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In recent years, American universities have implemented many innovative strategies to enhance the academic success of students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Yet first-generation and/or low-income (FLI) college students continue to encounter barriers to success because they do not have authentic access to digital technology needed to graduate and be career-ready in our rapidly changing economy. This paper analyzes the current state of digital inequity among FLI students at Stanford University. It also reviews existing programs to address digital inequity at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), the University of Michigan and Bowdoin College and provides guidance on developing a device program. Finally, the paper recommends strategies to better understand digital inequity and to address it in a sustainable way.

Multi-campus public higher education governance systems exist in 44 of the 50 U.S. states. They include all the largest and most influential public colleges and universities in the United States, educating fully 75 percent of the nation's public sector students. Their impact is enormous. And yet, they are largely neglected and as a tool for improvement are underutilized. Meanwhile, many states continue to struggle achieving their goals for higher education attainment, social and economic mobility, workforce development, equitable access and affordability, technological innovation, and human and environmental health. The dearth of scholarly research on these systems and their more effective use is explored in a forthcoming volume edited by the author. This paper extracts from that volume a set of specific ways in which systems can leverage their unique ability to use scale in service to their mission.

Skilling Australia's current and future workforce is the theme for the 32nd National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research Conference 'No Frills.' In keeping with the conference's theme, this discussion paper explores the resilience of the Australian VET sector and how it can continue to foster adaptability in the face of ongoing change.

This research paper is one in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of how CVET is conceptualised in various international level policy documents and how it is referred to across countries. It discusses national conceptions of CVET, the providers, participation by IVET graduates in non-formal education and training (NFE), and participation of adults in VET education institutions in European Union Member States, Iceland and Norway. The paper describes how the provision of CVET by different types of provider has changed over the past two decades, discussing the main drivers of this change and speculating about possible future trends. One of the main findings is that there are many dominant conceptions of CVET across Europe and the use of this term is not consistent, sometimes not even within countries. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH, led by Dr Jorg Markowitch; the consortium includes the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

Responsible Operations is intended to help chart library community engagement with data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) and was developed in partnership with an advisory group and a landscape group comprised of more than 70 librarians and professionals from universities, libraries, museums, archives, and other organizations. This research agenda presents an interdependent set of technical, organizational, and social challenges to be addressed en route to library operationalization of data science, machine learning, and AI. Challenges are organized across seven areas of investigation: (1) Committing to Responsible Operations; (2) Description and Discovery; (3) Shared Methods and Data; (4) Machine-Actionable Collections; (5) Workforce Development; (6) Data Science Services; (7) Sustaining Interprofessional and Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Organizations can use Responsible Operations to make a case for addressing challenges, and the recommendations provide an excellent starting place for discussion and action.

Fintech describes new technology aimed at improving and automating the delivery of financial services. The term encompasses a wide variety of finance industry segments, such as crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, payments, data collection, cryptocurrency, credit scoring, cybersecurity for finance, thematic investing, algorithmic asset management, stock and bond investing, private securities transactions and more. New technologies compete with traditional finance models and change the internal processes of financial companies. Universities around the world are beginning to examine fintech preparedness and some are attempting to create coursework to fill the skills gap. Characteristically, the majority of university fintech programs in existence have focused on regulation, security considerations and understanding the impact of technology on the market. This high-level approach does not go into depth about individual technologies, leaving students to learn on the job or pursue additional elective coursework. This white paper recommends some ways public universities can prepare students in fintech. For example, public universities in Massachusetts can strive to offer coursework that gives a broad overview of fintech and regulation by examining in-demand skills as well as the pioneering efforts of early movers in academic fintech. For students, a key goal of fintech education is to develop the tools to think ahead of the curve. In addition, Massachusetts public universities can begin a process of examining their elective coursework across disciplines, identifying areas of opportunity for business students to gain further fintech-related skills. University administrators could consider expanding some elective course opportunities, setting up new tracks for business majors or developing certificate programs for business students to package their additional course experiences for potential employers. Also while business students may feel the impacts of fintech growth most directly in their chosen field, computer science students at Massachusetts public universities may find themselves working for companies providing fintech software or within existing financial services companies doing software design, development and configuration. Academic leaders can begin -- or expand -- a process of assessing current coursework and degree paths, potentially creating new prerequisites or entirely new avenues to degree completion for business and computer science students. By working to understand shifts in the market brought on by fintech and their implications for job skills demand, public universities can endeavor to better prepare undergraduate and graduate students for the future and strengthen one of the core industries of Massachusetts.

