Pedagogic approaches to using technology for learning: literature review

This literature review is intended to address and support teaching qualifications and CPD through identifying new and emerging pedagogies; "determining what constitutes effective use of technology in teaching and learning; looking at new developments in teacher training qualifications to ensure that they are at the cutting edge of learning theory and classroom practice and making suggestions as to how teachers can continually update their skills." - Page 4

Who wants to be able to do reference properly and be unemployed? STEM student writing and employer needs

The issue of graduate writing is one that has attracted much focus and debate in higher education, particularly around maintaining ‘academic standards’ at a time of expansion in this sector. The need to develop academic skills, including writing, for higher education study has increasingly been linked to the skills that graduates need to gain employment (Davies et al., 2006). This raises the question of whether the type and purpose of writing within university programmes is different to, and possibly in tension with, writing required for employment after university. This is a point raised by recent research (Day, 2011) which shows that students studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) subjects are more confident with oral rather than writing skills. The material discussed in this article is part of a two-year mixed method study looking at literacies, including writing, which undergraduate students develop at university, and the relationship of these literacies to employability. This article focuses on six first-year STEM students studying Forensic Science and Computing Science within the larger study. The qualitative data, gathered through repeat interviews, is discussed in relation to a small sample of employers and alumni working in science-based industries describing writing for transition into work and for on-going employment. The project therefore provides a useful Appleby et al. Who wants to be able to do references properly and be unemployed? student insight into writing, comparing this with employer expectations and the experience of alumni who have made the transition into work. What emerges from our study is the need to see writing at university as part of a wider communicative repertoire supported by a social and cultural approach to situated writing. This approach is more than simply skills based and is one that encourages and develops social as well as academic learning. We argue that such an approach, added to by technical skills support, enables greater engagement and success with learning in addition to enhancing employability

The Future of Millennial Jobs

The Future of Millennial Jobs explores the future of the labor force for Millennials and how higher education can better align with future job market demands. The report concludes that many young adults, ages 18 to 34 years-old, are uniquely prepared for jobs of the future with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively navigate workforce opportunities, yet points to reasons for concern, too: a growing number of Millennials, lacking access to technology and other resources, will be left behind

Toward a Library Renaissance

For centuries, librarians have tried to safeguard information, sometimes in the face of destruction. Think of the great Library of Alexandria, the burning of which symbolizes the irretrievable loss of knowledge. Think also of Umberto Eco\u27s novel, The Name of the Rose, and the (fictitious) 14th-century story about the search for a lost volume of Aristotle that no one is allowed to read—but yet must be preserved—because it might reveal that Jesus could and did laugh, contrary to the death-obsessed zeitgeist of the time. Fast-forward to the age of the internet, when some fear libraries are again being destroyed and many ask: Who wants libraries when you have Google? This is not an easy question to address but one need not yield to pessimism. This paper argues that identifiable trends direct to a promising future: in light of these, one should be able to circumscribe plausible scenarios. Approaches to strategic planning that count on ownership should make a big difference and point to desirable skills for librarians. If they also invest in resilience and give unequivocal attention to branding, libraries can enjoy a renaissance

What's New? Reaching Working Adults with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Instruction, A Best Practices Report

In July 2001 the Center for Impact Research (CIR) completed a needs assessment, Barriers to English Language Learners in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, which detailed the needs of immigrant working adults for English instruction and determined the barriers they faced in learning English. CIR's 2001 report documented the fact that many of these employed immigrants take advantage of overtime, hold down two jobs, and are often subject to changing or rotating work schedules that make attendance at regularly scheduled classes difficult. Evening English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes that occur twice a week lasting between one-and-a-half to three hours also present difficulties, because they interfere with parenting and family duties; fatigue of the attendees after a long day's work also makes learning problematic. Some Friday evening and Saturday morning classes are available, but seldom are there any classes on Sundays. ESOL providers report that they are unable to schedule weekend classes because of the lack of trained and qualified teachers who are willing to work on Saturdays and Sundays. Volunteer tutors could assist ESOL learners, but they too are reluctant to make commitments for weekend hours. The metropolitan Chicago ESOL system faces an additional problem in that it cannot meet the needs of those immigrants who are interested in, and able to attend ESOL classes. CIR's analysis of demographic data finds an estimated total population of potential English Language Learners 18 years of age or older in the Chicago metropolitan area in 2000 at 277,700. According to the Illinois Community College Board, in Fiscal Year 2001 68,815 adults in the Chicago metropolitan area received some ESOL instruction through programs funded by the Board, meaning that only about one-quarter of the need was able to be met. Sixty-two percent of these learners were in beginning ESOL classes. Many area ESOL providers report long waiting lists for ESOL classes, and some say they are implementing lotteries for classroom places. How then, can ESOL learning be reorganized to enable adult learners who are employed to upgrade their English language skills? Can ESOL services be offered along a continuum, with systems providing various services, geared to immigrants with differing levels of commitment to learning English, as well as changing or rotating schedules and time limitations? How can effective learning opportunities be offered in the home, at the workplace, and in accessible community locations, such as shopping centers and churches

