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How Our New AI Tool EMILIA is Teaching Valuable Soft Skills to Students

Steve Waddell • Oct 16, 2024

Here at CTeLearning we are always seeking new ways to help teachers ensure their students succeed, both in the classroom and the real world. It is also the way we show that we are not trying to replace them with software and AI tools. Today, we are excited to introduce a new AI tool called EMILIA that will help students improve their communication skills. Over the next few weeks, EMILIA will be rolled out in all of our courses including our most popular ones–Web Design, Web and Mobile Video Game Design, and Web and Computer Animation.

Background

As many of our teachers know, we have been integrating Virtual Internship/Work-Based Experiences into our courses for over 20 years. We have continued to hone these products and expand them. We have fun creating immersive experiences that reinforce the technical skills the students are learning and give them the chance to apply the soft skills they will need in their future careers.

However, we always had a single frustration: no matter how hard we tried, we were never able to give the students (interns) the chance to have an authentic exchange with their “client.” That all changed recently, as we deployed EMILIA, an AI tool that allows your students to have a chat and ask questions of their client. Through the power of AI, students will be able to interact with their client by asking questions and receiving answers to better understand the client and project–just like the way it works in the real world.

EMILIA Overview

EMILIA is being rolled out in the Virtual Internship feature of our courses. The Virtual Internship, also referred to as the Practicum, allows students to get an idea of what it is like to work in the professional world by simulating the experience of working with a client as, for example, a new web designer. For example, students in the Web Design course are tasked with creating a website for a client. In order to build the best possible website for the client, students need to understand client needs, desires, interests and more.

The tool allows students to ask questions and receive responses from the client through email, enabling an ongoing dialogue that helps the student better understand the client and improve the website they have been tasked with creating. Not only does EMILIA allow students to interact with the client in real time, but it also provides them with immediate feedback on their communication skills. When students email their client, they will receive a score out of 10 that assesses their written communication as well as offers pointers for improvement. Criteria for the grade include spelling, grammar, punctuation, overall professionalism and more. Teachers also receive reports for each student based on their communications.

EMILIA is integrated into the project-based learning (PBL), which means that the students can engage with their simulated clients as part of the natural flow of the project and in context with their work–just like how it works in the real-world. By incorporating EMILIA we are giving the students enhanced opportunities to learn what it is like to “meet” a client, understand their goals and pain points, and create a better product for them. This equips students with the soft skills that are so essential in today’s economy and prepares them for their futures–whether they enter the workforce directly after high school or pursue higher education. Our teachers who have seen EMILIA in action expressed enthusiasm for how it can help improve the learning experience for students and free up time for teachers.

We have to be more clever to engage today’s learner. Integrating EMILIA gives us the opportunity to offer an open, genuine conversation with the client that is curated and helps to keep students and their projects pointed in the right direction. Through the process, students build a portfolio and a personal story of real world success they can share with teachers, parents, friends and future employers.

We are incorporating more AI tools in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning experiences. Every teacher faces challenges in providing students with real work-based learning opportunities. At the same time, live internships are harder to secure, and teachers are dealing with larger class sizes and increased preparation demands. Our goal is to ensure that our project-based learning curricula make things easier for teachers. One great advantage our teachers love is the Virtual Internship approach, which provides career readiness education through simulated work-based experiences. This allows every student, regardless of local industry support, the opportunity to have an internship, test drive a career pathway and experience the thrill of their future.

Your School Could Be Next

Interested in learning more about how we are harnessing the power of AI to improve STEM education with tools like EMILIA? Click here or call us at 913-764-4272 to schedule a free 20-minute demo of any of our courses and certifications.