Almost in a blink of the eye the policy focus on the 'knowledge' economy, with mass ranks of high skilled workers, has given way to claims of widespread 'technological unemployment'. This Working Paper will examine competing claims on the relationship between automation, skills and the future of work. It examines the research evidence on the scale of job losses anticipated as a consequence of digital disruption. It presents three scenarios of the impact of digital disruption on future skill requirements, before considering how evidence on automation and digital disruption is used to influence and inform UK government policy interventions on skills, employment and labour markets. In conclusion, we recommend caution in interpreting existing evidence. While high profile reports on digital disruption make for eye-catching headlines, they make for poor policy formulation. A key message is that technology is not destiny. It is human decisions that will determine the future of work.

Many students still leave school without a good grasp of basic literacy, despite the negative implications for future educational and labour market outcomes. We evaluate a programme that involves changing how resources are used within classrooms to reinforce the teaching of literacy. Specifically, the programme involves training teaching assistants to deliver a tightly structured package of materials to groups of young children. Further, we compare the effectiveness of computer-aided instruction using available software with the paper equivalent. We implement the experiment in the context of a Randomised Control Trial in English schools. Both interventions have a short-term impact on children's reading scores, although the effect is bigger for the paper intervention and more enduring in the subsequent year. This paper shows how teaching assistants can be used to better effect within schools, and at a low cost.

In a highly competitive global landscape, occupations are transformed, new jobs are created and the skills needed for the labour market are constantly changing. European countries are looking at redefining VET [vocational education and training] to respond promptly to such challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead. They are reforming to modernise their VET systems and strengthen the relevance of their national qualifications in an international context. This publication explores national responses to globalisation in 15 countries and five economic sectors. It aims to understand how European and international initiatives help VET renewal across Europe. It shows how countries' reactions are embedded in their national traditions but also depend on their interactions with European, sectoral and multinational players that provide training and award qualifications. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by IBE Educational research institute and 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH.]

The third ACECQA Occasional Paper examines activities to promote consistency and efficiency in the implementation and administration of the National Quality Framework (NQF). Striving for consistency and efficiency is a collaborative effort between the eight state and territory regulatory authorities, the Australian Government and ACECQA. This paper highlights the breadth and depth of collaboration to identify, implement and review approaches to promote consistency and efficiency under the NQF. It also includes case studies to illustrate in more detail how certain activities contribute to consistency and efficiency.

For the first time, PISA 2025 will assess foreign language skills on a global scale. This paper provides a framework for collecting policy and contextual information on foreign language learning from students, parents, teachers, school principals and government officials. The framework will be used to guide the PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment questionnaire development, and to interpret and to produce policy-relevant analyses based on the data on 15-year-old students' proficiency in foreign languages. For academics and practitioners, this paper provides a comprehensive picture of the factors influencing foreign language learning, based on an in-depth review of the international literature and past assessments in this area, and on discussions with experts in the field and OECD countries. The framework is centred around four policy domains: Government and school policies, Students and learning, Teachers' training and profile, and Teaching practices. In addition, the framework addresses two transversal topics that overlap these four policy domains: Information and communication technologies, and the Use of the target language for instruction in other subjects.

Employers increasingly reach job seekers through online job postings, particularly for jobs requiring a higher education qualification. Job postings available online provide a rich source of real-time and detailed data on the qualifications and skills sought by employers across industries, occupations and locations. Using a sample of over 9 million job postings in four US states (Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington), this paper explores three questions. How does employer demand for graduate skills vary geographically, within and among occupations? For graduates in a general study field without a dedicated career vocational pathway, like sociology, what occupational clusters show evidence of employer demand, and what skills are sought? Given the high demand in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), are employers looking for ICT specialists open to hiring graduates from study fields other than ICT? We find evidence of variation in occupational demand, and to some extent in skill demand, within occupational clusters across the four states. We identify three occupational clusters where sociology graduates are in most demand, with distinct skill profiles. We also find that, when filling ICT positions, a notable share of employers considers recruiting graduates from other fields of study while requiring those graduates have the right technical transferable skills. Job posting data, we conclude, hold promise to complement existing labour market information systems and aid educators and policy makers in aligning labour demand and educational offerings. If analysed and disseminated effectively, such data could also assist students and workers in making learning and career decisions, for instance by identifying opportunities to build their own non-traditional path into high-demand, high-paying ICT occupations.

