Intersection Ideagen
17 Magazine / October 2014
Technological Empowerment
Depending on who you ask, technology is a driver, enabler, means to an end, or a solution. Whatever the case, most would agree that keeping pace with technology is a daunting challenge. Nowhere is this more evident than in identifying how to engrain technology with education to produce skilled workers needed for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
For employers seeking current and future generations of highly-skilled workers, empowerment begins in the classroom regardless of the grade level. The deficit that learners face is being ill-prepared to succeed in higher education and jobs, and a false reliance that college and parental influence alone will prepare kids to work. Outside voices such as industry are needed to provide understanding of how technology works, to inspire students to ask questions and innovate, and to develop holistic understanding of a subject.
The best approach is not adapting technology to accommodate education, but helping providers adapt education to accommodate technology. Public and private sector employers are seeking out local partnerships with education providers to ensure the creation of skill sets required by these employers. A goal is to empower both the growing generations of early learners who have had opportunities to learn via technology and those for whom access is limited, and to empower teachers.
Partners must be prepared to accommodate the current technological status of schools and educational providers, and the potential misbelief that technology can enable better learning. Ingredients to incorporating technology in the classroom are communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Failing fast, learning then adapting requires flexibility and compromise by all involved. This is with the understanding that industry partners who know how technology works might be relied upon to provide sustained support.
At the end of this pipeline, partners need to ask, assess and understand how education and technology have resulted in workforce development. It requires acknowledgement that not all technologically-based jobs and careers require a four-year degree, and hence some progress toward building a pipeline of more skilled workers is success. Regardless of the type of job, the challenge facing all involved is how to merge technology with teaching the skills that are needed now and tomorrow to educate the whole person.