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Most Recent Posts

How Our New AI Tool EMILIA is Teaching Valuable Soft Skills to Students

By Steve Waddell • 16 Oct, 2024

Here at CTeLearning we are always seeking new ways to help teachers ensure their students succeed, both in the classroom and the real world. It is also the way we show that we are not trying to replace them with software and AI tools. Today, we are excited to introduce a new AI tool called EMILIA that will help students improve their communication skills. Over the next few weeks, EMILIA will be rolled out in all of our courses including our most popular ones– Web Design , Web and Mobile Video Game Design , and Web and Computer Animation . Background As many of our teachers know, we have been integrating Virtual Internship/Work-Based Experiences into our courses for over 20 years. We have continued to hone these products and expand them. We have fun creating immersive experiences that reinforce the technical skills the students are learning and give them the chance to apply the soft skills they will need in their future careers. However, we always had a single frustration: no matter how hard we tried, we were never able to give the students (interns) the chance to have an authentic exchange with their “client.” That all changed recently, as we deployed EMILIA , an AI tool that allows your students to have a chat and ask questions of their client. Through the power of AI, students will be able to interact with their client by asking questions and receiving answers to better understand the client and project–just like the way it works in the real world. EMILIA Overview EMILIA is being rolled out in the Virtual Internship feature of our courses. The Virtual Internship, also referred to as the Practicum, allows students to get an idea of what it is like to work in the professional world by simulating the experience of working with a client as, for example, a new web designer. For example, students in the Web Design course are tasked with creating a website for a client. In order to build the best possible website for the client, students need to understand client needs, desires, interests and more. The tool allows students to ask questions and receive responses from the client through email, enabling an ongoing dialogue that helps the student better understand the client and improve the website they have been tasked with creating. Not only does EMILIA allow students to interact with the client in real time, but it also provides them with immediate feedback on their communication skills. When students email their client, they will receive a score out of 10 that assesses their written communication as well as offers pointers for improvement. Criteria for the grade include spelling, grammar, punctuation, overall professionalism and more. Teachers also receive reports for each student based on their communications. EMILIA is integrated into the project-based learning (PBL), which means that the students can engage with their simulated clients as part of the natural flow of the project and in context with their work–just like how it works in the real-world. By incorporating EMILIA we are giving the students enhanced opportunities to learn what it is like to “meet” a client, understand their goals and pain points, and create a better product for them. This equips students with the soft skills that are so essential in today’s economy and prepares them for their futures–whether they enter the workforce directly after high school or pursue higher education. Our teachers who have seen EMILIA in action expressed enthusiasm for how it can help improve the learning experience for students and free up time for teachers. We have to be more clever to engage today’s learner. Integrating EMILIA gives us the opportunity to offer an open, genuine conversation with the client that is curated and helps to keep students and their projects pointed in the right direction. Through the process, students build a portfolio and a personal story of real world success they can share with teachers, parents, friends and future employers. We are incorporating more AI tools in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning experiences. Every teacher faces challenges in providing students with real work-based learning opportunities. At the same time, live internships are harder to secure, and teachers are dealing with larger class sizes and increased preparation demands. Our goal is to ensure that our project-based learning curricula make things easier for teachers. One great advantage our teachers love is the Virtual Internship approach, which provides career readiness education through simulated work-based experiences. This allows every student, regardless of local industry support, the opportunity to have an internship, test drive a career pathway and experience the thrill of their future. Your School Could Be Next Interested in learning more about how we are harnessing the power of AI to improve STEM education with tools like EMILIA ? Click here or call us at 913-764-4272 to schedule a free 20-minute demo of any of our courses and certifications.

What is NOCTI?

