Instructors Get Free Courseware
Frank Lucente | Assoc. Professor at Westmoreland County Comm. College
Frank started using TestOut Office Pro and TestOut IT Fundamentals Pro online courseware in 2020. He’s seen some incredible results.
Kim Arlia | Adjunct professor at Central Piedmont College
Busy adjunct frees up her time while helping more non-traditional and working students by reducing face-to-face class time with TestOut Office Pro.
Spencer DeGraw | Professor and Program Director at Ensign College
Spencer's TestOut Pro certified IT students get the same jobs & pay as 4-year degree grads with the level playing field that TestOut courseware provides.
Jed Patrick | IT Prog. Coordinator at Mountainland Applied Technology
TestOut Pro Certifications put students in a hands-on testing environment where they can prove what they can do.
Kris Rosenberg | Professor & Program Dir. at Oregon Institute of Technology
TestOut Pro Certifications help schools emphasis skills-based training curriculums that produce job-ready graduates.
Bill Baur | Professor at Sussex Community College
Professor has extra time to motivate students because TestOut Office Pro saves him hassles and headaches grading and tracking students' progress.
TestOut Pro Certifications put students in a hands-on testing environment where they can prove what they can do.
After working as a technical support specialist and help desk manager for 10 years, Jed Patrick’s experience managing and training employees sparked a desire to teach. While continuing to work, he earned a master’s degree and then applied to a part-time teaching job at Mountainland Applied Technology College (MATC). To his surprise, he was offered a full-time position instead. Jed accepted and resigned from his job. After teaching for a year and a half, he was made the IT Program Coordinator for MATC. TestOut’s LabSim courseware was already in place, but Jed had the freedom to use other resources if he chose, so he evaluated LabSim closely:
“Honestly, after thoroughly going through it and looking at other products, I discovered that LabSim is, by far, the best solution available. It uses all three methods of learning instruction, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual, and the lab simulations enable the students to actually play with the technology in a safe and virtual environment without the risk of breaking or messing up expensive equipment.”
MATC has an open-entry/open-exit learning method, so students can start the program when they want and train at their own pace: “Teaching from a traditional textbook would make it nearly impossible for us to run our program. I do a lot of research on what else is out there, and in my opinion, TestOut provides the only way for us to accomplish our open-entry/open-exit goal."
For a lot of the students, when they’ve never done what a real IT Technician does and you put them in a testing environment where they can prove that they really can, it’s literally opening up doors and shining a light on them, and it’s one of the best things for me, as an instructor to experience ever.
Jed was skeptical about the Pro certifications at first: “To be honest, at first glance, I was like, why on earth would I use these things? I didn’t see a market for them. Starting at MATC, it was ingrained in us to focus 100 percent on preparing students for the job and career, and I couldn’t see if, when or how the Pro certifications would help me accomplish this. And, since we were using the CompTIA exams, it made it really hard to find a place for us to use them. But after examining them and seeing how they assess what a person can do, I said to myself, ‘This is something I can get behind. I like these.’”
TestOut Pro exams have helped students find a level of success they've never experienced before.
Jed then created a test group of students to see how they would perform on the exams and saw that more students were passing the Pro exams than they were the CompTIA exams: “When we only did CompTIA exams, if the students failed, it hurt them hard. Since the Pro certifications are 100% performance based and are delivered in an environment that the students are already familiar with, the exams are not as stressful and really build the students’ confidence. Many students we get come from vocational rehab or are going through big career changes and haven’t had a lot of past career success. Being able to offer the Pro exams has really helped them find that level of success that they had never experienced before.”
Jed then got approval to make the Pro certifications required course finals: “For a lot of the students, when they’ve never done what a real IT technician does and you put them in a testing environment where they can prove that they really can, it’s literally opening up doors and shining a light on them, and it’s one of the best things for me, as an instructor, to experience ever. The TestOut Pro certifications really are an awesome way to provide those kinds of critical learning and confidence-building experiences that my students must have to be successful.”
Jed now tailors each course around the TestOut exams and the CompTIA exams. For students that go on to take CompTIA exams, Jed has found that the Pro exams build his students’ confidence to go on and take them. “I honestly believe that the students are better prepared for the industry by using the Pro certs than by just doing CompTIA. Both have their place. I think using both provides students with a better way and unified picture of what they’ll be doing in the industry.”
Before Jed made the Pro certification exams required finals, MATC’s job placement rates had been dropping, and there was pressure on him to bring them up. But when he made the change, the students he knew were employable got jobs and placement rates rose back up. “Our whole program is based on deliverables, and the Pro exams serve as a deliverable for both our students and for our accreditation bodies.”
Jed has also experienced success showcasing the Pro exams to local companies he works with: “Our advisory committee has found that the exams deliver successful job candidates. A big company we work with is TekSystems, and they actually prefer TestOut Pro certified candidates for their entry-level jobs.”
Jed’s use of the Pro exams has not only helped his program but caught TestOut’s attention. The total average exam pass rate among students around the world is around 70 percent, but Jed’s program has a much higher rate:
“I’ve had only four students in the past two years out of hundreds who haven’t passed a Pro cert on their first try. I believe we have such high rates because one, our courses are tailored around the exams, and two, we focus on minimizing test anxiety. We help the students look forward to the test and not be afraid of it. They look at it as a final hands-on exercise, not as a nerve-racking exam that tries to stump them.”
“Make the Pro certifications required finals for your classes, but avoid making your students afraid of them. Tell your students that if they do the work, the exams won’t ask them to do anything they can’t do. I also recommend creating a custom exam using LabSim’s custom exam builder to prepare your students for both a Pro exam and a CompTIA exam. It’s an awesome way for the students to receive feedback and tells them where they need to improve and what areas they should study and review.
If you’re hesitant to use the Pro exams because they’re new and not as well known with employers, don’t be. Certifications take time to gain awareness, but locally, all of the employers I work with value them, and my students have told me that the companies they interview with have really liked the performance-based aspect of the exams. Giving your students a chance to say that they can do the job to employers is very empowering. If you’re in a program where your goal is to get multiple students trained, certified, and employed as quickly and efficiently as possible, LabSim and the Pro certifications are the solution. It’s hard to imagine where our program would be without TestOut.”
If you’re in a program where your goal is to get multiple students trained, certified, and employed as quickly and efficiently as possible, LabSim and the Pro certifications are the solution. It’s hard to imagine where our program would be without TestOut
Request free instructor access to get started setting up your class up with TestOut courseware.
Frank Lucente | Assoc. Professor at Westmoreland County Comm. College
Frank started using TestOut Office Pro and TestOut IT Fundamentals Pro online courseware in 2020. He’s seen some incredible results.
Kim Arlia | Adjunct professor at Central Piedmont College
Busy adjunct frees up her time while helping more non-traditional and working students by reducing face-to-face class time with TestOut Office Pro.
Spencer DeGraw | Professor and Program Director at Ensign College
Spencer's TestOut Pro certified IT students get the same jobs & pay as 4-year degree grads with the level playing field that TestOut courseware provides.
Jed Patrick | IT Prog. Coordinator at Mountainland Applied Technology
TestOut Pro Certifications put students in a hands-on testing environment where they can prove what they can do.
Kris Rosenberg | Professor & Program Dir. at Oregon Institute of Technology
TestOut Pro Certifications help schools emphasis skills-based training curriculums that produce job-ready graduates.
Bill Baur | Professor at Sussex Community College
Professor has extra time to motivate students because TestOut Office Pro saves him hassles and headaches grading and tracking students' progress.
