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| Issue 6 | October 2008 |
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Franchisee Highlight:
Q: What drew you to COMPUTER EXPLORERS franchise and what keeps you there? A: Flexibility! I can complete the majority of my work so it does not interfere with key family activities. While researching businesses, I came across COMPUTER EXPLORERS and enrolled my five-year-old daughter in a wonderful program for children. The idea of involving fun, interactive learning, while operation a business from my home is a dream come true! Q: How many different programs does your franchise offer? A: When I first started we offered a few product lines, now we offer eight different product lines. The idea is to go out into the educational community and find out what customers want and incorporate those ideas into the activities we teach the students in our child care centers, after-school programs, summer camps, and even into private and public school computer labs. Q: What’s the most rewarding and challenging part of your job? A: Well to me, the most rewarding part is offering students educational values for a lifetime no matter their age. Our programs are offered to children ages 3 and up The challenge to owning a business is not to wear too many hats. Prioritizing and delegating tasks to teachers and others help to improve my work-life balance. Q: How do technology standards impact schools? What are the benefits for both students and teachers? A: Our generation and the next generation – our children -- must access and understand technology. It’s an integral part of life. Developing technology programs that meet or exceed national standards ensure that every student has access to technology to facilitate his or her learning. Technology education helps teachers make decisions about when and how to use technology to enhance students’ thinking. Properly implemented technology programs serve as an equalizer to students no matter their socio- Q: How do you develop your programs? A: Our curricula are written by educators for educators. My background is in engineering, but that’s the fun part for me. I incorporate my engineering background ideas with our curriculum, that’s how we develop the fun activities for our students. A great technology program is Robotics in our TechStars™ program where children build robots and bring them to life by programming them. Robotics connect students with problem solving, team building, and creativity. The students don’t realize they are learning – they are working with robots and can incorporate the lessons at home and with their friends. Q: What is your most popular class? A: Any activity that’s hands-on is popular. In our “Engineering”, “Robotics” and “Introduction to 3D Visualization” courses, students build 3-D models and those activities really grab and excite them because they are able to build a model and experience a positive result in the end.Q: What’s your favorite story? A: This summer, COMPUTER EXPLORERS partnered with a private school to offer a Video Game Animation camp to high school students from low income families. The camp was held a local community college and was part of an Upward Bound grant that help create learning opportunities for students who will be the first in their families to attend college. Students design video games, animated stories, interactive art, and share their game and visualizations over the internet with other designers.
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Children Living the Educational Dream: Build Your Plan, Work Your Plan Fast-forward to 2008 as technology is at the finger tips of children 24/7. From wireless, interactive media centers and classroom laptops at every desk to active Internet access, video streaming, blogs, and even podcasts – technology creates a learning utopia that opens the world to curious and creative young minds. While a top-of-the-line technology infrastructure is not yet possible in every school district, the opportunity to create robust opportunities is available to all. The true secret to never leaving any child behind – in terms of math, reading, or science and technology – is to develop a plan with clear guidelines and milestones. Determine what you want your school and children to accomplish to stay afloat on a national level and then outline, step-by-step an action plan to ensure success. “How will you know the possibilities for your school programs without a plan?” asks Sharron Ballard, an expert in math and technology education. “Technology is a fad without guidelines and standards to ensure every child throughout your school district receives the necessary attention and guidance at the right times in their primary and secondary school education.” Solid curriculum A library, lab, or classroom full of up-to-date computers for teachers and students, video and television presentation equipment, and the latest software to complement the curriculum are components every educator welcomes with open arms. The secret to a solid curriculum that works is access -- allowing your students the opportunity to surround themselves with technology in multiple ways and locations throughout your school. Both educators and students require direction and support, and there is no better guide than an on-site technology expert at your school. Your technology guide oversees all aspects of technology integration to make certain educators and students stay current with new trends, training, up-to-date equipment, and also serves as an expert to answer questions. Children and teachers are sponges when it comes to learning — they never stop – especially when exploring the powerful