community colleges & technology: the mux todd w. jorns educational technologist

Community Colleges & Technology: The Mux

Todd W. JornsEducational Technologist

Agenda

•21st Century Job Skills for Success

•The Millennial Generation

•Challenges for Community Colleges

•Technology’s Ignorance, Impact & Importance

•Questions and Answers

21st Century Job Skills

•Are They Really Ready to Work?

•Report released in October 2006

•The Conference Board

•Partnership for 21st Century Skills

•Corporate Voices for Working Families

•Society for Human Resource Management

The Report’s Findings

•The future workforce is ill-prepared.

•Incoming generation lacking in some needed workplace skills.

•Basic academic skills

•Advanced applied skills

Are They Really Ready to Work? - Report

Basic Knowlege/Skills

•English Language

•Reading Comprehension

•Writing in English

•Mathematics

•Government/ Economics

•Humanities

•Foreign Languages

•History/Geography


Applied Skills•Critical Thinking

•Oral Communications

•Written Communications

•Teamwork/Collaboration

•Diversity

• Information Technology Applications

•Leadership

•Creativity/Innovation

•Lifelong Learning

•Professionalism/ Work Ethic

•Ethics/Social Responsibility


Improvements Needed

•High School Graduates “Deficient” in:

•Writing in English, Mathematics and Reading Comprehension (the three R’s).

•Written Communications and Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Professionalism and Work Ethic.


Improvements Needed

•Two-year & Four-year College Graduates “Deficient” in:

•Writing in English, Written Communications, Leadership and Professionalism/Work Ethic

•Overall much better prepared than high school graduates for entry-level jobs.


Few Bright Spots

•High School Graduates “Adequate” in:

•Information Technology Applications

•Diversity

•Teamwork/Collaboration


Few Bright Spots

•Two-year & Four-year College Graduates “Adequate” in:

•Reading Comprehension and English Language

•Teamwork/Collaboration, Critical Thinking/Problem Solving and Diversity


Brighter Spot

•Information Technology Application skills rated “Excellent” for:

•Two-Year College Graduates (25.7%)

•Four-Year College Graduates (46.3%)

•We can do better!


Future Workplace Skills

•Foreign Languages - cited as the number one basic knowledge area increasing in importance (63%)

•Creativity/Innovation - cited among the top five applied skills to increase in importance (75%)


Emerging Content Areas

•Make Appropriate Choices Concerning Health and Wellness -nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, etc. (76.1%)

•Exercise Personal Financial Responsibility - balancing checkbook, budgeting skills, retirement planning, etc. (71.5%)


Emerging Content Areas

•Use Skills to Enhance Workplace Productivity and Career Options (70.5%)

•Understand Economic Issues and the Role of Business in the U.S. and Global Economy (60.6%)


Millennial Generation

Common Generations

•GI/Veteran 1901 – 1924GI/Veteran 1901 – 1924

•Silent/Traditionalist 1925 – 1942Silent/Traditionalist 1925 – 1942

•Baby Boomers 1943 - 1960Baby Boomers 1943 - 1960

•Generation X 1961 - 1981Generation X 1961 - 1981

•Millennials 1982 - TodayMillennials 1982 - Today

Millennials Are

•Special

•Sheltered

•Confident

•Team-Oriented

•Achieving

•Conventional

Other Characteristics

•Technology & Multi-tasking are a way of life

•Trial & Error is their key learning strategy (Nintendo logic)

•They are used to bits & bytes, flash & color

•They are racially & ethnically diverse

•They want their parents involved

•They have zero tolerance for delays

Mobility

•Mobile Web Sites

•Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)

•Palm & Pocket PC

•Smart Phones (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.)

•Laptops

Uniqueness

•Look no further than your own browser...

•Content delivery must be relevant & timely

•Yahoo, Google & Amazon changed everything - for the better

•Ignore distractions if not pertinent

Interactivity

•Engage with technology

•Teach with technology & the Internet

•Combine your customer service model for admissions, registration, records, cashier, financial aid and technical questions

•Expand delivery methods (in person, dynamic website, email, phone, instant messaging, blogging, chat, video) to a single point of contact (system)

Challenges for Community Colleges

League for Innovation

•Learning and the Road Ahead - Monograph - 2007

•Gerardo E. de los Santos, President & CEO of the League for Innovation

•Mark David Milliron, President & CEO of Catalyze Learning International

•Surveyed 800 community college CEOs

Learning Swirl

•Students continue to “swirl” in and out of learning experiences.

