LearnKey Blog

Thank You Teachers!

Today is the day to celebrate and appreciate the educators in our country that work so hard to make sure that each student receives a quality education. Teachers play a key role in our development and growth, impacting us in ways that often times they will never know. The lessons they teach impact us personally and professionally, and we carry them throughout our lives.

We want to say Thank you, for working hard and striving to improve our country, one individual at a time.  We all have teachers that influenced us in ways we will never forget, and stand out in our minds as not only incredible teachers, but incredible people.  For some of us, you are the biggest influence in our lives, and your actions will model positive behaviors that we will emulate.

To the teachers that go above and beyond, and make it clear that they have a passion and dedication to their jobs that far exceeds what is required and expected of them, you are priceless.  Every lawyer, doctor, athlete, astronaut, business person, cop, firefighter, pilot, writer, artist – everyone has an educator or educators that encouraged and challenged them to strive to do better and be better, and in large part because of you and your hard work, they did just that.

So today we tip our hats to you, and congratulate you for the difference you are making in so many lives.

Individualized Learning

In traditional classrooms there is one teacher teaching 30 or more students at one time. This creates an issue because not all of these students are the same in fact they are all very different in their learning styles and achievement levels. So how do you teach all of them what they need to learn when there is only one teacher?

There are new test programs that are starting at school districts that address this issue by answering the need for individualized learning. This is being done by first assesing students on a regular basis to gauge the level they are on. Then each students has their own schedule to adhere to and follow to meet their own needs.

Our training can be a great option to solve this problem by assessing each individuals strengths and needs. Each training has a pre-assesment to gauge where each student is and allows them to drill down skill gaps and focus on those areas. Our solution also allows students to learn at their own pace, and provides them with materials that meet the needs of any and all learning styles. Self-paced training gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace, giving teachers the opportunity to help the students who need more one-on-one time. We provide expert-led, video-based training for students who are auditory or visual learners,  workbooks are available for those who learn better by completing activities.

For more information about using Learnkey as a solution in your classroom please visit www.learnkey.com/education.

Laws Against Bullying Put Pressure on Schools

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More than 42 states have laws against bullying and many other states are working on legislature, putting pressure on schools and teachers to address these issues and start programs to prevent bullying. The fact is that the change has to take place at the school level and that starts by educating students.

Bullying is serious and it can lead to a lot of serious problems in schools. Bullying has been attributed as the root of suicides, school shootings, and many other violent actions. There have been a lot of high profile cases lately dealing with bullying in schools and this has also added to the pressure being put on schools to make changes and make them now.

If you are interested in this topic or your school is looking for resources to help stop bullying, LearnKey does have training courses available. If you would like a 5 day free trial of our Bullying: You Don’t Have to Take it Anymore course, just fill out this quick form and we will get you set up within the next couple of weeks.

JavaScript Fundamentals Course Available!

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If you read the recent post about Dice.com’s jump in ITIL requests, you should definitely finish reading this. JavaScript skills requests jumped by 98% to nearly 7,919 postings. In a recent article on Dice they talked about how there were 1,100 positions availble for people with JavaScript experience in the Silicon Valley alone.

If you are looking for a new career path to follow, with so many positions available, this may be the one! LearnKey has just released our newest JavaScript Fundamentals Course – for more information visit the product page at www.learnkey.com/js_fundamentals.

New Year, New You – Certification Maps for 2011

If you are like me, you profess every New Year that you are going to make changes… Well it is almost February, and I haven’t even started to make any changes yet. If this sounds like you and certification is on your list this year, we have something to help you get started.

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If you are like me, you profess every New Year that you are going to make changes… Well it is almost February, and I haven’t even started to make any changes yet. When you decide to make these changes you usually do not take into consideration that figuring out what steps to take next can be so overwhelming, you quit before you start. For example, every year somewhere on my list is to be healthier (I am sure like many of you), but more often than not, sifting through all of the diets and exercise programs out there overwhelms me, and I just continue with my same routine.

If this sounds like you and certification is on your list this year, we have something to help you get started. Continue reading “New Year, New You – Certification Maps for 2011”

Main Goals of the National Educational Technology Plan

Technology has vastly changed our world today and plays a large role in peoples lives, but it still hasn’t impacted education the way it has other areas like business. That might all change within the next four years. Below are the five main goals of the National Educational Technology Plan as outlined by Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education.

  • Using Educational technology to fundamentally change the learning process by making it more engaging and tailored to individual student needs and interests;
  • Using ed-tech to develop a new generation of assessments;
  • Connecting teachers with their peers and experts so they are always up-to-date on the resources available to them;
  • Building infrastructure that lets schools support access to technology in and out of the classroom; and
  • Harnessing the power of educational technology to increase school district productivity and student achievement.

What are your opinions of these goals and the plan? Do you think this is realistic with the 2015 deadline that Duncan set? What will it take to accomplish these goals?

Free Online Tools for the Classroom!

There are so many free tools available that foster collaboration in the 21st Century classroom and it can be overwhelming to figure out how to utilize them. I thought it might be fun to list some ideas on how to use online tools to engage students and create a successful classroom. These tools are a new way to engage students and make the classroom more interactive. If you have any ideas to add or if you use these tools for different classroom projects, let us know we would love to hear your ideas!

  •  Create a modern day pen pals program where students can correspond to students in another classroom across the country or across the globe through Skype. A modern twist on a classic classroom activity.
  • Exchange lesson plans and ideas on a social network. This one is for the teachers; there are many social networking sites that are geared toward you specifically. These sites offer ideas and support from your fellow educators.
  • Start a classroom blog on blogspot.com where students projects are featured and they can find important classroom information. This offers a sense of community to your classroom outside the classrooms walls.
  • Create a classroom Wiki where students post research and reference materials for the whole class to use. This can be a great tool and also help teach students important lessons about researching.
  • Have a poetry contest using twitter. Hold a poetry contest on Twitter where students have to use 140 characters or less.
  • Have students work together to collaborate on a video project and post them on YouTube. This can be rewarding for students and you as the educator as well.

Ohio ACTE. Wouldn’t it be great?

Wouldn’t it be great if the teachers, counselors, and administrators responsible for our children’s education would get together and discuss ways to help students pursue their educational and career passions?  Wouldn’t it be great if it were happening in Ohio, on Sept 18?  Wouldn’t it be great if LearnKey was there?  Life is great!

Ohio ACTE