I Support Learning’s Virtual Internship Series selected as Career Themed Courses for World Virtual School

Award winning Virtual Internship Series now has a growing international audience.

Olathe, KS. – , March 12 2013 — I Support Learning, Inc. / CTe Learning (ISL) is pleased to announce their new partnership with World Virtual School to distribute ISL’s award winning courses through their accredited international online school. “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with WVS as they grow their national and international presence. This immediately gives us a footprint in a larger online community that includes 72 countries. Diana and her team are great to work with and we look forward to growing together“, says Steve Waddell, Lead Developer and CEO of ISL. Donna Goodman Director of Implementation noted, “This is the ideal partnership. Diana’s school has a great international reputation and has been looking for new and innovative ways to engage learners worldwide in relevant career themed education. We have been looking for a partner to help us reach our goals of engaging more learners both here in the states and globally. This is a great opportunity for both of us.” “I have been looking forward to incorporating ISL’s courses into our online catalog since the first time Donna demonstrated the courses to me”, says World Virtual School founder , Dr. Diana Muir. “In order to expand our core education offerings and to complement our career/training courses, we have partnered with ISL to deliver their new and innovative career themed courses. All of us at WVS enjoy working with such experienced and innovative companies as we strive to serve our students better. This is part of our expansion as we target to reach more than 100,000 new students in the next year.”

ISL’s innovative story-based Virtual Internships immerse students in relevant real world situations and teaches technology, math, language, and science, to solve problems. Students have the opportunity to test drive a career and gain important soft as well as technical skills. The “real world” aspect of ISL’s career themed curricula mimics naturally occurring processes found in everyday workplace situations such as, collaboration, troubleshooting, and teamwork. As a newly hired employee with a dynamic company, students enter a learning environment that requires their active participation. They experience and respond to the daily requirements and demands of their employer and customer, receiving important communications via e-mails, voicemails, faxes, and virtual video visits from customers, bosses, and co-workers.

About I Support Learning / CTe Learning I Support Learning, Inc. / CTe Learning is an educational curriculum designer specializing in online and blended learning courses and career simulations that fulfill Career, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) standards, with products in secondary schools and postsecondary universities throughout the world. I Support Learning, Inc. is becoming CTe Learning. You can find out more about CTe Learning at www.ctelearning.com

About World Virtual School The World Virtual School was first established in 1995 as a non-profit subsidiary of the Hawking Institute, an NGO of the United Nations. Offering free, equitable basic education to students around the world, entirely over the internet, the WVS completed its 3 year “proof-of-concept” phase in 2012. WVS is now transforming into a for-profit corporation and is focusing on branding and marketing, while improving its curriculum with state-of-the-art teaching methodology and technology. The World Virtual School, owned and operated by Dr. Diana Muir of East Moline, Il serves students around the world in 72 countries. Since its conception in December of 1995, WVS has served more than 540,000 students around the world. In 2010, Dr. Muir was named Global Educator of the Year by CCLP, a European consortium of educators and futurists.

Media Inquiries Steve Waddell CEO I Support Learning, Inc. / CTe Learning 913-764-4272 swaddell@ctelearning.com

Dr. Diana J. Muir CEO/Director World Virtual School LLC 1-309-738-0265 Diana@wvs.us.com

November 2012 – Desktop Versions of ISL Courses are proud to announce their retirement date.  

ISL Courses listed below are due to retire as of November 2012. In 2011 ISL began releasing the new 4.x online versions of their courses. These new award winning versions are not only more engaging and interactive than the earlier 1.0 – 3.x version, but easier for the educator to deploy. Frankly, the older versions got together and admitted it was time to retire. Horticulture and Landscape Design was the first course released in 2003 summed it up by saying “I am tired. stick a fork in me I am done. It’s time to let the new award winning online courses, those young whipper snappers, start doing some work around here.”

Below is a list of the desktop versions that are retiring. Needless to say they are turning over their duties to newer, better and stronger set of online courses whose numbers are growing along with their accolades.

Retired Courses (All Versions 1.x -3.x)

1. Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Robotics
2. Robots and Invention
3. Building Green and Residential Home Design
4. Cartoon Animation
5. Web Game Design
6. Video Game Design
7. Movie Video Production
8. Biotechnology

These courses are reinvented in ISL’s award winning and new 4.x online version. Institutions may exchange their desktop versions of any existing ISL course for a discounted upgrade to an unlimited suite access of ISL’s new 4.x version.  Discount period is coming to a close. Contact ISL to lock in your upgrade.

This simply means that ISL will cease supporting ISL desktop versions 1.0 – 3.0. The educator support forums for these desktop courses are still accessible.  If you have any technical issues with any of these “retired courses” versions ISL may or may not be able to assist you.

