With the explosion of the World Wide Web and advanced web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, it is more important than ever to gain a rudimentary understanding of basic programming. Most experts agree that technological innovation will produce vast numbers of high paying jobs in the United States in the coming years, and the United States is already struggling to play “catch up” with countries like India and China who are graduating more engineers than the US in ever increasing numbers. In today’s blog post, we will be looking at a new startup called codecademy.com, a free online instructional website that makes learning to code easy and fun.

Here’s the link to our award on Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/sure-prep-learning

We at Sure Prep have been writing a book called “A Parent’s Guide: Teaching your child study skills in the highly distracting digital age.” We are currently in the research phase and wondered if you might fill out this quick survey (links at bottom of this message). The survey is anonymous and will only take a brief time to complete. Thanks in advance for contributing to our understanding of this challenging issue!

Here is the premise for the book:

In the always on, networked, portable, and wireless world facing today’s students (and teacher/tutors/parents) do you find that the rapid increase in social networking and the proliferation of technological devices is an impediment or impetus to learning? A help or a hindrance? While many parents and teachers cite the increased difficulty that their students have in staying focused, many people feel that technology has also had a positive impact on their students’ organizational skills. What do you think?

There are links to two separate surveys below. The first is for teacher/tutors. The second is for parents. Please feel free to fill out one or both, depending on your time and interest.

(1) Teacher/tutors survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XF2QVMS

(2) Parent survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XN5WNBS

Many thanks for your time !

The Sure Prep Team

1. Start with the basics. Find reading material that is interesting to your student. If you are a parent, you already know what interests your child. Do some homework online and find books or magazines on these topics. If you are a teacher or tutor, it may take some sleuth work to uncover your student’s interests. At Sure Prep, we provide an icebreaker activity during the first tutorial session that helps us uncover these interests and we encourage our tutors to find high-interest material during lesson planning time.
2. Locate high-interest websites. Children are fascinated by the internet, and they spend increasing numbers of hours surfing websites. If you are a parent, suggest new websites to your child and engage him or her in discussions on recent articles or events. For example, if your son is a Los Angeles Lakers fan, visit Laker’s fan sites and tell him about any new interesting developments, trades, or news on his favorite players. Encourage him to go online and read the stories and discuss them together during meals.
3. Use comic books and picture books. Comic books and picture books are typically short, high-action, and fun to read. Color illustrations are the best, but even books with black and white drawings add interest to the story.
4. Project-based reading opportunities are everywhere. For example, the  next time you are following a cooking recipe, have your child help read the  instructions and help with some of the tasks. Alternatively, you can have your child help in reading assembly instructions for new purchases.
5. Use your surroundings. Parents can use the myriad of reading opportunities that surround them, even in the most mundane of situations. For example, at the breakfast table, have your child read the text on the cereal box.
6. Think white space and font size. There is nothing more intimidating for a reluctant reader than a page jam-packed with text. To motivate these students, it is best to find reading material with larger fonts, plenty of white space, and illustrations.
7. Read with your child. Start reading with your child at an early age. Even if your students are older, you can purchase chapter books and read them together. Discussing characters, predicting what will happen next, and getting involved will help to engage your child.