By Steve Waddell • 22 Sep, 2024

We are proud to announce that CTeLearning has officially joined the NOCTI Alignment Network. Our first alignment is to NOCTI’s Web Design Certification. Our Web Design Curriculum has been developed to support both the written and performance components of NOCTI’s Web Design assessment. This alignment is part of our ongoing commitment to developing courseware to support learners to prepare for and earn industry-based certifications (IBC) as part of building strong career and technical education (CTE) programs of study. NOCTI Overview NOCTI is the nation's largest provider of industry-based credentials and partner industry certifications for CTE programs across the nation. Since 1966, NOCTI has been producing assessments to help institutions verify essential skills for the future workforce. NOCTI provides curricular and instructional improvement tools for secondary and postsecondary institutions. In addition to over 100 industry-based credentials, NOCTI also works with customers to create customized solutions. Services include job and task analysis, assessment construction, assessment delivery, credentialing, score reporting, score interpretation, and digital badging. Nocti Business Solutions, a subsidiary of NOCTI, addresses the needs of business/industry by offering customized solutions to enhance workplace productivity. How Did CTeLearning Get Involved With NOCTI? First, we updated our existing curriculum to meet the Standards and Competencies that make up the foundation for the written NOCTI exam. We then added new content modules to fill in certain areas. This ensures we are covering the necessary topics and content so that teachers using our curriculum can be confident they are preparing their students for written exam success. Next, we updated our performance assessment in which students have the opportunity to use a practicum that prepares them for each of the stages of the NOCTI assessment. This gives students the chance to practice the web design and development process to better prepare for the performance assessment. NOCTI Web Design We chose to tackle the Web Design Credential by NOCTI first as we are heavily invested in helping the SkillsUSA Web Design and Development National competition. We look forward to going through the alignment process for curricula we have that align with existing NOCTI credentials. How Do You Know if Your Curriculum is Aligned to NOCTI? As a teacher, how do you make sure that the curriculum you are using is aligned to the NOCTI Web Design written and performance assessments? One way is to review the Assessment Blueprint and another is to look for the following NOCTI Alignment Network Member logo. This logo signifies that the organization has completed an independent alignment of its product(s) to NOCTI’s publicly available standards and competencies per NOCTI’s alignment guidelines. Note: The use of this logo does not imply endorsement by NOCTI. In accordance with its ISO 17024 accreditation, NOCTI maintains a strict firewall between its assessments and any products labeled as preparation materials. Interested in Learning More? Stay tuned for future articles about our work with NOCTI. And click here or call us at 913-764-4272 to schedule a free 20-minute demo of any of our courses and certifications.

How CTeLearning is Helping Texas Schools With TEKS Standards (Part III)

By Steve Waddell • 11 Sep, 2024

This is the third and final article in our series about supporting Texas Schools with TEKS standards (you can find part I here and part II here ). Today we are highlighting our Web and Mobile Game Design course and certification , which meets the 126.48 Web Game Development TEKS standard in collaboration with our certification partner, Web Professionals Global , the international association for those who work in the world of the web. Currently, the state where we have certified the most Web and Mobile Game Designers in our schools is Texas. So, needless to say, we are proud of our Texas teachers and students. Industry Trends Web and mobile game design is a growing industry that isn’t going away anytime soon. By 2025, revenue for mobile games will be more than $138 billion and over 70% of Google Play revenue will be from mobile games. The game design industry in Texas is substantial and continues to grow. Texas has the second largest concentration of game studios in the U.S. with over 100 studios in Austin alone that contribute approximately $1 billion annually to the local economy. Other major hubs include Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Texas' vibrant game development scene is further fueled by the state’s role as a major center for mobile app development. In terms of employment, game designers in Texas earn an average annual salary of about $88,140, with job opportunities spanning from indie studios to larger developers. Course Overview Our curriculum exposes your students to this exciting career pathway and shows them the opportunities that exist in the industry. The project-based learning approach guides students to earning their first international industry-recognized certifications. They learn critical STEM skills, develop confidence, and build a college- and career-ready portfolio. Thanks to our industry partnership, students have the option of obtaining a third-party international industry-recognized certification in web game design. This certification is free to schools and students thanks to a unique sponsorship program. As students naturally progress through the course by completing lessons and projects, they also meet the certification’s industry requirements. At the end of the course, students have the option of registering and receiving their new industry-recognized credentials. This is an exciting introduction and a great first step for students to become future-ready for advanced education or a promising career path. The new Boaring Game in the course was inspired by the feral pigs in Texas. This game module is essentially a game development code a long, so that students can see the complete game design and development journey to bring a game to market. The game has quickly become a favorite in and out of Texas. For the 2024-2025 school year, we added several new features to the Web and Mobile Game Design course: 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. 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 learn how far back color theory goes. They 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 helps 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. 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 are invaluable for creating engaging, accessible, and professional digital experiences across all design, marketing, and development fields. Take the Next Step Check out this article and this article for testimonials from schools in Plainview and Sadler on the impact our curriculum is making in the classroom. And click here or call us at 913-764-4272 to schedule a free 20-minute demo with a member of our development team. We would love to help your school join our community of Texas schools that are giving their students the opportunity to explore web and mobile game design and other in-demand STEM careers.