Ready for Tomorrow: Demand-Side Emerging Skills for the 21st Century

As part of the Ready for the Job demand-side skill assessment, the Heldrich Center explored emerging work skills that will affect New Jersey's workforce in the next three to five years. The Heldrich Center identified five specific areas likely to generate new skill demands: biotechnology, security, e-learning, e-commerce, and food/agribusiness. This report explores the study's findings and offers recommendations for improving education and training in New Jersey

Information Outlook, October 2003

Volume 7, Issue 10https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2003/1009/thumbnail.jp

Developing Point of Learning : an innovative approach to enhancing professional learning

In this paper we: * expand upon some of the issues with current approaches used in the development and assessment of professional practice, * outline the current emphasis upon a life of learning and why we need a new approach to assessment that enhances the development of professional practice, * introduce and provide a brief overview of Point of Learning (PoL) – a new approach that builds upon our growing understanding of learning and takes advantage of the power of digital technology, * explain how PoL overcomes problems with existing approaches, * develop the theoretical underpinning for this new approach and * present the overarching structure in which this new model can be developed. This is illustrated with an example from the schools sector – though it is important to remember that PoL is applicable to any professional development context

Preparing the Future Workforce: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Policy in K12 Education in Wisconsin

Last December, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition - a national organization of more than 600 groups representing knowledge workers, educators, scientists, engineers, and technicians wrote to President-elect Obama urging him to "not lose sight of the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the 21st century global marketplace." While that imperative appears to have resonated in Washington, has it and should it resonate in Madison? This report attempts to answer that question by examining the extent to which STEM skills are a necessity for tomorrow's Wisconsin workforce, whether our schools are preparing students to be STEM-savvy workers, and where STEM falls in the state's list of educational priorities

Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards teaching and learning manual technical drawing in a digital age

This paper examines the place of manual technical drawing in the 21st century by discussing the perceived value and relevance of teaching school students how to draw using traditional instruments, in a world of computer aided drafting (CAD). Views were obtained through an e-survey, questionnaires and structured interviews. The sample groups represent professional CAD users (e.g. engineers, architects); university lecturers; Technology Education teachers and student teachers; and school students taking Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) Graphic Communication courses. An analysis of these personal views and attitudes indicates some common values between the various groups canvassed of what instruction in traditional manual technical drafting contributes towards learning. Themes emerge such as problem solving, visualisation, accuracy, co-ordination, use of standard conventions, personal discipline and artistry. In contrast to the assumptions of Prensky's thesis (2001a&b) of digital natives, the study reported in this paper indicate that the school students apparently appreciate the experience of traditional drafting. In conclusion, the paper illustrates the perceived value of such learning in terms of transferable skills, personal achievement and enjoyment

Acquisition of 21st Century Librarianship Skills by Librarians in Public University Libraries in Bayelsa and Rivers States of Nigeria

The study investigated acquisition of 21st century librarianship skills by librarians in public university libraries in Bayelsa and Rivers States of Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed the kinds of 21st century librarianship skills, skills acquisition methods and skills acquisition challenges acquired/adopted/encountered by the librarians. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised sixty-six (66) librarians of five public university libraries in Bayelsa and Rivers States of Nigeria. The study did not carry out sampling because the population was small and manageable. The instrument for data collection was the Survey Monkey version of an online questionnaire. The instrument was validated by two experts in the Department of Library and Information Science in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State. The researcher distributed sixty-six soft copies of the draft of the validated questionnaire to the librarians via social media platforms such as whatsapp groups of the surveyed university libraries, state chapter whatsapp groups of the Nigerian Library Association to which the librarians belong, librarians’ personal whatsapp accounts and email addresses. Fifty-three (53) questionnaires were properly completed by the librarians and returned, resulting in a response rate of 80.30%. The data collected were transferred into Google sheets and analyzed by means of weighted mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that emailing, word processing, internet surfing skills/digital literacy and social networking skills were the 21st century librarianship skills acquired by the librarians. Furthermore, it showed that colleagues’ assistance and training at work place were the methods adopted by the librarians in acquiring 21st century librarianship skills. Finally, it indicated that poor funding of libraries, lack of funds to develop oneself, poor ICT infrastructure, managerial negative attitude to personnel development and non-availability of digital library courses in Library and Information Science curriculum were the challenges the librarians encountered in acquiring 21st century librarianship skills. The study suggested that university library management should organize internal and external digital training programmes for their personnel and the National Universities Commission should collaborate with Library and Information Science (LIS) Departments in Nigeria to fine-tune the LIS curriculum to reflect 21st century librarianship skills and practice

A Competency-based Approach toward Curricular Guidelines for Information Technology Education

The Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society have launched a new report titled, Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology (IT2017). This paper discusses significant aspects of the IT2017 report and focuses on competency-driven learning rather than delivery of knowledge in information technology (IT) programs. It also highlights an IT curricular framework that meets the growing demands of a changing technological world in the next decade. Specifically, the paper outlines ways by which baccalaureate IT programs might implement the IT curricular framework and prepare students with knowledge, skills, and dispositions to equip graduates with competencies that matter in the workplace. The paper suggests that a focus on competencies allows academic departments to forge collaborations with employers and engage students in professional practice experiences. It also shows how professionals and educators might use the report in reviewing, updating, and creating baccalaureate IT degree programs worldwide

Education alignment

This essay reviews recent developments in embedding data management and curation skills into information technology, library and information science, and research-based postgraduate courses in various national contexts. The essay also investigates means of joining up formal education with professional development training opportunities more coherently. The potential for using professional internships as a means of improving communication and understanding between disciplines is also explored. A key aim of this essay is to identify what level of complementarity is needed across various disciplines to most effectively and efficiently support the entire data curation lifecycle

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Challenges in Latin America for the Next Decade

A decade after a 1999 World Bank-sponsored meeting of Latin American water and sanitation experts, there has been progress in rural sanitation in that region. Nonetheless, the Millennium Development Goals for improved sanitation services may be out of reach. Looking toward the next ten years, important challenges for rural water and sanitation will include: ensuring long-term sustainability of sanitation services and monitoring systems, improving the contribution of municipal government, and establishing appropriate legal and financial policies