An Intelligent Computer-aided Training System (CAT) for Diagnosing Adult Illiterates: Integrating NASA Technology into Workplace Literacy

An important part of NASA's mission involves the secondary application of its technologies in the public and private sectors. One current application being developed is The Adult Literacy Evaluator, a simulation-based diagnostic tool designed to assess the operant literacy abilities of adults having difficulties in learning to read and write. Using Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (ICAT) system technology in addition to speech recognition, closed-captioned television (CCTV), live video and other state-of-the-art graphics and storage capabilities, this project attempts to overcome the negative effects of adult literacy assessment by allowing the client to interact with an intelligent computer system which simulates real-life literacy activities and materials and which measures literacy performance in the actual context of its use. The specific objectives of the project are as follows: (1) to develop a simulation-based diagnostic tool to assess adults' prior knowledge about reading and writing processes in actual contexts of application; (2) to provide a profile of readers' strengths and weaknesses; and (3) to suggest instructional strategies and materials which can be used as a beginning point for remediation. In the first and development phase of the project, descriptions of literacy events and environments are being written and functional literacy documents analyzed for their components. From these descriptions, scripts are being generated which define the interaction between the student, an on-screen guide and the simulated literacy environment

Partnering With Employers to Promote Job Advancement for Low-Skill Individuals

Outlines the need for employer involvement in skills development programs that benefit both workers and businesses, barriers to the development of partnerships, promising approaches, and policy considerations for creating and sustaining partnerships

High Stakes: Oregon Labor Sets Union Agenda for High Skill, High Wage Strategy

[Excerpt] The labor movement of Oregon is responding to the current economic crisis by adopting an agenda to help workers gain control over work and technology. The union agenda emphasizes worker-centered education and urges unions to become advocates for workers to develop their skills

21st Century Skills for 21st Century Jobs

Joint Agency Report21stCenturySkillsJobs.pdf: 8198 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Who's In Who's Out: A Look at Access to Employer-based Retirement Plans and Participation in the States

With the aging of the nation's population, a continuing decline in the availability of traditional pensions, and concerns about the future of Social Security, many workers in the United States worry that they won't have enough money set aside for their retirements. The Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2014 annual Retirement Confidence Survey found that only 22 percent of Americans are very confident that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, while 36 percent are somewhat confident. Twenty-four percent are not at all confident.In addressing these concerns, policymakers have emphasized the need to expand access to what are known as employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s. The ability of employees to contribute directly from their paychecks and the use of features such as automatic enrollment make the workplace an effective place to encourage saving. These employer-sponsored plans are how Americans now accumulate the vast majority of their private retirement funds, but large gaps in coverage exist.Today, only about half of workers participate in a workplace retirement plan, according to an analysis of data compiled by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Overall, 58 percent of workers have access to a plan, while 49 percent participate in one. Looking at the numbers a different way, more than 30 million full-time, full-year private-sector workers ages 18 to 64 lack access to an employer-based retirement plan.To help more people save for their later years, lawmakers in Congress have introduced retirement savings initiatives. Separately, President Barack Obama unveiled his "myRA" program in 2014 with a similar goal. As of Nov. 4, 2015, people without retirement plans can sign up to save through myRA. States are also acting to increase retirement savings. Lawmakers in more than half of the states have introduced measures to either create or study state-sponsored retirement savings plans for employees who don't have access to such a plan in the workplace. Illinois, for instance, established the Secure Choice Savings Program, which will start enrolling certain workers in new payroll-deduction retirement accounts by 2017. Washington state has created a marketplace in which small employers and the self-employed can shop for retirement plans