'Linda uses TestOut to help incentivize and motivate students to work hard to attain paid internships'

'Linda uses TestOut to help incentivize and motivate students to work hard to attain paid internships'
06:14 May 31, 2022
'Linda teaches 15 different subjects in information technology and computer science at Desert Hills High School. She’s been using TestOut since 2001. She finds it really benefits her with the number of subjects she is teaching, it’s really hard or impossible to come up with enough content, labs, and curriculum on her own. She didn’t need to panic if there was something she didn’t know. She could learn along with the kids or brush up on it ahead of time if she wasn’t comfortable with it. See said, “I appreciate the fact that I can expose my kinds to labs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It saves me both money and time setting up the labs.”   “I came from industry into teaching, so having hands-on activities was really important to me because I wanted kids to be able to walk the walk. I feel in love with the simulator because of that. When I first approached industry about internships, they were apprehensive of that. I kept promising they didn’t need to worry about training them, because they could leave it to me, and I would send them great kids.” So she recorded the kids doing the simulations and took it to the Rotary club to show the business community what her students could do. She said, “They were completely blown away. They were like “Really, you are teaching this to high school students!” Then they couldn’t sign up fast enough for internships.   She uses certification as carrot to decide who gets the internships. “For example, I use it as a paid internship at our school district to get paid during the summer and they get a pretty high hourly wage for do it. I tell my kids at the beginning of the year if they want one of these internships you’ve got to really buckle down and do everything I tell you to do. Do all the curriculum, do all of the Labsims, and you have to get certified. You have to get your PC Pro or you have to get your Network Pro certifications. Once they get certified, they can see how it benefits them. They have the edge of getting that job. Getting that paid internship. I don’t send anyone to an internship unless they have been certified. So I can guarantee to the client that this student knows what they are doing. It’s been a terrific opportunity for students.  They’ve seen a lot of success because they get paid more with their certification. They feel confident and they’re not afraid to tackle things. So it’s really great.  Linda talks about filling the responsibility she feels for students who choose to take her class as an elective, who put their faith in her as a teacher. So they feel glad they’ve invested the time. She feels like she is able to show up prepared. TestOut has been really important to her to have the resources and support she needs in a rural area. She said, “TestOut has just been a godsend to me. It really has.”' 
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