Enjoying this resource for effective design
And reading this blog and, especially, this post about what makes a great designer, which makes me ponder: Is it possible to be something different than what thought you were, and only discover this after half your life is gone? Or is it life that made you into that something that you are just now discovering? Or is it seeing the thing itself that makes you aware for the first time, of who you really are, and what you really want in life?
Love this tech industry newsletter:
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David Brooks proposes that (from a leadership perspective) the “boomer” generation failed.
Read More From Brooks Here… NYT op-ed.
Brooks’ analysis of how the “boomer” generation transformed American culture from a “white male Protestants” powered world into a “meritocratic aristocracy” includes five “ruinous beliefs” that led to our current state of (primarily institutional) moral bankruptcy. Meritocracy does open the door for broader (AKA diverse) access to success, Brooks points out—an isolated positive attribute in an otherwise negative diatribe. Brooks explains meritocracy supports society in the way that it perpetuates the widespread belief that: if you do well in school/work, you will be well off in life/society. Brooks’ central argument is that the “do well for self” equation leaves out the do “good” for society, an ethos that our predecessors valued (despite rampant racism) much more highly than our current “baby boomer” generation of leaders is willing to acknowledge let alone promote. This modern drive for the “maximization of individual talent” puts the “bootstrap” mentality on prednisone and fuels what seems like rampant narcissism in our culture…and leaders who emulate this new nationalistic identity.
I’d just like to say this: David Brooks you have always been on my list of heroes, but your name now appears much higher on the list.
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Fascinating article on “full-stack” talent solutions that connect employers to college students. Reducing student debt while providing students with on-the-job experience creates a pathway to careers AND solves employers skills-gap problems through an integrated technical and soft skills training package—so cool!
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Great Program in Beijing! Check this out
What if vocational education took this pathways approach? Self-directed, immersion programs could turn drop-outs into educational innovators.
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“Ryan Craig, co-founder and managing director of University Ventures, on the need to bridge the skills gap: Virtually all job descriptions are now online. Each posted job generates 150 to 250 applications. That’s too many for any single hiring manager to review. So most employers now have resorted to using applicant tracking systems as filters, and those are based on keyword filters. If applicants literally do not have in their résumés or CVs the keywords that are in those job descriptions, they will be invisible to human hiring managers.”
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If these are the real skills college students need, then they need to practice them throughout high school. The program profiled in the article is managed by a clinical psychologist: “Dr. Ginsberg , who works with clients on lack of emotional readiness and academic and “adulting” skills, as well as on social anxiety — issues that can become more apparent in college and can lead to students’ lives’ unraveling.” As a parent of teens myself, the list provides an excellent “to do” list for parenting my high schoolers—and what better time to start tackling these skill than summer?
This article makes clear the important connection between parenting and educational success. The responsibilities that we hand off to teens at home will help them build the skills they need to succeed once they leave the nest. Enforcing healthy habits at home—a daily challenge for parents of teens— directly links to how well young adults navigate the myriad complexities and anxieties of independence in college, according to these researchers.
Parenting teens is not easy, but reading this article is reassuring that the daily battles with the “teen brain” are worth it in the long run. For parents who are experiencing the halting ramifications of teen anxiety, and other psychological disorders, this article may be reassuring—you are not alone. And a list like this may make tackling this challenge seem a bit more manageable from a day to day perspective. Rather than getting caught up in the tornado of teen emotions and/or outbursts, focusing on one task a month—such as learn how to make a simple meal, or regular sleep schedule—may help. For educators, perhaps especially for Basic Skills faculty, this article provides some perspective on the range of issues impacting our students and some strategies that help our students succeed. All around a worthwhile read even if the article does raise the question—why has our society reached the point of needing specialized programs like these?
