Online-Based Curriculum

In August of every year we like to inform our readers about the course updates we have been working on for the upcoming school year. For the 2024-2025 school year, we have been hard at work on a number of updates for some of our most popular courses . This includes a major revamp of the first course we ever released, which has been in high demand in recent years. Let’s take a look. Web Design Typography with Accessibility Typography is a crucial design element that profoundly impacts user experience. Whether designing a personal blog, e-commerce site, or corporate portfolio, text appearance affects readability, brand perception, and overall aesthetics. This lesson module covers key typographic terminology, highlights the importance of typography in web design, and shows how different styles can transform your client’s website. Students learn to choose and pair fonts effectively, make text stand out without overwhelming readers, and apply typographic scales and line spacing for mobile devices. Good typography supports accessibility and aligns with WCAG standards, ensuring that content is accessible to all users. The skills gained will be invaluable for creating engaging, accessible, and professional digital experiences across all design, marketing, and development fields. Critical Thinking in the Workplace This module allows students to earn a resume-building certificate sponsored by a professional association. This lesson set was developed in collaboration with Web Professionals Global , our industry partner that develops and backs the industry certificates offered in CTeLearning courses. As a development team, we hear from educators and employers about the struggles they face in the classroom and workplace. One of the most common issues is students and recent grads who struggle with critical thinking. Critical thinking impacts work ethic and decision-making in both the classroom and the workplace. It's essential for analyzing facts, situations, statements, and media reports. These lessons focus on teaching students how to think on their own and analyze what they see and hear. Thinking critically allows students to learn how the right mindset can de-escalate verbal conflicts and move the conversation to fact-based discussions rather than personal attacks. If we are to truly teach problem solving, we must first engage with critical thinking. The initial feedback we have heard from teachers is that we have hit the nail on the head of this common problem. Color Theory and Accessibility It is so easy to forget just how powerful color is in our lives, and how color can be used to help our clients with their messaging to their target audience. In this exciting module, students will learn how far back color theory goes. They will learn that even Sir Issac Newton had a hand in shaping what we now think of as modern color theory. As a global society, color theory becomes increasingly important as different cultures see and use specific colors to mean different things. As professional designers, how we use color can help our clients grow their businesses or do irreparable damage. This set of lessons will help students develop professional portfolios that are global-ready and demonstrate that they understand international-based design. Color theory is crucial to designs that meet and exceed accessibility standards, helping design clients reach broader markets and avoid costly legal issues. Introduction to Browsers, Protocols and Security We had several teachers express a desire to better introduce their web design students to the process of how data is delivered to users. In this set of lessons, students learn about domains and how they are hosted. They will explore the fundamentals of browsers and web protocols such as HTTPS, TCP/IP, FTP, FTPS, and POP3. Additionally, students will understand how DNS allows people to locate their clients' domains from anywhere in the world. The lessons also cover important security concepts, including SSL, firewalls, virus protection, malware defense, and rootkit safeguards. Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design This fall, we will also reveal our revamped Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design course. Some of our customers will remember that the original version of this course was the first of our courses to hit the market followed by our AI and Mobile Robotics and our Coding and 3D Video game design curricula. The Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design course has been updated regularly over its 20 years of existence. However this year brings the biggest update ever with a complete revamp and many new lesson modules. As always, these updates are guided by our conversations with and feedback from our teachers. We have updated our sections on plants, soils science, nursery, design concepts, etc. It would be too much to list out all the updates, but here are some of the major new additions to the course: Intro to Urban Agriculture, Edible Landscapes, Medicinal Landscapes, Trees and Arboriculture, Design and Sketching, and Introduction to 3D CAD Best Practices. The release date for the Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design curriculum is Labor Day 2024. Web and Mobile Game Design The new color theory lessons are added to the curriculum and with it the opportunity for your students to earn the Critical Thinking in the Workplace certificate from Web Professionals Global. We had some students request a deeper dive into how to create a game from scratch, so we added the Boaring Game. This is a fun and engaging game that takes students through all the aspects of how a mobile game works. Students do a “code a long” and build the game as they learn what it takes to go from zero to an actual game. Hybrid and Remote Working Professional The rise of hybrid work–a flexible model that allows employees to work a schedule that involves days in the office as well as days at home–prompted us to update our Remote Working Professional course. Now known as the Hybrid and Remote Working Professional course, this curriculum built on lessons teaching learners how to be successful working at home and incorporated new lessons on how to succeed as a hybrid worker. The course prepares learners to be ready for the ever-changing world of work once they graduate and move into the professional world, giving them an edge over other job seekers who may not be as prepared for work arrangements outside of the traditional 9-5 in-office schedule. Curriculum-Wide Updates Enhanced Teacher Classroom Control Along with our course updates, we also updated how teachers control student curriculum flow, pacing, onboarding and overall class management. We also have updated our teacher classroom management tutorials. These changes are all thanks to feedback from our wonderful teachers, administrators and their students who help us continue to make things better. Updated Support This is really a shameless plug for our legendary teacher support. All our team members, some more shy than others, enjoy knowing that our work matters. One of the best ways to hear about the impact of our work is by getting to know our teachers who are using our curriculum in their classrooms. We regularly chat with our teachers to hear about how we can deliver an even greater impact in the classroom. We are proud that CTeLearning has always supported teachers directly, and any teacher at any time can reach a member of the development team directly through a phone call or email. Since we are the creators and curators of the curriculum content, who better to help a teacher? So, in summary, there are no updates to our style of support‒just reaffirming our commitment to be there to help. Closing Thoughts All of our courses have been updated for 2024-205, but these courses are the ones that received some extra attention this year. Why don’t all our courses get major updates each year? Well, that is an easy question to answer. Our existing customers know that we update our courses on a regular basis throughout the year. This comes as a benefit of having great relationships with our teachers. If we see something that needs to be fixed we fix it. If we see something we can add, such as a new lesson, new piece of content, new video, etc. that makes things better for the teacher and students, then we do it right then and there. We have a flat organization with no bureaucracy. So each year, by the time we go into our update season (April - Aug), most of the fixes needed are already done. Therefore, this update season really is about finishing off development we have been working on all year. Now you know a bit about our development philosophy and how we keep our development team connected directly to those we serve‒the teachers and by extension the students. We are always thrilled to work with new teachers and students to introduce them to our exciting STEM courseware. Are you interested in learning more and seeing a free demonstration of these courses or any of our other courses ? Connect with a member of our development team today by clicking here or calling us at 913-764-4272.