Women in the digital age with Ashley Masters and Ashlyn Dumaw
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Release Date: 03/26/2025
Let’s get social: Teaching marketing and business skills with Jodi Pelini
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
As a business educator, you prepare students for demanding and dynamic careers. And marketing is just one area where they can excel. However, with so many trends and apps constantly changing, equipping your students with useful marketing skills and experiences can be difficult. No one knows that more than Jodi Pelini. Jodi is a former TV reporter and anchor who now brings her love of storytelling and media to the classroom. For the past 22 years, she has taught media production at Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights, Illinois, and is committed to incorporating Adobe and Meta...
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Coding, app development, and AI: Preparing students for careers in technology with Brian Foutty
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
There’s an app for everything these days. Technology is an integral part of our everyday lives. Getting students ready for careers in technology has never been more demanding or exciting! In this episode, we learn from app development educator, Brian Foutty. Brian brings decades of classroom teaching experience to his current job as a secondary math, app development and coding, and special education teacher at Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Warren, Ohio. He has also worked as a Mac and iPad systems administrator and a classroom technology integrator for the students and staff...
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Microsoft Excel skills for tomorrow’s finance and accounting pros with Caroline Dill and Jennifer Johnson
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Microsoft Excel is more than just a tool in the accounting and finance industry—it empowers individuals to advance their careers by transforming numbers into actionable insights. Despite the rise of specialized software, still rely on Excel skills, making it the go-to platform for budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and analysis worldwide. With Excel still on top, it’s crucial to help students master the application before they enter the workforce. Which is why we’ve launched new specialized Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications for accounting and finance careers: MOS...
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Students today, leaders tomorrow: Skills you should be teaching in your classroom with Noam Bonkowski and Vladimir Noda
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
You know that preparing students for the contemporary workforce looks dramatically different than it did even a few years ago. Today’s students need to be prepared to succeed in an even more demanding environment. We sat down with two educators (Noam Bonkowski and Vladimir Noda) to talk about today’s workforce demands and how you can make sure your students are prepared. Noam is a CTE teacher, work-based learning (WBL) coordinator, and Project Management Professional in Queens, NY. In his role, he creates a classroom that models a professional PMO work environment, all while...
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Securing your students’ futures with cybersecurity skills with Jessie Kalloo, Jereme Monette, and Robbie Perdue
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Security threats and nefarious tactics from hackers are on the rise, demanding more awareness and vigilance online. According to an of over 150 billion daily security events in more than 130 countries, there was a 71% year-over-year increase in cyberattacks that used stolen or compromised data. This rise in attacks has increased the demand for cybersecurity professionals in various industries. In this episode, we learn all about cybersecurity and IT education from three incredible educators: Jessie Kalloo, Jereme Monette, and Robbie Perdue. We sat down with these pros to discuss how...
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Help your students find a career they’re passionate about with Karen Coulumbe, Matt Fritzius, and Amanda Augustine
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
You want your students to find a career that is fulfilling. Interesting. Challenging. But not every student knows how to find a job that aligns with their interests. How can you help them find a career they’re passionate about? In this episode, we get advice from three experts: Karen Coulumbe, CTE educator in Washington; Matt Fritzius, Director of Research, Development, and Special Projects at Florida Atlantic University; and Amanda Augustine, Career Expert and Spokesperson at Career.io. Karen, Matt, and Amanda discuss the career journey, from classroom to the boardroom and...
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Creating a simulated workplace in your classroom with Robbie Perdue
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
You’re teaching skills that students need in their future careers. But what about giving them a chance to practice those skills in a workplace environment? Enter: the simulated workplace. In this week’s episode, we dive into the simulated workplace with CERTIFIED Educator Conference presenter, Robbie Perdue. Charles "Robbie" Perdue is an experienced IT educator with over 25 years in the field and 16 years of teaching. He specializes in preparing students for Certiport’s industry-recognized certifications, using a hands-on, simulated workplace model to enhance learning. As a...
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Teaching ideas for the AI-hesitant educator with Amy Waters and Stefano Piano
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
Adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) for learning purposes continues to grow, but many educators lack training on effective use of AI in the classroom. According to a , only 43% of educators surveyed had received any training on AI. Those left without training or district support may be wondering how to demystify AI and embrace this transformative technology. We’re here to help. In this episode, we learn from both education and industry experts, Amy Waters and Stefano Piano. Amy Waters is a 37-year veteran teacher at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana, with no...
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New ways to teach finance and accounting with Ashley Faulkner and David Waite
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
The projects higher than average growth in accounting and finance positions in the coming decade. In fact, over 715,000 openings are predicted in the business and finance sphere between now and 2031. With such strong growth (and earning potential), it’s no wonder educators want to prepare students for jobs in accounting and finance. In this episode, we sat down with two accounting educators: Ashley Faulkner and David Waite. Ashley is a teacher at Triton High School in North Carolina, where she is a strong certification advocate. Over the past 11 years, Ashley has earned more than...
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Gamification in the classroom with Merrell Stewart
Certified: Certiport Educator Podcast
If you’re looking for a fun and engaging way to teach your curriculum, gamification may be the answer. Merrell Stewart has been using gamification with his students for years and is sharing his advice with you. Merrell is an 11-year veteran educator of animation, computer science, and game design in Houston, Texas. He has served more than a thousand students, specializing in the fundamentals of digital animation. His students learn composition, 2D and 3D animation, programming, game design, effective project management, and business creation. Merrell has a master’s in education...
info_outlineIt’s 2025 and we’re ready to close the technology skills gap and support women in tech! According to a report from the (US) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, women comprise only 35% of STEM professionals.
In this episode, we chat with two amazing women in technology: Ashlyn Dumaw and Ashley Masters. Ashlyn is a senior at Cornell University studying chemical engineering with a concentration in fiber science. She’s passionate about the intersection of STEM and design, or the combination of technicality and creativity. Following her graduation in May, she will be working as a Management Consultant with Qral Group, guiding pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies through their product life cycle and business challenges.
Ashley has worked at Microsoft for nearly five years and is currently focused on driving Copilot Adoption for Business Users by meeting them where they are, on Instagram & LinkedIn. She completed her MBA in Finance from WSU in 2023 and her undergraduate degree in Finance & Economics in 2020 from CWU.
Ashlyn and Ashley discuss how they decided to pursue technological careers, and career tips they have for their fellow female techies and their educators. Plus, they share their experiences with Microsoft Office Specialist certification and how getting certified prepared them for educational and career opportunities they never thought possible.
This episode was pulled from a recent CERTIFIED Academy webinar. Join us for future CERTIFIED Academy sessions: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2025/January/Join-us-for-CERTIFIED-Academy-2025.
Connect with other tech educators in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/.
Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.