•Students are matching their changing learning needs with colleges’ expanding learning options.

• Is your institution keeping pace?

Learning and the Road Ahead - Monograph

Learning Swirl

•82% of CEOs surveyed think Credit Enrollment will increase.

•84% think Basic Skills and Developmental Programs Enrollment will increase.

•82% don’t think English as a Second Language will decrease.


Learning Needs

•91% of CEOs think there will be a greater need for Public Service Workers (teachers, nurses, police officers, EMTs).

•87% think a significant emphasis will be placed on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs.

•69% think their institution will experience Significant Employee Turnover.


Learning Needs

•82% of CEOs don’t think the number of Certificate Programs will decrease.

•67% don’t think Noncredit Workforce Enrollment will decrease.

•86% think Small Business Programming will increase.


Learning Technology

•93% of CEOs think Web-based Tools will increasingly be used as a key part of Student Services.

•89% don’t think their use of Online Courses will decrease.

•93% think they will expand their offerings of Blended/Hybrid Courses.


Learning Technology

•93% of CEOs think Student Expectations will drive even greater technology use.

•93% think Mobile Learning Strategies (wireless tablet PCs, ipods, PDAs, and cell phones) will be increasingly used.

•62% think their institutions will explore using Digital Gaming in courses, outreach, or both.


Technology’s Ignorance, Impact & Importance

Technology’s Ignorance

•Only does what we tell (program) it to do

•Doesn’t care about age, gender, race, economic background, intelligence level, etc.

•Doesn’t know or care if being used or abused

•Doesn’t discriminate among good and poor technology users

•Will continue to get better & expand uses

Technology’s Impact

•Multiple Learning Styles (PowerPoint, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, etc.)

•Students with Disabilities (text readers, voice recognition, etc.)

•Communication Mobility (laptops, PDAs, iPods, cell phones, etc.)

•Learning Anytime, Anywhere (online learning) - Everywhere, Every time?

Technology’s Importance

•Are 21st Century Skills Right Brain Skills?

•Article by Doug Johnson, 2006

•Talks about Thomas Freidman’s book, The World is Flat and

•Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age


•Shifting from an Information Age to Conceptual Age

•21st century workers will need left-brain analytic skills along with right-brain abilities

•High Concept (seeing larger picture & synthesizing information)

•High Touch (being empathetic & creating meaning)

Are 21st Century Skills Right Brain Skills? - Article


•Some right brain “Senses” to complement our left brain “Analytic Skills”

•Function & Design

•Argument & Story

•Seriousness & Play

•Knowledge & Learning


Technology to Cultivate New Conceptual Skills

•Design

•Assess not just content, but appearance of student work

•Teach visual literacy

•Teach drawing & painting programs


•Story

•Teach speaking skills along with multimedia presentation creation

•Teach story boarding as a digital photography skill




•Play

•Teach with games and computer simulations

•Offer music classes that include electronic music composition

•Allow access to humor websites


Technology to Cultivate New Conceptual Skills•Learning

•Teach processes, not just facts

•Allow students to research subject areas of personal interest

•Encourage students to learn in non-traditional ways (online, job shadowing and apprenticeships)


Questions & Answers(Not for your Magic Eight Ball)

Resources

•Are They Really Ready to Work?

•www.conference-board.org/publications/describe.cfm?id=1218

•Learning and the Road Ahead

•Gerardo E. de los Santos & Mark David Milliron

•www.league.org/store/catalog.htm?

http://www.conference-board.org/publications/describe.cfm?id=1218


http://www.league.org/store/catalog.htm?

Resources

•Are 21st Century Skills Right Brain Skills?

•Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato Public Schools

•http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson006.shtml




community colleges & technology: the mux todd w. jorns educational technologist

Documents

millennial generation

budgeting skills

needed workplace skills

century job skills

college graduates adequate

college graduates deficient

written communications

professionalismwork