TUNE IN: Student Virtual Job Shadowing Webinars

Here’s the news heard on all our radio stations: newly minted engineers are among the highest-paid and most quickly hired of all college graduates! That’s because engineers provide corporations with the expertise needed to invent and fabricate new products and technologies that will earn revenue. When economists rank and rate the competitiveness of countries, one of the variables they measure is how many scientists and engineers that country has on the job and in the education pipeline.

Therefore, encouraging students to think about engineering as a career benefits all of us. But few schools offer engineering as a curricular option, and, as a result, many students – even those interested in science and math – don’t know what engineering is all about.

Everyone knows that engineering requires a command of mathematics and science. But while it is a demanding discipline, what few students know is that engineering, contrary to popular opinion, offers the opportunity for creative expression that is the equivalent of any of the liberal, performing or visual arts.

That’s why LearnDoEarn is offering a series of webinars in celebration of Engineering Week – a new webinar will be posted every weekday from Monday, February 18 through Friday, February 22. Each webinar will feature a different engineering specialty and four of the five presenters are women. Teachers and students can download these 45-minute sessions at any time during the day or the week – or in the months that follow – using standard computer software that allows for audio/visual presentations to be seen and heard on computers.

As you can see below, our diverse speakers will present students with a better understanding of what engineers do. Presenters will also emphasize the opportunities in the field and reasons to learn their science and computer technology. Each engineer will also focus on the need for high levels of communications skills. These webinars are not just for students who like science and math or who are considering engineering as a career. Engineering firms hire many non-engineers – individuals who market, sell, and manage – even artists who render high-end images of products. High school and college graduates with interests in various non-technical fields who also know science and math and understand what engineering is have a better chance at getting jobs with these dynamic, high-paying corporations.

The Business of Creating Power	Noani Propst Chemical Engineer The Washington Division of the URS Corporation
The Business of Business Solutions	Larry O’Connell Mechanical Engineer IBM
The Business of Building Infrastructure	Nimrat Bhattal Civil Engineer The Washington Division of the URS Corporation
Teaching Computers to Read and Speak	Jane Snowdon Industrial Engineer IBM
Going Green	Jeanne Lennon Environmental Engineer FirstEnergy/JCP&L

Have your students join us for Eweek – you never know when you might create an engineer! And in the near future, look for our webinar series for National Entrepreneurs Week, as well as additional webinars offered by communications professionals, community relations professionals, and police officers.

Engineering Week, also known as Eweek, is supported by a coalition of corporations, professional organizations, and government partners. For over 15 years, IBM has been the lead corporate sponsor of Eweek, and this year, Sam Palmisano, IBM CEO, is serving as Honorary Chair. Engineering Week is a global celebration of the engineering profession and aims to foster the growth of future engineers and expand the existing talent pool by supporting various K-12 initiatives. Over 4,500 IBM employees are expected to visit and collaborate with students in K-12 classrooms as part of EWeek this year.

SIGNAL RIGHT OR LEFT: New Webinars Give Direction

Also enjoying widespread popularity are the five new Virtual Job Shadowing Webinars now parked on the LearnDoEarn website. These live Webinars, or online seminars, feature a corporate executive, attorney, accountant, community activist, and human resource director describing their career roadmap to an audience of students in a virtual environment. These professionals go into great detail about the education required and skills needed to succeed in their respective work environments. Students are then allowed to pose questions and interact with the presenter just as though they were on a real field trip! Presenters answer questions related to real-life topics such as salary ranges, education requirements, and job accountabilities. Students learn how their favorite subjects translate into great careers and the importance of math, science and language arts across all industries.

DRIVERS ED: Sit Up Front or Go Under the Hood

Learn more about navigating the LearnDoEarn website by taking part in a free “Drivers Training” webinar. LearnDoEarn is partnering with professional development providers to offer teachers and counselors in some states professional development credits while enhancing their understanding of how and where to find the most useful tools to impact student achievement.

Series A webinars take the participants through the front door where they will see, review and discuss all the materials that are in the “front seat” – free and open to the public and available to students, teachers, and parents thanks to support from the business community.

Series B webinars take the participants “under the hood” into the Central Office and Faculty Room, two password protected areas that have additional resources for educators. Passwords are free to licensed LearnDoEarn drivers.

The schedule for Drivers Ed is available on the LearnDoEarn website.

