The Sure Prep Learning Blog http://surepreplearning.com/blog Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:27:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 A fun, free way to learn programming http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=149 http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=149#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:32:21 +0000 admin http://localhost/splblog/?p=149

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.

Codecademy.com was started by two entrepreneurs who believe that with the right instruction, anyone can learn to code. The website allows users to take basic lessons with an easy-to-understand interface based on a mastery-based approach to learning. The lessons start with basic coding, progress to Document Object Model and jQuery, and finish with excellent courses on Javascript, which is used in many programs that you use every day. The first assignment teaches you to write your name in quotes and gets progressively more challenging from there. Each time you pass a new module, you get rewarded with cool badges, and there is also functionality to learn with friends, keep tabs on your friends’ progress, and track and share your progress with your mentors or friends.

Best of all – the service is free!

We hope that you will take some time to explore this interesting free resource. You can set up a free account at www.codecademy.com and code away. All you need is an internet connection and you are on your way.

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Sure Prep Learning made Inc 5000! http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=169 http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=169#comments Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:27:19 +0000 admin http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=169 Great news! Sure Prep Learning recently learned that it made the Inc 500/5000 list for the second consecutive year. With a three-year growth rate of 309%, Sure Prep earned #1023 overall and placed in the top 15 nationally in education. Sure Prep’s tutoring business has been the fastest growing education company in Arizona for the past two years. With the company launching a variety of innovative online tutoring programs this year, we are hoping to continue our rapid growth into new markets. Congrats to the entire Sure Prep team for the hard work!

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

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Would you help us with our new book? http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=136 http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=136#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 10:21:40 +0000 admin http://localhost/splblog/?p=136 Greetings!

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

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Getting unwilling readers to read http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=131 http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=131#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 10:18:39 +0000 admin http://localhost/splblog/?p=131 Every year we get hundreds of phone calls from frustrated parents who find it very difficult to get their children to develop an interest in reading. While we’ve found that there isn’t a “one-size-fits all” solution to this dilemma, our literacy experts at Sure Prep have come up with a few tried and true techniques for even the most reluctant readers.

  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.
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Welcome to the Sure Prep Learning Blog! http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=99 http://surepreplearning.com/blog/?p=99#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:47:12 +0000 admin http://localhost/splblog/?p=99 Welcome to the Sure Prep Learning blog! Our blog will feature regular contributions from team members about how to succeed in school and college, test prep strategies, tutoring resources, study skills, new educational technology, current trends in education, and whatever else may provide helpful advice for our readers.
Enjoy!
The Sure Prep Team

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