Advanced information, communication, computation and collaboration technologies, known as "cyberinfrastructure," have become essential elements for research, education, and innovation in the 21st century. A major challenge confronting the United States today is how to ensure that all colleges and universities, including those that have not traditionally benefited from leading-edge research infrastructure, can participate seamlessly in national and multinational cyberinfrastructure-enabled efforts. The minority-serving-institution community has unique expertise, knowledge, and resources to share. Western leaders from the fields of science, education and cyberinfrastructure recognize an urgent need for action. Participants in the 2006 "Lariat Summit on Minority Institutions and Cyberinfrastructure in the West" gathered in Bozeman, Montana to develop strategies and recommendations for connecting minority-serving institutions in the West to national advanced cyberinfrastructure. This document is a first step towards developing both the will and the resources to ensure that minority-serving institutions are among the "connected" institutions in the Western states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. (Contains 2 figures and 11 endnotes.) [Financial support for this white paper was provided by the University of Washington, Internet2, and the Pacific Northwest Gigapop.]

The digital transformation of our societies is moving ahead, changing the way that we work and interact. It is also changing learning environments and the need for digital skills. This paper argues for a differentiated approach by universities to digital skills, identifying three groups of learners: (1) ICT [Information and Communication Technologies] specialists who need training in ethics (including privacy and bias) and where universities need to ensure diversity, (2) learners who will enter fields where the professional practice is already disrupted by digital technologies, for example medicine and law, and (3) learners who face unpredictability in how digital technologies will impact their careers, but who still require knowledge about them. These groups will have different needs, as will individuals within the groups. This paper offers suggestions on adapting learning environments to meet these needs. These include the use of problem-based learning that will enable universities to provide exposure to digital technology, as well as using interdisciplinary teams and learning analytics as a way to predict and adapt to individual learning needs.

This paper explains the rationale for updating the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2021 questionnaire on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and shows how it covers policy topics of current relevance. After presenting key findings based on previous ICT-related PISA data, the paper provides a summary of the PISA 2021 ICT framework guiding the development of the questionnaire. The paper then describes the process followed by the OECD/PISA secretariat for the development of the PISA 2021 ICT questionnaire items. The paper concludes by drawing some lessons that would inform future development of this instrument.

This ETF Issues Paper on the Future of Work and Skills is the first attempt to collect and analyse existing information and data on the skills demands of the future in ETF partner countries, and to explore responses for better managing the transition (transformation) towards an inclusive future for the benefit of individuals and societies. Thus, the paper analyses the impact of global developments on skills demands in ETF partner countries in order to support their discussions on the policy reforms required for managing the transition to the future. Rather than making a detailed analysis of each individual country, the paper reviews the general trends across the four regions of the ETF's partner countries: South Eastern Europe and Turkey (SEET), Eastern Partnership (EaP), Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) and Central Asia.

In December 2013, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) sponsored a workshop that explored the ways in which library and information technology services (LITS) organizations and academic institutions will need to evolve in the face of new challenges and opportunities. The workshop discussions, reflected in this paper, offer insight into how the transformative potential of an evolving digital infrastructure can help relieve the pressures faced by these institutions. Meeting participants discussed the changing nature of their combined LITS organizations and explored opportunities and challenges presented by the blended organization model. This blend of disciplinary viewpoints and the expanded vision that these professionals must have to lead an integrated LITS division allowed the group to consider libraries and IT in a broader institutional context.