Contact
Steve Waddell
I Support Learning, Inc. / Edmagineer
877-828-1216 phone
913-764-4668 fax
swaddell@isupportlearning.com

Awards announced for the Future Game Designer Challenge – Victor Valley High School Students Place First in High School Edutainment Games Division.

Olathe Kansas May 18, 2012 – I Support Learning, Inc. and the Support Learning Foundation (SLF) announced the High School Division winners of the 6th Annual Future Game Designer Challenge a competition for middle and high school students to create the next generation of edutainment games. A team from Denise Roderick’s Video Game Design class made up of Jairo F, Victor W, Joseph E and Keith B created an educational game called Treasure Raider. Their Treasure Raider placed first in the nation. Denise Roderick, Chris Douglas (VVHS Principal) and the Video Game Design Class learned of the win in an online meeting with the founder of I Support Learning, Inc. and the creator of the competition.

This year’s competition drew competitors from all over the US. Middle and high school students created a wide array of engaging games to teach students a variety of topics including: Math, Biology, Chemistry, History and Space. All of these games had three main things in common. The first, they are fun to play. The second, is they helped students learn a topic. Thirdly, they need to address state learning standards.

“We want students to be creative.” Commented Steve Waddell the foundation’s founder, “We tell the challengers that the first thing you have to worry about in getting a student to learn, is to get them engaged. So, this competition has students creating games that draw the player in. Once engaged the game must be designed to have the player interact with the concepts and learn.”
“We all were very impressed with the entries this year to the FGDC. As soon as I saw Treasure Raider I knew it was going to be a winner,” said Donna Goodman who helped with the game reviews. “This is not Denise’s first time to have a winning team. In 2010 Victor Valley High had an all women team that won first place in the Women Designed Games division.

“This competition has so many benefits. My students grew by creating something for someone else. This wasn’t something they did for a grade, or for me, but a game to help someone else learn and knowing that they were competing on a national level added to the excitement,” said Denise Roderick “One of my students just told me that they now know how to really work on a team.“

What can I say – Victor Valley High School continues to grow their 3D video game design program and with great designers and competitors” continues Steve Waddell. “The judges and I were very impressed with this game. Team Super Jairo Bros. created a game that has the player discovering treasure, and along the way learning about math. The game even had embedded student created math tutorial videos to help the player learn what math concepts they needed just in time to advance to the next level. You really have to be impressed with their instructional design elements. This competition shows the validity of having students create games to help teach other students. Time and time again in the Future Game Designer Challenge we see students rise up to the challenge and make useful edutainment games. Games that are worthwhile and fun. Games that teach. Think about the power of having games created by students for students. It is what our competition is all about – learners as creators.”

As part of the competition students had to turn in a developers log, document their code, show how their game helped meet state and national learning standards, create marketing materials like posters, cd cases, cd labels. They had to create an engaging storyline and then make the game and game play support the story concept. All this while making sure their games had real educational value. Steve Waddell the founder of I Support Learning, Inc. and one of the judges stated. “One purpose to this competition is to get students to take responsibility to help the next generation. It is why our competition is about creating edutainment games. It is fun to see what happens when you give students the keys to the car, so to speak, and let them drive the game to whatever destination they choose.”

The students learned their game design skills through an innovative career simulation curriculum created by I Support Learning, Inc. Denise Roderick uses the Video Game Design course as a way to introduce students to programming via a highly interactive career themed course that makes learning math, language, science, technology and 21st century skills very engaging to the digital native. To the learner the course is an interactive role-play game that looks and feels like a real high-tech internship. Students come into the class with little or no programming skills and leave with their own 3D video game. Denise has been using the ISL’s Video Game Design career themed course since 2007.

“We were very fortunate in our sponsorship team this year. We have a number of other sponsors including Web Professionals Organization, ITWomen.org, The Engineering, Computer Science and Technology Department at Cal State LA, the Instructional Design Department at Emporia State University and I Support Learning, Inc.

About The Support Learning Foundation.
SLF (supportlearningfoundation.org) The Support Learning Foundation believes that education – if encouraged and provided – can allow individuals to achieve their dreams and maximize their potential. Therefore, the Support Learning Foundation is committed to creating change by providing research, development, and deployment of career themed innovative methodologies and technologies. SLF was founded by I Support Learning, Inc, owner Steve Waddell in 2007.

Contact
Steve Waddell
I Support Learning, Inc. / Edmagineer
877-828-1216 phone
913-764-4668 fax
swaddell@isupportlearning.com

I Support Learning’s Virtual Internship Series credited for supporting education innovation by District Administration magazine. 

 Olathe, KS. – November 21, 2011 — I Support Learning, Inc. (ISL) is pleased to announce their Virtual Internship Series of Career-Themed Courses has been named one of the winners of the District Administration Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products of 2011.

