- New GOP members for House education committee
- Providing Covid safety training for Maine businesses
- Helping with K-12 teacher education
- MDC offers free IBM cybersecurity course
New GOP members for House education committee
House Republicans on Monday released a list of new GOP members recommended to serve on the House Education and Labor Committee, including controversial lawmaker Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia. The other members are:
- Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa)
- Rep. Burgess Owens (Utah)
- Rep. Bob Good (Virginia)
- Rep. Lisa McClain (Michigan)
- Rep. Diana Harshbarger (Tennessee)
- Rep. Mary Miller (Illinois)
- Rep. Victoria Spartz (Indiana)
- Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (Wisconsin)
- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina)
- Rep. Michelle Steel (California)
The Republican Steering Committee selected the members, who will be ratified by the Republican Conference and later formally appointed by the full House. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) was on leave from the committee and will be returning.
Providing Covid safety training for Maine businesses
Maine Quality Centers (MQC) have announced that more than 10,000 people in Maine have completed Covid safety training offered at the state’s community colleges.
Working with HospitalityMaine and Eastern Maine Community College, MQC — the short-term training arm of the state’s two-year college system — developed and launched its first Covid safety training program in June for restaurant workers. It also developed additional industry-specific Covid readiness training programs.
So far, more than 2,000 food service workers have completed the training, earning a Covid-readiness badge, as have more than 700 lodging workers, and almost 400 ski resort workers, according to the Maine Community College System (MCCS). A new childcare worker badge is about to be launched, and plans are in the works for other industries. More than 6,000 MCCS employees and students have also earned Covid-readiness badges.
“When you know the workers are trained — and the businesses care enough to make sure their employees have the latest information — customers can shop or ski or eat in those places with confidence,” Dan Belyea, chief workforce development officer, said in a press release. “We may all be familiar with the basics of masking and distancing and hand washing, but these workers need additional training to suit their workplace.”
Helping with K-12 teacher education
Northampton Community College (NCC) in Pennsylvania is launching a new online initiative supporting K-12 educators teaching online or in the classroom. It will feature innovative professional learning content from Discovery Education and comprises seven online learning modules.
Educators can take any or all of the modules, allowing them to learn on their own time and at their own pace, according to the college. Topics such as online assessments, digital citizenship, fostering learner engagement, creating a sense of community, and using technology to help meet individual learner needs are all addressed in the modules.
MDC offers free IBM cybersecurity course
Miami Dade College (MDC) and IBM are offering a new IBM cybersecurity practitioner course for those interested in a career as a security analyst. The four-week course, which is offered at no cost, starts February 8.
The course is open to students 18 and older with some foundational IT knowledge. It is offered through MDC’s Cybersecurity Center of the Americas and will be online, with content being delivered via a self-paced online platform together with weekly virtual meetings with an instructor.
Students who complete the course will earn two IBM digital badges that they can share across their professional networks: IBM Enterprise Security in Practice and IBM Security Operations Center in Practice. The course also creates a pathway to more advanced cybersecurity training and badges from the college’s center.