This report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation's (GEF) "Developing Futures"™ in Education program in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). As described in the CPRE proposal and research design, the purpose was to closely analyze district capacity to support system-­wide instructional improvement. Specifically, this phase focused on a single, overarching question: to what extent has the district central office adopted and institutionalized the core principles of "Developing Futures"™? To answer this question, this evaluation assesses the Jefferson County Public School District's progress in scaling up and institutionalizing seven core elements of "Developing Futures"™. They are: (1) Internal constituency engagement; (2) External constituency engagement; (3) Curriculum and instruction; (4) Professional development for instruction; (5) Professional development for leadership; (6) Management capacity; (7) Evaluation. Based on a thorough review of the research and evaluation literature, a set of indicators was constructed to allow the research team to determine the extent to which there was evidence of effective practice in each of these seven areas. Results indicate that JCPS has made significant progress in curriculum standardization instructional vision setting and formative assessment.

This chapter investigates digital methods of signification in order to examine the impact of the digital medium on poetic expression. Traditional poetry criticism is problematised with reference to its suitability for application to online works in order to develop a comprehensive ePoetry rhetoric that explores not only what is being said, but also crucially how it is being said. Theories of translation are also used as a context in which to analyse the transposition of poetry from analogue to digital. This framework then forms the basis for a study that explores the move from print to pixel by analysing qualitative ePoet interviews as well as their corresponding ePoems. This is done through an examination of the translation process from analogue to digital within the context of Holmes (1994) translation theories. In particular this chapter also looks at the impact that interactivity and the digital environment have on the traditional characteristics of poetry as proposed by Orr (1996), such as story, structure, music, and imagination and how this impacts on poetic expression. This chapter then concludes that as the movement from paper to pixel has expanded the possibility for poetic expression, so too has it expanded the scope for undermining such expression. [For the complete book, "Internet Research, Theory, and Practice: Perspectives from Ireland," see ED575997.]

This document provides a summary of feedback from the discussion paper for the Review of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard (AVETMISS) for vocational education and training (VET) providers (hereafter, the Standard). The discussion paper provided opportunities to gather feedback on a range of issues. Based on this feedback, some issues will not be pursued; however, in most cases further investigation is required before final recommendations can be made. This report gives an overview of the process to date and areas where the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) will undertake further work on the Standard. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) [For the related report, "Review of the AVETMIS Standard for VET Providers: Discussion Paper", see ED510700.]

This paper traces the historical development of the American research and technology enterprise from its origins in the post-Civil War period to its current international dominance in the discovery and dissemination of scientific knowledge. U.S. research universities have become the vital center of this enterprise over the past 60 years. But competitors in Europe and Asia, many of them looking to the American research university as a model, are beginning to challenge U.S. leadership in science and technology. The paper analyzes the nature of this challenge and the problems research universities must address to continue their remarkable record of success.

While promoting postsecondary credential completion is a national priority intended to help graduates secure good jobs, the value of credentials in the labor market from the perspective of employers is not well understood. Specifically, more attention is needed to understand how credentials align with employer needs. Through in-depth interviews with managers responsible for hiring information technology technicians, we examined their perceptions of associate and bachelor's degree holders in two contrasting labor markets: Detroit and Seattle. The study led to several key findings. First, across the two labor markets, employers expected some common qualities in both associate and bachelor's degree holders, including technical skills and knowledge, thinking skills, communication skills, and discipline. Second, while they expected some positive qualities in associate degree holders that were distinctive to this credential, many hiring managers also expected negative characteristics, such as a lack of academic ability, initiative, or skill. However, while both associate and bachelor's degrees provided relevant information about potential workers, employers did not expect the credentials to provide information about certain key qualities they sought in workers, including competency in customer service and teamwork, and personal interest in technology. Some of the qualities that employers expected in associate degree holders were linked to their local labor markets and their perceptions of the local community colleges. This study provides suggestions on how an understanding of the specific qualities employers expect in credential holders and of the role of the local labor market can help colleges better engage with employers and fine-tune their programs to more effectively meet students' and employer's needs. Descriptions of the Qualities Expected in Credential Holders and Sought in Information Technology Technicians are appended. (Contains 4 tables and 4 footnotes.)

