank you Bill and congratulations!

New Course Release – InDesign CC

Another great course released. All summer we have been releasing our new Adobe CC courses. I am excited to add InDesign CC to our list of Adobe CC courses: Illustrator CC, Dreamweaver CC, Photoshop CC, and Premiere Pro CC.

InDesign CC

If you want to become a publishing professional in today’s  workforce, it is important to have a working knowledge of Adobe InDesign. Our new InDesign CC course is taught  by LearnKey expert Linda Dickeson, and will provide you with the skills you need to create layouts for both screen and print. This new course will teach you how to use some of the newest features of InDesign CC such as: Simplified Hyperlinks, Sync Settings, EPUB enhancements, and so much more!

Our hope is that through our courseware we may continually provide learners with the guidance, preparation, and skills they need to succeed. For more information and additional LearnKey products visit our website.

New Course Release – Illustrator CC

I am excited to announce the release of LearnKey’s news Adobe CC course. Illustrator CC joins Dreamweaver CC, Photoshop CC, and Premiere Pro CC as our newest course.  This course is perfect for students who are interested in a career as a web or graphic design professional.

Illustrator CC

LearnKey’s new Illustrator CC course provides a visual and intuitive interface for users to learn about the graphic editing capabilities of Illustrator CC. Join LearnKey expert Lee Wiley as he teaches you to effectively use the new Illustrator CC software. Learn about the new features in Illustrator CC such as: Live Shapes, Windows GPU acceleration, Typekit missing fonts workflow, and much more!

Our hope is that through our courseware we may continually provide learners with the guidance, preparation, and skills they need to succeed.

New Course Release – Dreamweaver CC

It’s been a busy summer at LearnKey. We are excited to announce that we have released another Adobe CC course. Joining our Photoshop CC and Premiere Pro CC courses is Dreamweaver CC. This course will prepare students for the Dreamweaver ACA exam with online video courseware, hundreds of practice test questions with our pre/post tests, and labs and demos that will help students practice and learn the skills presented during the video training.

Dreamweaver CC

Our new Dreamweaver CC course provides an intuitive and visual interface for users to learn about the website creating and editing capabilities of Dreamweaver CC. Join LearnKey expert Chad Chelius as he teaches you how to effectively use the new Dreamweaver software. He will also teach you the new tools and features found in Dreamweaver CC such as: enhanced fluid grid layout, CSS designer panel, and more!

Our hope is that through our courseware we may continually provide learners with the guidance, preparation, and skills they need to succeed.

Exam Prep with Tom Carpenter

Exams can be a stressful experience, but that doesn’t mean you have to go in unprepared. LearnKey and Tom Carpenter, president of SysEdCo and frequent LearnKey author, have teamed up to create a short course to help test takers understand two things:

  1. How to pick the most important parts of an exam, and
  2. How to learn the material and retain information.

Exam Prep with Tom Carpenter

Exam Prep with Tom Carpenter, created on the LearnCast platform, is broken into eight sections covering three main topics: preparation techniques, tips for retaining information, and best practices for taking exams. In this course, you will learn how to best prepare and take a technical exam leading to success.

Whether you are taking an exam for a class or preparing for industry certification, this course can provide you with tricks for retaining important information and give you valuable insights into the different ways people learn. Topics include Overcoming Limits, Strategic Preparation, and Dealing with Stress.

Exam Prep with Tom Carpenter can be purchased through the new LearnKey app, now available in the iTunes app store.

Newest Employee of the month leverages what we do!

Aaron Colburn

Not only is Aaron Colborn the newest addition to our LearnKey film and edit team in Salt Lake City, he is also this month’s recipient of our Better Learning Systems Employee of the Month award. Several qualities resonate to the top of what impressed us most about his accomplishments and their alignment to our core values around ease, value, and trust

In just five (5) short months he has become certified in Adobe’s Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6.  He is extremely easy to work with, values his co-workers, and has won over the trust of the entire leadership team. Here’s what his manager had to say during his nomination:

“As you can see Aaron is a very goal-oriented employee by taking advantage of what we do, which is produce certification training. He set his sights on these certifications early on and passed them in a very short amount of time.  He is a work horse.  I can always count on Aaron to meet or beat extremely strict deadlines while maintaining a high quality product.  Aaron brings more than 10 years of experience of editing and shooting to our team.  His experience allows him to help others on his team who are looking to add that pop or creative flair to the project.  We are thrilled to have Aaron on our team!”

