Shift Happens
I stumbled upon the latest version of the provocative Did You Know? video this weekend. This presentation was first created a few years ago, but went through a nice revamp in late 2008. Watch the most recent version below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
My main question for you:
What skills does the university need to provide to our students so that they will be able to thrive in this new era?
...and here are some of the more interesting figures they withheld from the current version:
2006 College Graduates:
My main question for you:
What skills does the university need to provide to our students so that they will be able to thrive in this new era?
...and here are some of the more interesting figures they withheld from the current version:
2006 College Graduates:
- United States: 1.3 million
- India: 3.1 million
- China: 3.3 million
- 100% of 2006 college grads in India speak English
- More than 50% of 21-year-olds in the United States have created content on the web.
- More that 70% of 4-year-olds in the United States have used a computer
Labels: predictions, shifthappens, video
posted by _ at
9:06 AM
3 Comments:
Clearly, aside from providing a strong foundation of technical information (that will apparently be outdated before we students even complete our degree programs...), skills promoting flexibility and creativity of thought, as well as problem-solving abilities are critical to promote in US education. If the "facts" of reality keep changing so rapidly, only the ability to continuously adapt to and take advantage of those changes can allow us to remain competitive (if that's even one's goal).
Good point, the ability to be able to adapt to the changing landscape is important. How does the university stress that moving forward?
One of the central skills that is needed for the present and the future is the capacity to synthesize and analyze massive information to extract what is important for a given goal. In other words, critical thinking. Even adaptability requires analysis. What is adaptability good for if you do not understand what you should try to adapt to ? Analysis can allow you to project. Adaptability only allows you to accept what has been projected for you. The central method of critical thinking has been around since Descartes...
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