February 2022
Society has gone through a shift when it comes to our economy. There was a time where it was based on commodities and manual labor, and we are now shifting to a society that values knowledge, innovation, and highly qualified experience. Hiring managers are seeking employees with the 21st century skills that Alexander Ester van Laar expands on in his literature review.
For years now, schools have been responding to the shift by integrating 21st century skills into curricula to keep up the pace with the changing society: teaching students skills such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving has become a focus on preparing students for life after high school. Students can show they are working on attaining the skills employers are looking for by gaining certifications. Becoming CI Certified is a place to start.
1. Students learn 21st century skills.
Creating social media content for a purpose outside yourself and for your school takes collaboration, positive digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. CI Certification allows students to show they are ready to contribute to our 21st century world by telling the stories of their school.
2. CI Certification reflects achievement: on a resume, college admission form, or job application
The value of certification is that it ensures credibility when seeking to advance your education or career. College recruiters and hiring managers are looking for candidates that come with a wide variety of skills. If they see anything on a resume that is relevant to their industry, their company, or the specific position, it makes the candidate more attractive. Attaining CI Certification is evidence of hard work, achievement, and skill. The CI Certification benefits educators too.
3. Students gain great experience for a future career as a content creator in almost any industry.
CI Certification is creating a foundational knowledge for social media marketing while still in school and will benefit students as they move into the business world. Society has switched from in-person meetings and connections to online platforms and video conferencing. The role of social media has become even more important in 2022. Social media has become a place people go to learn, find new opportunities, connect, and grow. By creating content to build identity around your school, connect with stakeholders, and build a community, students are growing their foundational knowledge of social media marketing for the future.
4. Students engage in telling your school’s story.
In the educational world, we know that storytelling is powerful to the development of personal identity. Authentic school storytelling comes from those living it, so engaging in telling your school’s story will showcase its identity with the community. Using social media platforms, students can create content sharing the magic happening inside and outside the walls of your school building using graphics, videos, photography, and copywriting. Through storytelling, students will strengthen relationships and create connections that show the originality of your school and those in it. CI Certification will help educators facilitate learning through content creation. This is the first step in preparing students to collaborate with your community.
5. Students’ self-esteem and confidence improve.
Achieving certifications builds students’ self-esteem and confidence. Students from Chicago Public Schools describe the benefits of earning certifications in high school. One student noted in their blog that “on top of the skills she learned, one of the best parts of being able to earn certifications through her CTE classes was the confidence boost she got.” CI Certification will provide students with a sense of accomplishment and allow them to grow in their communication skills as part of The Content GenerationⓇ.
As schools look for ways to better prepare students for the world beyond high school, certifications are a piece of their high school experience they can take with them. CI Certification shows that a student is a content creator, collaborator, designer, artist, writer, storyteller, and more.
