Franchisee Highlight:
Yvonne Carlisle

Yvonne Carlisle

A devoted teacher and dedicated business owner, this month’s franchisee works hard every day to ensure her students make the most of their technology education. A former teacher for COMPUTER EXPLORERS in Sacramento, Yvonne Carlisle became the owner of her own franchise in 1995. In recognition of her work, Yvonne won the Newcomer Growth Award in 1996, Franchisee of the Year in 2001, and is a four-time recipient of the Mentor Award. Yvonne shares her diverse experiences and insights.

Q: Do you teach any international material in your classes? If so, what do you teach and how does it help students’ global awareness?

A: Currently, we’re piloting a technology class where first through eighth grade students are learning to speak, spell, read, and write the Spanish language. Students also use technology to learn valuable lessons about cultures in Spanish-speaking countries. To increase global awareness further, COMPUTER EXPLORERS aims to educate students not only about the language, but also about important cultural diversities.

Q: How do COMPUTER EXPLORERS classes help students develop skills for their future?

A: Our programs are different because they teach students essential technology skills they need for their future. COMPUTER EXPLORERS classes go beyond playing video games, performing Google searches, and talking to friends through Instant Messenger. First-graders learn the fundamentals of making spreadsheets, while third-graders diligently work to use the correct fingers while learning to keyboard correctly. It is very exciting for me to know that COMPUTER EXPLORERS provides these children with life-long skills, ready to guide them through their futures.

Q: What is some feedback you received from your students or their parents in the past?

A: I keep in touch with many of the children we taught as they grow up and progress though high school. Frequently, they tell me about group projects they worked on in class using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Not only did the students say they were the only group members who knew how to use these programs now that they are in high school, but they were able to teach their fellow classmates, too. As an educator, this is the highest form of payment I could ever receive.

Q: What is your favorite part about working for COMPUTER EXPLORERS?

A: My favorite part about being a franchise owner is watching our young student’s progress and grow using the skills they learn in our COMPUTER EXPLORERS classes. I love seeing students as early as first-grade learning and applying technology skills they need to be successful in their future. Hearing from happy administrators, teachers, and parents is another favorite part of my job. Using the COMPUTER EXPLORERS curriculum and teaching methods, administrators know they have a quality technology education program in place – that makes me happy, too.

Q: What is your favorite story about one of your students?

A: One day, as I treated myself to a pedicure, one of my students walked into the salon with her mom. She recognized me and couldn’t stop telling me about how much she knew about technology because she took COMPUTER EXPLORERS classes. She told me, while working on a project for school; she and her partner were so excited about using her skills on the computer they didn’t want to stop and continued working on it at home even after the unit was completed in school! It was a very fulfilling moment for me as a teacher and a business owner.

Technology is not a luxury; it's a necessity in today’s world

Researching constructive and deconstructive forces as a fifth grade science student isn’t what it used to be – at least not for students in COMPUTER EXPLORERS programs. Today, students are able to research lava flow, earthquakes, floods, tornados, wind, and on the constructive side, plant growth, water for animals, and new land masses all without ever leaving their seats. These concepts sound and look sophisticated, but with the aid of technology, children are able to learn weathering land formations rather easily.

We live in a technology-rich society, and there is no way around it. Nearly 75 percent of tomorrow’s jobs will require the use of computers, according to U.S. Department of Labor. One way to realize the necessity of technology is to take a look around you. Technology is everywhere — cell phones, computers, GPS navigation systems, and even self-checkout grocery scanners. It’s important for children to embrace the technology that surrounds them, even as it continues to evolve. The key is to properly teach children how to use the technology so they enter the work world knowing how to be efficient in their technology-oriented tasks.

Educators ponder the possibility of testing students on technology, just as they do with all core subjects. The idea is to force schools to teach and use technology in their every day lesson plans. The state of Georgia currently is in the process of trying to pass a technology proficiency test for eighth-grade students, but the approval is ongoing. Not everyone sees the true value of technology, but rather considers it an extra that can be cut when budgets are tight.
“Technology is a buzz-word to some parents. They know it’s important, but don’t know how to value it,” says Rachel Foster, COMPUTER EXPLORERS franchisee in Marietta, Ga.

Often people place technology in categories of conveniences, such as TiVo and Wi-Fi Internet connections. Those are all wonderful tools and extremely beneficial, but convenience is not the true implication for technology education. Rather, technology is a door that opens a whole new world for people of all ages to learn while adapting to tools they need for the rest of their life.

Could you imagine a world without technology? How would we function without it? It doesn’t matter what career path you choose these days. Doctors, architects, or even landscape designers all use one form of technology. When educators push children, the intent is to expose them to new concepts. After all, you never know if the next Spielberg is sitting in a COMPUTER EXPLORERS class right now.

COMPUTER EXPLORERS teaches global technology education skills

What does foreign language mean to you? Is it Spanish or French? Maybe it’s German or even English. For many, these forms of traditional foreign language are issues of the past. Learning and using technology and computer skills to communicate across the globe are the modern foreign language trends of today.

New technologies such as podcasting, blogging, and Web design are not only fun activities for children to engage in on their computers, but also are international means of communication and are accessible from anywhere in the world through the Internet.

COMPUTER EXPLORERS provides opportunities for quality technology education in both the United States and abroad. Educating and exciting students about technology brings different cultures together and makes the world a much smaller place for children.

“Technology enables people from all over the world to interact through countless communication outlets,” says Diane Taylor, development director of ComputerXplorers*, England. “If children are introduced to even basic computer skills, they receive a solid foundation that enables them to embrace opportunities across the globe.”

Through their Web design program, ComputerXplorers even helped a foreign exchange student communicate with her family in Nepal. Franchisees assisted the student in building her own Web site and taught her about Internet programs and safety. She soon shared news and stories with her family and friends across the world.

Technology education programs like COMPUTER EXPLORERS, opens the door for students to learn and grow through technology, ensuring each child takes the right path towards a successful future. Whether your foreign languages are Chinese, Portuguese, or English, COMPUTER EXPLORERS programs allow students to cross international barriers and communicate across the world through technology.

* While the trademark names are different, ComputerXplorers in the United Kingdom and COMPUTER EXPLORERS in the United States are the same organization and offer the same programs.