Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast

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 retiri...

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, an...

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 wit...

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...

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 Departme...

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...

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, t...

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 Educat...

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...

Artificial intelligence (AI) usage continues to grow, but many educators are still awaiting training on effective use of AI in the classroom. According to a survey from EdWeek, only 43% of educators surveyed had received any training on AI. If you're in the other 57%, or even just looking to learn more about AI and maybe take the fear out of this new technology, we're here to help.  In this episod...

Security threats and nefarious tactics from hackers are on the rise, demanding more awareness and vigilance online. According to an  IBM study  of over 150 billion daily security events in more than 130 countries, there was a 71% year-over-year increase in cyberattacks that used stolen or compromised data. Helping learners understand what jobs are available for cybersecurity professionals is of pa...

The AI revolution has left many educators wondering how this disruptive technology will impact their students' future careers. Today, human resources leaders believe that nearly 90% of their workforce will need to be reskilled in the next five years. Preparing students to embrace AI and add these skills to their creative toolbelt will put them ahead of those late adopters. If you're wondering how...

In the real world, professionals need to have multiple tools in their design toolbelts. Understanding how to leverage numerous applications for one project can be a challenge.  For this week's episode, we're revisiting a previous CERTIFIED Academy: Design webinar to learn from industry professional, Charles Hache. Charles is an indie game developer and adjunct instructor for game design at Adrian...

According to The Culinary Pro, the foodservice industry is the largest retail employment sector in the world. Bringing in over USD 700 billion annually in the U.S., this career path provides individuals with ample opportunities for jobs and career growth. To help your students prepare to succeed in the accommodations and food service industry, Certiport has launched the Hospitality and Culinary Ar...

Career and technical education (CTE) can transform the workforce landscape. Teaching workforce specific skills helps learners find a career specific pathway that leverages their passion and talents. But how can you get others in your school, community, and beyond to see the value of CTE?  We sat down with Jennifer Stubblefield to discuss how you can advocate for your CTE program. A 27-year veteran...

Each year, we are so excited to recognize one of our customers as our CERTIFIED Educator of the Year as part of our annual CERTIFIED Educator Conference. We work with so many incredible educators, all of whom deserve recognition for their dedication and efforts. We're pleased to announce that Jenny Mohess is our 2024 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year! Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Jenny Mohess h...

  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 July 19, 2023.   Each year, we are so excited to recognize one of our customers as our CERTIFIED Educator of the Year as part of our annual CERTIFIED Educator Conference. We work with so many incredible edu...

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 July 7, 2022.   Each year, we have the honor and privilege of selecting an Educator of the Year. The 2022 CERTIFIED Educator of the Year is Carol York.  Carol is a Business Education teacher at Cary High scho...

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 July 7, 2021.   In this episode, we had the privilege of interviewing our 2021 Certiport CERTIFIED Educator of the Year Abner Soto-Henry. His love for education and his students is truly inspiring. He talks a...

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 outsi...

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 hand...

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 t...

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 fea...

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, welc...

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 stude...