Join the Logical Operations Instructor Community on LinkedIn. 
It is a place for instructors to connect with colleagues to share ideas, feedback, and insights related to instructor-led training. 

August 2021 Emerging Technology Instructor Excellence: Tara Lemieux

Tara Lemieux Certified CMMCProvisional Assessor andInstructorConnect on LinkedIn

As a Certified CMMC Provisional Assessor and Lead Auditor for ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 20000-1, and ISO/IEC 27001, Tara has worked within the United States Intelligence Community and supported most of the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies in some capacity. After watching what has gone wrong in the world of cybersecurity, and the mistakes and vulnerabilities the United States has faced, Tara has dedicated her life to making sure those mistakes don’t happen again. She has asked herself, “What can I do to fix this?”  

Tara has always loved good instructors. As she reflects on her days sitting in the student’s spot, she says, “I thrived in situations where an instructor can make the complex understandable.” Modeling herself after those instructors, Tara’s approach in the classroom is to take an intimidating and complex topic such as cybersecurity and deliver it to her students with ease.  

It is important for Tara to convey to her students why cybersecurity is so important. “Our nation and data is so vulnerable especially right now with increasing security threats, loss in security portfolios and private information. One person can make a difference.” Tara hopes that by taking what she has learned throughout her historic career in cybersecurity, it will inspire others to better understand why this field is so important, and that they too can make a difference.  

Tara is a contributing author and Subject Matter Expert to Logical Operations and has assisted in the development in the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) training materials.  At the end of August, she will be teaching the CMMC Kickstart class along with LO’s Technology Education Jedi, Jon O’Keefe. 

Congratulations, Tara, on being recognized as Logical Operations’ August 2021 “Instructor Excellence” award winner! 

Connect with Tara on LinkedIn.

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August 2021 Applications Instructor Excellence: Coston D. Dorsey

Coston D. Dorsey MBA, PMP, MCPInformationTechnology andProject Management Instructor Connect on LinkedIn

Coston D. Dorsey, MBA, PMP, MCP, is a thought leader as well as an expert Information Technology and Project Management Instructor. His primary expertise is information technology communication, specializing in SharePoint, PowerPivot, Advanced Excel, MS Project, Visio, Adobe Captivate, Google G Suite, and PMP Exam Preparation along with other foundational project management courses. Coston has also created and delivered training on proprietary software applications built by his clients.  

Coston has always had a love for computers and started his IT teaching career in 2014. He remembers getting his first computer, a Commodore 64 in 1983, and says that he has that Commodore computer to thank for where he is today saying, “I think without that, I might not have ended up in this career…that really inspired me.” Coston went on to study Finance at Virginia Tech, but his love for computers never went away.  

When a teaching opportunity fell into his lap in 2014, he seized the moment and has never looked back. It all started at ITT Technical Institute with Coston teaching Project Management.  As his confidence in his teaching ability grew, so did his repertoire of classes as he expanded into networking and virtualization classes.  He absolutely loved it and his students feel that passion in every class he delivers. One of the things Coston loves most are the bonds he builds with his students. Whenever he runs into past students, they go out of their way to say hello and tell him how great an instructor he is and how he inspired them in their careers. Coston truly believes that “by being an outstanding instructor, people see you for more than you give them in the classroom and take those lessons with them forever.” 
  
Coston teaches over 118 subjects from project management to a variety of software products. As for the saying, “Those who can’t do, teach,” Coston has used every product he teaches either personally, in an enterprise for the DoD, or for small companies. As for Coston’s favorite classes to teach, he really enjoys teaching Microsoft Project, Excel, and data analysis tools such as Tableau. 

When asked about making the adjustment to virtual delivery of classes during the pandemic, Coston said that this is nothing new to him. He began teaching virtually around 2017 because his students are located around the world.  When a large client needed to train a team of global Project Managers, he adapted and built the skills necessary to get the job done.  So, “going virtual” has not been much of an adjustment for him.  He adds, “I do miss being in a classroom with students. I miss being able to see their faces and see their body language in person. It helps gauge how the class is going and where I need to improve or makes changes.” But for now, his virtual skills are in demand, and he will continue to strive for excellence as a virtual instructor. 

So, what’s next for Coston? Well, he was recently hired by HackerU as an adjunct professor for American University learners who want to learn cybersecurity and become cyber warriors. He is excited to incorporate his prior experience and military background into this next teaching opportunity.  

Congratulations, Coston, on being recognized as Logical Operations’ August 2021 “Instructor Excellence” award winner! 

Connect with Coston on LinkedIn.