“We are grateful to all of our users who submitted us for this award. This award is given based on reader submissions, and knowing that is was our customers who nominated us for this award makes all of us so very, very proud. Thank you District Administration and our Customers,” says Steve Waddell, Lead Developer and CEO, I Support Learning, Inc.

From a record number of nominations, the editors of District Administration selected I Support Learning’s Virtual Internship Series as one of the top 100 K12 education products of 2011. This prestigious acknowledgement is given annually to K12 education products that have supported education innovation. The winners were selected from hundreds of nominations submitted by readers, including school superintendents and district-level directors in districts across the United States.

 “The nominations offer a view into the inner workings of how districts use products to help solve particular issues,” says District Administration’s editor in chief, Judy Faust Hartnett. “The recommendations we receive include extensive descriptions from school administrators of how these products are used in their districts and the difference they have made, making it very challenging to choose only 100 products. We hope these products and their accompanying testimonials will provide a valuable resource for our readers.”

 ISL’s innovative story-based Virtual Internships immerse students in relevant real world situations and teaches technology, math, language, and science, to solve problems. Students have the opportunity to test drive a career and gain important soft as well as technical skills. The “real world” aspect of ISL curricula mimics naturally occurring processes found in everyday workplace situations such as, collaboration, troubleshooting, and teamwork. As a newly hired employee with a dynamic company, students enter a learning environment that requires their active participation. They experience and respond to the daily requirements and demands of their employer and customer, receiving important communications via e-mails, voicemails, faxes, and virtual video visits from customers, bosses, and co-workers.

“These career simulations have allowed students, who are too young to get a job, obtain employability skills. Because the students are completely engaged in the simulation, absences are decreased, standardized test scores have increased, and our high completion rate is maintained.” Nominator – Susan Damon Orange County, CA.

 “ISL’s Virtual Internship series creates a career simulation to teach technical skills, 21st century skills and address the TEKS and CTE Standards while engaging the students in an innovative and effective environment. This school year, 2011-2012, we have seen our enrollments increase substantially for Video Game Design (Virtual Internship). The students come to class each day excited to get started in the curriculum. Our Career Center has been approached by other school districts that are interested in offering the ISL career simulation class to their students. Once they visit and see how I Support Learning has a Virtual Internship, they are thrilled. I show them how we use the curriculum to not only meet the TEKS and CTE Standards, but also to meet the STEM initiative set forth by our nation’s leaders. I think anything we can do to help keep students excited about learning is critical, and I Support Learning, Inc. has done this with their Virtual Internship series. Nominator – Billy Carter – Lewisville, TX.

About I Support Learning

I Support Learning, Inc. is an educational curriculum designer specializing in online and blended learning courses, career themed courses and career simulations that fulfill Career, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) standards, with products in secondary schools and postsecondary universities throughout the world. www.isupportlearning.com

 About District Administration

District Administration is a monthly publication covering all of the important topics faced in today’s K12 school systems. With a circulation of more than 73,000, District Administration reaches top decision-makers in virtually every school district across the country. Subscribers are district-level leaders in K12 education, including superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum directors, business officers, IT directors and federal funds administrators. For more information, visit www.DistrictAdministration.com.

I Support Learning, Inc.
877-828-1216 phone
866-596-5109 fax
swaddell@isupportlearning.com
CALIFORNIA STUDENTS START THEIR VIDEO GAME CAREERS IN HIGH SCHOOL USING INNOVATIVE CAREER-THEMED COURSE
Olathe, KS – March 30th, 2010 – I Support Learning, Inc.│edmagineer (ISL) announced another success story with their career simulation curricula ( career themed course), coming from Marilyn Cunnen, a Business Education teacher at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California.

When she hosts 8th Grade night at Marina High School, Marilyn Cunnen makes sure that she has her Video Game Design posters up for all the kids and parents to see. “All of our classes are full,” she says, “Any student that signs up to take Video Game Design ends up wanting to take every class we offer.”

Marilyn teaches Video Game Design, a career themed curriculum designed and created by I Support Learning, as part of an entire Video Game Career Pathway at her California area high school. The students more from Video Game Design, and continue on with two other courses from I Support Learning: Cartoon Animation and Web Game Design. These additional courses are part of the school’s approach to innovative career and technical education, and serve not only to highlight designing games, but to put focus on the design process, marketing, ethics in the workplace, and even building an entire project to meet the needs of a specific customer.

“I use the posters in the hallways too,” Cunnen explains. “It really drives a lot of interest in the program, which is great, since the elective courses are extremely competitive.” Even the video game club, meeting after school a few days a week, is full to the brim. Analyzing games and going on field trips to gaming meccas, such as Blizzard’s headquarters, the students get to see what the industry looks like from an insider’s point of view, and they even get a few freebies along the way. Plus, they get to have one-on-one conversations with real developers, feeling confident from their experience with their “virtual internships” in their class.

