ThinkB!G's New Maple Lawn Location Near Columbia, Maryland

New Location Gives Think Big Entrance to an Expanding Community of Learners

By George Berkheimer, STAFF WRITER

New training programs, new partnerships and new opportunities are in the works for Think Big following the technology training and e-learning company's relocation to Maple Lawn in February. CEO Christine Abunassar said Think Big's new address boasts a more conducive learning atmosphere than its previous setting at Savage Mill, and comes with some distinct advantages built into the location. "We felt we needed to be in the business district so we could collaborate with other businesses in the community," she said. One distinct plus is the company's collocation and partnership with defense contractor Pangia Technologies, an arrangement that gives Think Big the newfound ability to accommodate clients who need access to a sensitive, compartmented information facility (SCIF) for training purposes. "We have a lot of Department of Defense clients and it does make a difference to them," Abunassar noted. Proximity to a small but growing contingent of defense contractors that call Maple Lawn home is an important factor, and the mainstream business district offers nearby food, ample parking and driving convenience, but physical location is only part of the formula for Think Big's overall agenda. "From the beginning we've taken a brick-by-brick approach," Abunassar said. "We're not only focused on what we can provide business, but also what we can provide for a whole community of learners."

Street Creds

Starting May 1, Think Big continues its evolution and will become a certification testing site for Adobe products, building on its successful launch last year as an Adobe Authorized Training Center. It's a significant juncture that will allow the company to begin offering bundled training packages.
"Now clients and students will be able to get the training along with the certification at the same place," Abunassar explained. "It's optional, but it's there if they want to have that credential for their qualifications. More and more, we're seeing that people want to brand themselves as differentiators to that level of skills." With that in mind, Abunassar entered into an agreement with Howard Community College (HCC) in March that will enable HCC to issue Continuing Education Unit credits for Think Big's Adobe classes. "[College leadership] recognizes that the professional certification industry is a natural adjunct to providing skills training at the college," she said. "It's a natural partnership ... for people who want to make it part of their career."
Think Big will also began offering a Technology for Teens program this year for middle school and high school students looking to include multimedia technology in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) plans. "The number of IEPs to teach is skyrocketing," Abunassar observed, and Think Big is uniquely positioned to help meet the demand, particularly from a standpoint of being able to facilitate collaboration between industry and education. "We'll be able to use real world examples of how this [technology] is being used and blend real world projects with the basics of how and why it is applied, and when to use it." Students receive the same training as adults, she continued, "but it will be geared toward teens ... [because] kids learn differently and need multimedia means to learn."

Weakest Link Theory

The fact that today's young students have different learning patterns than previous generations isn't lost on Abunassar, and having two teens of her own in the Howard County Public School System has attuned her to the need for public schools to adapt their curricula accordingly. "That has now become our weakest link in education," she asserted, "and the onus is put on the teachers, who need to start leveraging technology in the classroom and lead by example." Think Big's new Technology for Teachers program aims to address that need with a summer school for teachers, also scheduled to begin this year. "If we're going to build technology skills, we should start with teaching teachers," Abunassar explained. "Then students will have better habits to learn and teachers can better communicate and connect with kids who are well-versed in multimedia." Think Big plans to subsidize a portion of the cost to students enrolling in the Technology for Teens and Technology for Teachers classes.

Evolving Mission

"We have the same concerns as our clients," Abunassar said. "How do you do multimedia and deliver on time and on budget?" For Think Big, the answer lies in a natural blend of services and a balanced training portfolio of industry standards, including Flash, Captivate, Illustrate, Photoshop and videography applications. Flexibility and the ability to react to trends help keep the company positioned to serve both commercial and government clients, while including stand-alone students. "We're finding more freelancers who want to blend their technological experience with teaching skills," Abunassar said, and Think Big is now planning to offer CTT+, the Certified Technical Trainer program required of trainers by Microsoft and Adobe. "Teaching is a skill, and there is a challenge because there is an inconsistency among teachers. Just like with project management, [the solution lies in] creating a quality standard that has already been approved by the biggest vendors out there ... that can be used across different technologies."
Incidentally, a project management certification training program is on the horizon for Think Big, and Abunassar is already setting her sights on the company's next big evolutionary step. "We're going to launch as an Apple training center later this year," she said. Rather than a departure from some perceived established norm, Abunassar considers this step a natural progression for the company. "If you're looking at how to try to build a skilled workforce, you need to address skills that apply across the board."