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Submit Your Instructor Nominations for September

We're recognizing instructors who have reached key milestones and made a meaningful impact in the training world. Do you want to nominate an instructor who you feel deserves to be recognized in the next Logically Speaking? Visit the Instructor Spotlight page to get more insight into what the Instructor Spotlight is all about.

Spotlight on Stacey McBrine and the Certified Data Science Practitioner (CDSP) Train the Trainer

​​​​​Stacey McBrine, Technical Trainer, has more than 30 years of experience analyzing, securing, designing, and implementing diverse systems and networking architectures. Through his consulting services, Stacey has helped organizations improve, automate, and secure business processes and their supporting systems. In 2018, he was awarded the CompTIA outstanding TTT Instructor award and the Cisco 2020 Routing & Switching Instructor Excellence Award. He holds many certifications, including five from CertNexus. 

A trainer since 1999, Stacey brings his real-world experience to the classroom, with an emphasis on security-related training and leading-edge technology, especially in the areas of AI and IoT. Whether in the classroom or through live online sessions, he enjoys sharing his depth and breadth of experience and a common-sense approach to security, technology, and business processes, often utilizing Logical Operations courseware in his training events.  

Stacey uses this dynamic approach to deliver successful Train the Trainer events for several Logical Operations courses, including the well-attended Certified Data Science Practitioner (CDSP) TTT event this past July. During a multi-evening event, Stacey brought attendees through how to teach Logical Operations’ brand new Certified Data Science Practitioner course, which maps to the high-stakes, high-value CertNexus CDSP certification exam. He gave trainers an inside look into the robust course material, plus tips, best practices, and resources to make instructors and students successful in the classroom. 

Teaching as Storytelling: Making Virtual Classes Visually Engaging

by Jon O'Keefe, Technology Education Jedi

One of the biggest challenges of moving from the physical classroom to the virtual classroom space is how you connect with your audience. To put it simply, it can be difficult to tell the “story” of your class to an audience when you cannot physically see them and interact with them in person.   

Make no mistake about it, storytelling in education is difficult but important. As Robert McKee famously said, "Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today," and I fully agree with this.   

So, how can we effectively tell stories to our virtual audiences when they can only see us on a tiny webcam and are constantly distracted by all the technology at their fingertips? One of the best ways to do this is through engaging visuals that go beyond the PowerPoints. Consider adding music and moving visuals to keep your students focused and entertained while you teach.   

Another way to tell effective stories online is to make sure you break your class down into manageable acts. When you see a play or a movie that isn’t structured properly, it quickly becomes obvious, and you can easily check out. The same happens in online learning. You need to make sure you’re telling a good story, but you also must make sure that the story has a beginning, middle, and end that fits in a time frame that a student can digest, usually no more than 90 minutes. 

Finally, find all the great moments in your story and make sure you build to them appropriately. Every training has those “lightbulb” moments where the students will realize that the bits and pieces they’ve been learning are coming together. Don’t rush those moments, let your audience savor in what they’ve learned and encourage them to be excited for it. You can’t have a great story without a thrilling conclusion, so know where those moments are in your classes and teach around them. 

If you’re interested in learning more about making the transition from the physical to the virtual classroom, you can check out our Modern Classroom Certified Trainer (MCCT) program and certification which is currently discounted at 90% as we make our way through this pandemic. Virtual education is here to stay, so make sure you’re offering the most engaging training possible with MCCT. 

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Meet Al Wills, Featured Employee from New Horizons at Logical Operations

Picture it: high school, 11th grade. My first programming class using a Wang computer. I walked away from that class thinking “I will never work with computers." Fast forward to the mid-90s. I am working for a small company. I was put in the role of MIS director. When I saw the lightbulb go off while training employees on using a computer and software, I was hooked on that experience. In 1998, I started working for a training provider. I’ve been in the field since. 

My primary role within the company is a technical trainer. I teach many vendor products like CertNexus CyberSec First Responder and CyberSAFE, along with many vendor technologies that are implanted in both the cloud and on-premises. I also work alongside the Operations Managers in preparation for course delivery and classroom setup. There are a few things I like when using LO courseware for instruction. For certification courses, the mappings in the appendix easily direct you to the lesson and topic where that domain objective is covered. The assessment can be used pre- or post-instruction, depending on whether I want to test attendees’ prior knowledge or what they have retained. The Spotlights are short, to-the-point videos that complement the training experience.  Best of all, these are takeaways available after the class ends. 

Logical Operations is one of the most diverse cultures I have worked in. Just like the cloud, we are changing to meet customers’ expectations of today and tomorrow.  Input and ideas are always welcomed at all levels.   

Fun fact: I spent time working at Walt Disney World. Always a cast member at heart.