Governments and other stakeholders have become increasingly interested in assessing the skills of their adult populations for the purposes of monitoring how well prepared they are for the challenges of the new information world. The current paper provides an overview of the conceptual framework developed for the assessment of problem solving in technology-rich environments for the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). This covers the specific class of problems that people encounter when using information and communication technologies. These include problems where the existence of the problem is a consequence of the availability of new technologies, where the solution requires the use of computer-based applications or where the problem relates to the management or use of information technologies. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

Governments and other stakeholders are increasingly interested in assessing the skills of their adult populations in order to monitor how well prepared they are for the challenges of the modern knowledge-based society. The current paper provides an overview of the conceptual framework guiding the development of the assessment of literacy in the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). It builds upon earlier conceptions of literacy from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in the 1990s and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) in 2003 and 2006 to facilitate an appropriate assessment of the broad range of literacy skills required for the 21st century. The framework broadens the definition of literacy to make it relevant to the information age, in particular, by including the skills of reading in digital environments. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 9 footnotes.)

This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on and recent trends in new technologies and its effect on 21st century children (0-18 years old). It begins by providing an overview of recent trends in the access and use of new technologies as well as a summary of online opportunities and risks. It then explores a variety of factors, including economic, social and cultural status which underlie these trends and lead to online and offline inequalities. Building digital resilience is an important skill for 21st century children. Effective strategies to accomplish this include encouragement of active rather than passive Internet use, e-safety in the school curriculum, and teacher and parental Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support. A focus on younger children (primary school or younger) and the effects of new emerging technologies would be helpful for future research.

Instructional designers can embrace leadership skills to shape the culture in educational entities toward a "living" institute (Senge, 2000, p. 54). Assessment and measurability set the direction toward the design of plan, implementation and strategy to organization. Paradigm shifts must take place in education.

This paper reports on research into the field of computer security, and undergraduate degrees offered in that field. Research described in the paper reveals only one computer security program at the associate's degree level in the entire country. That program, at Texas State Technical College in Waco, is a 71-credit-hour program leading to an Associate of Applied Science in Network Technology degree and focuses heavily on computer networks and operating systems, containing courses that prepare individuals for careers on corporate security teams. The majority of computer security and information security training is offered in master's and doctoral-level programs. The paper proposes Norwalk Community College (NCC) in Norwalk, Connecticut, develop a new degree program at NCC. It also details the process of developing the degree program, starting with advisory committee members' development of a knowledge and skills list for entry-level computer security professionals, identification of the components that could be taught in a formal program of study, and the packaging of knowledge and skills components into logical course delivery units. The paper argues for development of similar programs at other community colleges. (NB)

This report proposes a detailed plan that positions digital and media literacy as an essential life skill and outlines steps that policymakers, educators, and community advocates can take to help Americans thrive in the digital age. It offers a plan of action for how to bring digital and media literacy education into formal and informal settings through a community education movement. The plan of action includes 10 recommendations for local, regional, state and national initiatives aligned with the themes of community action, teacher education, research and assessment, parent outreach, national visibility and stakeholder engagement. These action steps do more than bring digital and media literacy into the public eye. Each step provides specific concrete programs and services to meet the diverse needs of our nation's citizens, young and old, and build the capacity for digital and media literacy to thrive as a community education movement. Appended are: (1) Portraits of Success; (2) About the Author; and (3) About the Communications and Society Program. (Contains 4 figures, references and a bibliography.)

Successful curricula are not collections of isolated elements; rather, effective learning environments function as coherent systems (Brown & Campione, 1996; see also Papert, 1980; Shaffer, 1998). The theory of pedagogical praxis begins with the premise that computers and other information technologies make it easier for students to become active participants in meaningful projects and practices in the life of their community. Rather than designing from first principles, pedagogical praxis suggests that professional practices such as architecture, mediation, and journalism can provide constructive models for helping students learn from such experiences. In this vision, new technology reinvigorates Dewey's (1915) idea of linking school with society. Technology builds a bridge that allows young people to participate to the learning practices of professionals; in the process, they develop epistemological frameworks that organize the skills, habits, and understandings they need to thrive in a complex, post industrial society. Although further work needs to be done to explore the processes through which such learning can take place, studies suggest that this perspective may be a productive avenue for continuing study. This paper presents an overview of the theories and methods that inform such work. (Contains 2 figures.) [The research reported in this paper was supported by the Foundation for Ethics and Technology, the Waitt Family Foundation, the LEGO Corporation, and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.]