applications of technology. Are there benefits for students and teachers? Times are changing, from using computers for mathematical or language arts drills to customizing technology applications for specific uses by teachers and their students. Today, file cabinets are rarely in classrooms. There are no hard copies of student files. Teachers complete attendance records, progress reports, and monitor student performance standards by tracking students through online graphs and charts and online data bases. Today, many teachers study the flow of a child’s progress from year-to-year online in many school districts – a reality that was nothing more than a dream only five years ago. Books and hardcopy research materials often take a back seat along with file cabinets because the amount of information available online overshadows what once was available in the largest of libraries. Updating hardcopy research materials is very time consuming where the Internet is just a click away to broadly expand student learning. It’s fascinating how schools today prepare students for years to come. Teachers allow their students to view lesson plans before and after class, and in high school, students access their teachers by e-mail or scheduling face-to-face meetings during office hours just like college students. The process of technology-enabled learning today encourages students to apply concepts that are important for the rest of their lives. Tough economy for school budgets Every year, schools prepare for next year in budget meetings where decisions about what the school is going to buy if more state and federal funding is available. Times are tough, school administrations are tight with money, and certain valuable programs often don’t survive. Fortunately, for most school districts, technology is consistently and consciously on the do-not-cut list, as children and schools cannot afford the consequences of falling behind. One way schools and public libraries contend with economic challenges is to apply for and participate in the E-Rate program. E-Rate provides discounts to assist schools and public libraries in the United States to acquire reasonable telecommunications and Internet access. During the approval process, teachers and administers plan out the necessities of the special tax fund, computers, new software, and training for teachers and technicians to ensure every child receives expertise even when the economy squeezes budgets. E-Rates grant a specific amount of money to schools and public libraries each year to stay up to date with current technology trends and training. More information about the E-Rate program is available at: http://www.universalservice.org/sl/about/overview-program.aspx
Learning New Tricks: Adults and Technology Successful technology education programs strengthen and support adults as they work toward becoming more accustom to today’s computer skills and capabilities. “COMPUTER EXPLORERS programs use computers as tools to teach adults how to integrate technology into their everyday lives,” said Vicki Ziesemer, a COMPUTER EXPLORERS franchisee. “Our classes and skills we teach connect learners of all ages to life, work, and play.” To build a successful adult learning program that supports and encourages students to embrace technology, it’s important to adapt lesson plans and classroom topics to address their specific needs and life-long learning goals. COMPUTER EXPLORERS offers a wide range of exciting classes allowing adults to learn about specific tools they need to complete everyday tasks and projects, like Microsoft Office, scrapbooking software, and even basic computer knowledge. By creating classes and covering material adults need in their every day lives, COMPUTER EXPLORERS ensures students achieve their goals and want to come back to learn more. “If our adult students have a good experience in one of our classes, they’ll want to come back and bring their friends, too,” Ziesemer said. “Once they learn how to use computers to scrapbook, they’ll want to know about digital photography and how to use Adobe Photoshop.” COMPUTER EXPLORERS also understand their adult students hold full-time jobs and families. By providing flexible class times, COMPUTER EXPLORERS allows adults to attend classes that fit well with their schedules. For example, after a one-time, three-hour crash course in Microsoft Office, adults walk out feeling confident and ready to go. When it comes to technology and computers, many adults are just as eager to learn as children – and just as capable. Adults want to perform well at work, stay in touch with family members, and keep up with younger generations. There are many tricks to staying young at heart and COMPUTER EXPLORERS students prove learning truly is a life-long lesson.
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Travel back in time to 1983 – just 25 years ago. Children walk into classrooms where there are endless opportunities to learn and play — books, building blocks, art supplies, and one state-of-the-art computer. To use the classroom computer, each child signs up for a day and time once or twice a month, so that every child gets a chance to test out the keyboard. Usually with a partner, the students enjoy their time slots as they learn through hands-on technology, exploring the Oregon Trail, Treasure Mountain, and the ever so-popular mathematical quizzes.
Who said you can’t teach a “mature version” of man’s best friend a new trick? Many adults and seniors seek technology education classes today to stay knowledgeable and up to date with their younger friends and family members. They’re proof – with the help of COMPUTER EXPLORERS – that there’s a little puppy in all of us.