TRAFFIC REPORT: Downloads Are on the Upswing!

As the buzz about the LearnDoEarn National Student Credentialing System gets louder, there has been an upsurge of educators, parents and students who are downloading the free resources available on the LearnDoEarn website. LearnDoEarn marketing materials, modules, and meticulous research are speeding into schools to keep the messages of LearnDoEarn in sight - LEARN and DO now, while you’re still in school, to EARN more in the workplace.

The hottest NEW posters are from Work the Money titled “Healthy, Wealthy, and Employed” and “How to Be a Millionaire." They paint a detailed picture of the financial landscape of adulthood including responsibilities, rewards, and consequences. These posters give a rearview mirror snapshot of the messages inside the Work the Money student modules that drive home the implications of decisions, such as smoking and bad credit as they relate to employability as well as the secrets to becoming a millionaire.

Student modules from World Class Students, Work the Money, School Counts, and the Math Challenge continue to travel the World Wide Web in record numbers. Educators especially appreciate that the assignments at the end of each module are directly connected to grade-level math or writing curriculum. For example, 8th grade students are assigned to write a persuasive letter to a peer who has chosen to take the easy route at the end of World Class Students Module Eight A. Module One A of School Counts stresses the importance of establishing a strong work ethic in entry level jobs that will pave the way to future successful employment, culminating in an assignment to survey 25 working adults and graph the findings in a spreadsheet.

Educators, parents and students are also finding our Research Library of particular interest as they peruse LearnDoEarn’s virtual shelves for reasons why students should study challenging subjects and gain workplace skills before leaving high school.

These are just some examples of the many free resources from LearnDoEarn cruising through a school near you. To find out more about how to steer these resources into a local classroom, school, or district contact LearnDoEarn.

HIGH BEAMS: LearnDoEarn eCards

This year’s updated model of LearnDoEarn.org includes a new feature - a clever, innovative way educators and parents can motivate and congratulate their students working toward and earning their credentials. LearnDoEarn eCards allow the sender to paste their face, a student’s face, or friend’s face into animated cards that have been specially designed for LearnDoEarn by MushyGushy.com. These original cards send the LearnDoEarn messages of high expectations in a very cool, captivating way that students won’t be able to resist. Mushy Gushy also offers the user the opportunity to match skin tones and gender to the uploaded headshot. Thanks to support from MushyGushy.com, LearnDoEarn is able to add a little fun to the all-important business of preparing students for their futures with exclusive and customizable ecards that deliver the LearnDoEarn message about academic rigor and work ethic. Click here to see these entertaining and creative cards: LearnDoEarn eCards.

WELCOME NEW PASSENGERS: Schenectady, NY and the State of Wyoming

LearnDoEarn innovators Dana Egreczky and Sue Herring have been providing guided tours of LearnDoEarn all over the country including the Wyoming Association of Secondary School Principals (WASSP) conference on October 9 in Sheridan, Wyoming by invitation of the Executive Director EmmaJo Spiegelberg. Spiegelberg had seen a presentation on LearnDoEarn at the National Business Education Association Conference earlier in the year and is poised to expose Wyoming high school students to the messages and opportunities of LearnDoEarn.

The Chamber of Schenectady County, New York invited Dana Egreczky to speak to a group of middle school educators that included representatives from each of the seven county middle schools. They join a growing number of states, counties, districts and schools that are turning to LearnDoEarn to motivate their students to prepare to enter the highway to high school and higher education.

"The request that we hear over and over again from our member businesses is the need for candidates that are strong in problem-solving and ready to face challenges. That is why LearnDoEarn.org's message is so important. We must make today's students understand that enrolling in rigorous courses is the key to filling that need. It's a simple equation: learning more and doing more now will help them with earning more later," said Chuck Steiner, President, Chamber of Schenectady County.

DRIVERS WANTED: Help Us Pick Up Speed

Thanks to Prudential Financial for sponsoring this billboard in New Jersey to remind students about the importance of obtaining the essential credentials offered through LearnDoEarn. While LearnDoEarn is available online to anyone with access to the internet and an interest in improving the future of today’s young adults, it is most effective when it is part of a statewide or locally-driven campaign to improve student achievement and preparation for college and careers.

LearnDoEarn is seeking business and community partners to join Prudential Financial and dozens of other business and community partners in supporting this national e-nitiative. To find out more, contact LearnDoEarn.