15 Things We are Thankful for This Season

While the overall national unemployment rate is at 8.6%, the tech industry unemployment rate is 2.4%. And the outlook for 2012 is even stronger. It’s a great time to be teaching Information Technology, or working with teachers who are doing it!

In spite of educational budget cuts and fiscal challenges for schools, we continue to have the opportunity to provide training, curriculum, resources and support for high school Information Technology teachers. We’re thankful for that and for many other blessings this year, including:

• A closer partnership with NCDPI in 2011, and a growing relationship ahead in 2012.
• Administrators who understand and support the need for professional development and resources for their teachers!
• Thousands of students at more than 150 high schools participating in our Computer Engineering and Digital Media programs.
• Our friends at CMOSS, LLC, who produced our best Computer Engineering resource yet.
• All the teachers who helped us bring Digital Media to the next level.
• All who provided quality training for us this year.
• A new group of talented teachers who are conducting workshops or writing curriculum for us.
• Participating teachers like Angela Sanders, who always has an encouraging word.
• Student success stories from teachers in our programs and workshops.
• The opportunity to become a Microsoft Certified Training Partner, selling out five workshops and training 100+ Microsoft IT Academy teachers this fall (with many thanks to Ricky Hardy, Valleri Harris, Paige Haney, Robin Isaacs, Helen Maness, and a growing list of successful MSITA instructors ready to deliver sessions next year).
• The chance to help prepare scores of Multimedia and Webpage Design teachers to teach new and unfamiliar content.
• The opportunity to promote the value of student certification through three outlets: CompTIA’s new and free Partner Academy Program, Microsoft’s IT Academy, and Adobe’s ACS certification.
• Our Twitter followers and Facebook friends.
• Newer, cooler Web 2.0 tools (such as Tagxedo for word clouds, Mindomo for mindmapping, SnackTools and Aviary for digital and multimedia).
• Our upcoming  revision and revival of NCDPI’s Foundations of Information Technology – a very exciting project ahead for 2012.

That’s a lot to be happy about. What are you thankful for as this year draws toward a close?

-Robin Fred
ExplorNet CareerTech