Take a moment to ready more about Aaron and his life outside of LearnKey:

1. How many siblings do you have?

I have one older brother who is much smarter than me, but not nearly as handsome. And I smell better.

2. What is your favorite movie?

Anyone who knows me knows that is probably the hardest question that I can be asked. But if I had to narrow it down to one it would be Pulp Fiction, with Boogie Nights as a close second.

3. What is your favorite band?

Again, a tough one, but probably either Radiohead or Pink Floyd.

4. What is your favorite vacation spot?

Anywhere with a beach and booze.

5. What was your high school’s mascot?

A grizzly bear. RAWR! Scaaaarrryyyy!!!

6. What is the weirdest combination of foods you have eaten?

Fried fish eyes. They explode like Gushers (the candy) when you bite down.

7. What is/was the name of your favorite pet?

Bender was the best and weirdest cat I have ever had. He passed away 3 years ago. 🙁

8. What was your first car?

A 1973 Dodge Dart. It was more power than a 17 year old should have.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?

Argentina

10. Would you rather sky dive, bungee jump, zip line, or parasail?

I want to skydive into your heart.

11. What is the funniest saying you have heard working here?

“I’m all teeth and boogers.” – Liz McEuen

12. If you could eat dinner with anyone from the past, present, or future, who would it be and why?

I would have dinner with Stanley Kubrick — at Chuck-A-Rama because their mashed potatoes are delicious!!!

 

Please join me in congratulating Aaron and congratulations on your Adobe certifications and believing in what we do!

LearnKey 2014 Course Retirement Announcement


In our attempt to continually provide our customers with the best learning experience we occasionally have to retire old outdated courseware. See our list below of courses that will be retired at the end of 2014.