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Interesting article from the NYT’s on $$$ and Education…
Many believe that the technological revolution taking place in education right now compares to the overhaul health care received a decade ago when doctors and hospitals went digital. There are great differences between the sectors of health care and education, however. Do techies view educators with the same respect that they view doctors? The health care revolution did not include the underlying premise that the doctors themselves were the problem. Rather the archaic system was the enemy. So the health care makeover occurred with the promise of supporting doctors, improving their ability to practice their expertise. A revolution implies a take over—a change that involves winners and losers. I believe revolution is the correct phrase to describe what is happening in education—I remain undecided as to who will win and who will lose.
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Progress report from the Provost, published in SJSU’s May 2017 Academic Spotlight Newsletter:
Future Goals
“We still have much work ahead to meet the ambitious goals of eliminating our achievement gap entirely and graduating 35 percent of our first-time freshmen in four years by 2025….
Current Progress
We improved our first-time freshmen graduation rate from 10 percent to 14 percent; our six-year graduation rates improved from 57 percent to 62 percent; and we decreased the achievement gap between our underrepresented minority students and their peers from 17 percent to 11 percent.
Work in Progress
“In addition to supporting students once they enroll, we are also looking at ways to partner with K-12 and community colleges to prepare students for university coursework. Reggie and I co-hosted two student success summits with Assemblymembers Evan Low and Ash Kalra that brought together partners from community colleges, K-12 and nonprofits to discuss the ways we can work together to ensure students are prepared for college-level math and English when they arrive at CSU campuses. We have created working groups around three key areas in which SJSU faculty, staff and administrators will partner with local high schools: summer initiatives for high school students; teacher professional development; and college readiness presentations for school boards. I look forward to reporting more in the fall after we launch pilot programs in each area”
From Pew Research Center Experts on the Future of Work
A considerable number of respondents to this canvassing focused on the likelihood that the best education programs will teach people how to be lifelong learners. Accordingly, some say alternative credentialing mechanisms will arise to assess and vouch for the skills people acquire along the way.
A focus on nurturing unique human skills that artificial intelligence (AI) and machines seem unable to replicate: Many of these experts discussed in their responses the human talents they believe machines and automation may not be able to duplicate, noting that these should be the skills developed and nurtured by education and training programs to prepare people to work successfully alongside AI. These respondents suggest that workers of the future will learn to deeply cultivate and exploit creativity, collaborative activity, abstract and systems thinking, complex communication, and the ability to thrive in diverse environments.
From Ed Surge article Why Language Learning Apps haven’t Helped…
“Yet in recent years, technology developers focused their efforts on English Language Learners (ELL) like Estrada. Waves of language learning apps like Babbel and Duolingo have hit the market. But as the number of apps increases, academic achievement for ELL students remains staggeringly low. Ninety-two percent of fourth grade ELL students scored below proficiency on the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading exams. According to WestEd, a nonprofit research and development organization, older ELL students struggle more than younger ones and are significantly more likely to drop out of high school than their native English-speaking peers.
These students are a fast-growing population in America. According to theNational Center for Education Statistics, over 4.9 million ELL students were enrolled in U.S. schools during the 2013-2014 school year, and the National Education Association predicts that number will increase to 10 million by 2025. (In other words, ELLs will make up one in every four students.)”
From: Mission U an article in EdWeek about Adam Braun’s new start-up college:
“Braun describes his focus on “eight hard skills that we think will make you an effective employee in any company.” Among those are Excel spreadsheet software, public speaking, and business writing. The second quarter will be devoted to what he called “discovery,” and will take “students through a deep process of introspection and self-discovery that help them define their sense of purpose and where they want to point their compass in life.” The third quarter will involve a “deep dive on your major.” And in the final quarter students will be broken up into small teams and work on real-world problems supplied by a set of partner companies. In some ways the project is like a mini-internship, done remotely. Then the final six weeks of the program will be spent on “career launch,” to teach students tips on job interviews and even salary negotiation.”
Educational Technology National Conference: https://www.asugsvsummit.com/
Ed Tech Focus Magazine: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/
Educational Technology Policy: https://tech.ed.gov/innovationclusters/
Ed Tech Focus K-12: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/
Hiring Network: https://adjunctprofessorlink.com/
educational technology blog —http://universityventures.com Go To/News
by Instructor Knapp 