“My kids love the online version of the curriculum (from I Support Learning)” she attests, “They don’t have to print out anything or turn in any papers, it’s all right there.” Marilyn recently switched to the online version from her older, desktop version. She had first heard about ISL from a brochure she received in the mail. “It said I could teach video game designing without having to know anything about it, so that really grabbed my attention,” Cunnen says, “Now the programs so popular that we’ve added more classes, and there’s no danger of running out of students.”
Besides having the interest of her students, and the growing video game industry to make her class that much more important to them, Cunnen has come across some unexpected benefits as well.

When the local community college heard about her program, and had recently introduced a Video Game Design degree of their own, they extended an entrance exam waiver for any student of Cunnen’s that had taken her Video Game Design course and decided to pursue a degree at their college.

Perhaps more significantly, are the types of students that take her course. Most of her students are your typical high school students, but she also has a surprising demographic thriving in her courses. In her high school, the autistic and special education students have a campus all to themselves where they can work and study in an environment suited to them and for them.

However, when they select their elective courses, a very large percent of them choose Marilyn’s courses. “They do very well in the (video game design) course. They have fun and connect with the other students over their similar interests. They can’t get enough of it.” It’s there, just as with the rest of her students, they find positive and engaging interaction, and they thrive because of it.

“I couldn’t be happier with the program,” Cunnen adds, “I can’t wait to see what (ISL) has next.”

I Support Learning, Inc.│edmagineer is an educational curriculum designer specializing in career-themed career simulations that fulfill national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) standards, with products in over 700 schools, colleges and vocational schools across the United States.
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Steve Waddell – Creative Development
I Support Learning, Inc.© │ edmagineer©
(877) 828.1216

IB SCHOOL MAKES A GAME OF SUCCESS USING INNOVATIVE CAREER-THEMED COURSE IN GAME DESIGN

Olathe, KS – March 24, 2010 – I Support Learning, Inc.│edmagineer (ISL) announced great success in an International Baccalaureate in the Minneapolis, MN area.

Karen Griebenow teaches technology at Robbinsdale Cooper High School, an International Baccalaureate school, minutes away from downtown Minneapolis, MN. She knows her students, they know her. And she’s been nominated for Teacher of the Year for the past two years running.

Karen attributes it to her relationships with the students. “I get the chance to work with each of them personally, and we work through whatever it is they need help with.” Her Middle Year Programme, aimed instruction in of technology in a rounded, full manner, is full to the brim. She teaches four classes that can’t fit another student in.

In her class, she teaches Video Game Design, a curriculum built by I Support Learning, where students find themselves in an interactive, instructional environment. Karen calls it, “self-directed, self-paced software with an innovative, fun, real-world environment.” Students follow the story-based career themed learning, ultimately designing and creating a video game to meet a customer’s need. As the students simply put it: “It’s a video game that teaches us how to make video games.”

Karen heard about I Support Learning and their Video Game Design program a couple of years ago, looking for a program to fit the IB Programme. Hearing about them from another teacher in the area, she decided to research the program.

“It fits the MYP framework perfectly,” Karen mentions. “It’s completely aligned with all the aims and objectives of the IB mission, like incorporating the Design Process, so it was easy to get it implemented.”

From there, her classes grew quickly in size, and now she’s running at maximum capacity as her school is now moving to make MYP school-wide and year-round. Karen couldn’t be happier. Her principal is ecstatic with the success he has seen in her classes.

She teaches because of her students, and the relationships she forms with them. “It’s exciting to learn from them. The MYP framework encourages critical thinking and global citizenship, and the Video Game Design program brings out all of that.”

“The students’ favorite thing is to play each other’s games. They always go around, trying out the games and giving recommendations. Right now I have students that are going and doing outside research to figure out how to do more advanced things with their games. They’re going above and beyond what’s required in the class, just because they’re interested and want to make the best game possible.”

“I Support Learning has always had great support,” Karen mentions, “Any time we’ve ever had an issue, we’ve always been able to get someone on the phone. Even my students, when they want to ask a technical question, have picked up the phone and gotten an answer.

What Karen enjoys most is the freedom it gives her to teach and help students learn. “This program facilitates the teacher’s ability to talk to each student, without the rest of the class waiting while you address a single student’s question. Since the students are engaged and working at their own pace the whole time, you can help students learn, one at a time, and build that relationship that will encourage that student’s growth.”

I Support Learning, Inc.│edmagineer is an educational curriculum designer specializing in career-themed career simulations that fulfill national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) standards, with products in hundreds of schools, colleges and vocational schools across the United States.

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