Course Product ID Suggested Replacement Product ID
.NET Security for Developers Part 1 372621 No Replacement  
.NET Security for Developers Part 2 372681 No Replacement  
.NET Security for Developers Series 372771 No Replacement  
Acrobat 7.0 660661 Acrobat 9 Pro… 661231
ADO.NET for Developers Part 1 372131 No Replacement  
ADO.NET for Developers Part 2 372511 No Replacement  
ADO.NET for Developers Series 372531 No Replacement  
ASP for Developers 370231 No Replacement  
ASP.NET 2.0 Web Application Development QR 373171 No Replacement  
ASP.NET for Developers 371891 No Replacement  
ASP.NET for Developers Part 1 371301 No Replacement  
ASP.NET for Developers Part 2 371741 No Replacement  
ASP.NET Web Services Fundamentals 372551 No Replacement  
Building a Respectable, Productive Workplace Base Kit 061512 No Replacement  
C# for Developers 371581 No Replacement  
C# with ASP.NET for Developers 373011 No Replacement  
California Preventing Sexual Harassment 061351 Preventing Sexual… 061381
CISSP Access Control Systems & Methodology 2008 150521 CISSP Access Con… 151491
CISSP Applications Security 2008 150591 CISSP Software Dev… 151351
CISSP Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning 2008 150561 CISSP Bus. Cont… 151431
CISSP Certification Series 2008 150501 CISSP Series 151301
CISSP Cryptography 2008 150531 CISSP Cryptography… 151371
CISSP Information Security & Risk Management 2008 150511 CISSP Info. Sec… 151331
CISSP Law, Regulation, Compliance, & Investigations 2008 150611 CISSP Legal, Reg… 151451
CISSP Operations Security 2008 150601 CISSP Op. Security… 151411
CISSP Physical (Environmental) Security 2008 150541 CISSP Physical Sec… 151471
CISSP Security Architecture & Design 2008 150551 CISSP Security Arch… 151391
CISSP Telecommunications & Network Security 2008 150621 CISSP Tele. & Net… 151311
COM+ for Developers 370621 No Replacement  
Convergence+ 102821 No Replacement  
Database Specialist Design 620161 Database Design… 620341
Database Specialist Series 620251 No Replacement  
Database Specialist Using JDBC 2.0 620231 No Replacement  
Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash Integration 371941 No Replacement  
Exchange Server 2003 Design 510341 Ex. Ser. 2010 Des… 280611
Exchange Server 2003 Implementation 510461 Ex. Ser. 2010 Config… 280421
Exchange Server 2003 Series 510521 No Replacement  
HTML for Developers 370331 No Replacement  
IC3: Internet and Computing Core Certification (2005) 630531 IC³ GS4 631191
IC3: Internet and Computing Core Certification (2005) Spanish 630531 IC³ GS4 Spanish 631331
IC3: Internet and Computing Core Certification Professional 630611 No Replacement  
Implementing Unified Wireless Networks 563841 No Replacement  
Internet Business Associate 631081 No Replacement  
ISA Server 2004 170141 No Replacement  
J2EE for Developers 371431 No Replacement  
J2SE for Developers 372781 No Replacement  
La Prevención de Acoso Sexual en el Lugar de Trabajo 2005 061491SP No Replacement  
La Prevención de Acoso Sexual… – California 061381SP No Replacement  
Learning Windows XP 680181 Learning Windows 7 630891
Medical Billing 500371 No Replacement  
Medical Coding 500361 No Replacement  
Medical Terminology 500351 No Replacement  
Modern Automotive Service Technician (MAST) 500381 No Replacement  
My Money Plan Bundle/Series 550352 Financial Literacy 101 550161
My Money Plan 550281 Financial Literacy 101 550161
Office 2003 Macros 200881 Excel 2013 Formulas 203011
Office XP Integration 670601 No Replacement  
Office XP Professional Series 670531 No Replacement  
Photoshop CS Photo Restoration 660581 No Replacement  
Photoshop CS Tips & Tricks 660541 No Replacement  
Premiere 660241 Premiere Pro CS6 140771
Project Management Professional® 2009 Certification Prep 190631 PMP® 2014 190511
QuickBooks 550111 QuickBooks 2011 550451
Security+ 2008 150631 Security+ 2011 151141
Server Administrator  650281 No Replacement  
The ADA and Disability Law 071341 ADA – Meet. the Req… 061801
Understanding Visual Studio .NET  441281 No Replacement  
VB.NET 1.2 for Developers Part 1 440851 No Replacement  
VB.NET 1.2 for Developers Part 2 441031 No Replacement  
VB.NET 1.2 for Developers Part 3 441151 No Replacement  
VB.NET 1.2 for Developers Series 441331 No Replacement  
Virtual Infrastructure Administrator 280231 No Replacement  
Visual Basic .NET Fundamentals for Developers 441291 No Replacement  
Visual Studio/Visual Basic .NET Fundamental Series 441331 No Replacement  
Windows 2000 Skills Update 601321 No Replacement  
Windows Support Technician MCITP Series 683761 No Replacement  
Windows XP MCDST Certification Series 681511 No Replacement  
XML Essentials for Developers 371041 No Replacement  
XML Foundations for Developers 372311 No Replacement  
XML in Java for Developers 372871 No Replacement  
XML with SQL Server 2000 for Developers 371111 No Replacement  
XML.NET for Developers 372431 No Replacement  
Implementing IOS Network Security 563921 Net. Security Imp… 564131
Implementing VoIP 563781 No Replacement  
SharePoint Services 3.0 Configuration 201381 No Replacement  
SQL Server 2005 Designing Infrastructure and Security 411851 SQL Serv. 2008 Des… 412421
SQL Server 2005 Implementing a Database 411721 SQL Serv. 2008 Imp… 412341
SQL Server 2005 Maintaining a Database 411661 SQL Serv. 2008 Imp… 412341
SQL Server 2005 Optimizing and Maintaining Database Solutions 411971 SQL Serv. 2008 Des… 412421
SQL Server 2005 Writing Queries 411781 No Replacement  
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory & Network Infrastructure Design 680821 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure 680531 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Implementing Network Infrastructure 680351 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Managing a Network Environment 680411 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Managing a Net. Env. – R2 Update 681971 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Planning Network Infrastructure 680471 Windows Server 2008  
Windows Server 2003 Security Design 681051 No Replacement  
Windows Server 2003 Security Implementation 681091 No Replacement  
Windows Vista and Office 2007 Deployment 682181 No Replacement  
Windows Vista Client Enterprise Support 682041 Windows 7 EDST 683951
Windows Vista Configuration 682111 Windows 7 Config… 683881
Windows XP Professional 680071 No Replacement  
Windows XP Troubleshooting Desktop Applications 681451 Windows 7 EDST 683951
Windows XP Troubleshooting Windows 681351 Windows 7 Config… 683881