Category: Insights
College for All?
A recent article by Catherine Gewert, Harvard Report Questions Value of ‘College for All’ featured in Education Week discusses a major issue in the American Educational System. In the report that was released by a group of Harvard Scholars, they point out that education is too focused on classroom-based academics with four-year college as a goal. The fear is that this is not serving all students – some have different needs and skills that a traditional education doesn’t cover.
In the report they looked to European systems of vocational education, arguing that we need this in America. This would include providing apprenticeships, internships, and involving employers more. This would also include career counseling from earlier on, and allow students to focus on a particular area of interest. This change is also being called upon because of job forecasts that show there will be a gap between jobs available that require associates degrees or vocational training, and the number of people who acquire training and associates degrees to fill those jobs. Basically, schools will be preparing people for the real world by taking the traditional route, while the real world will have a lack of people who are prepared for the job needs that are available.
I think this change makes complete sense; we all excel at different things, and we don’t all fit into the same box. So to try and force everyone to take the four year college route doesn’t seem logical. I think the way things have been going, we have been neglecting students who might have talents and interests in other areas. What do you think about this proposed change in education? Could we be missing out on educating many students because they don’t fit into the mold? Or is the traditional education system a tried and true method because it works the best?
JavaScript Fundamentals Course Available!
If you read the recent post about Dice.com’s jump in ITIL requests, you should definitely finish reading this. JavaScript skills requests jumped by 98% to nearly 7,919 postings. In a recent article on Dice they talked about how there were 1,100 positions availble for people with JavaScript experience in the Silicon Valley alone.
If you are looking for a new career path to follow, with so many positions available, this may be the one! LearnKey has just released our newest JavaScript Fundamentals Course – for more information visit the product page at www.learnkey.com/js_fundamentals.
The New and Improved OnlineExpert v6
LearnKey is proud to unveil our newly remodeled learning platform, OnlineExpert v6. We listened to all of the great feedback you gave us and after countless hours of hard work we have finished the remodel. The process began with the idea of making a few additions to OnlineExpert and then it morphed into a full remodel. Of course we kept the strong fundamentals characteristic of OnlineExpert, but added to it to make it even better. Hopefully you join us in our excitement!
It has always been a top poriority for us to create and maintain a learning platform that serves your needs and provides you with an enriched learning experience.
To accomplish this some great new features have been added:
- One click to training functionality designed to simplify the navigation process
- A new, user friendly dashboard
- Expandable training view capability
- A redesigned GUI
To tour the new features visit onlineexpert.com/v6 – a site built to showcase the new version and explain any questions you might have. You will also find contact information for LearnKey representatives in case your question is not answered in one of our resources.
To view the press release about the launch of OnlineExpert v6, click here
Moving Sideways Instead of Up?
Companies are having to be creative these days in order to keep employees engaged and excited about doing their jobs. One way to accomplish this is to move employees around laterally. For example you discover that one of your sales representatives has a passion for and past experience in marketing and would like to move to that department when an opening becomes available. This kind of movement can be benficial for both employee and employer; employees feel greater satisfaction for what they are doing and employers retain their talent.
In an article Lattice vs. Ladder in Human Resource Executive author Maura C. Ciccarelli points out that “It’s all about retention and engagement. Lateral moves have become the new ladder to success.” Here are some suggestions if your organization wants to implement a “lattice” model.
- Help employees build profiles that include their interests, hobbies, experience, and education.
- Keep an ongoing conversation going with employees about their goals professionally and personally.
- Look at the technology that is available to help develop these programs.
- Make sure the managers and employees work together for the greater good of the organization as a whole and not just their departments.
- Help employees build an individualized career plan that fits their goals and meets their needs.
- Work to change your companies culture from ‘moving up’ to ‘moving around’.
- Direct employees to resources available to them to meet their goals.
- Be patient. This kind of change will take time.
Do you like this idea of moving around as a way to feel successful? Think about your workplace – are there other departments you would be interested in working in?
20 Dying Technologies
These days, It seems like there are new advances in technology every day – and then the next day there is another one making the one before it obsolete. Bloomberg Businessweek recently came up with a list of 20 dying technologies and some were very surprising. Read the list below and let me know what you think. Are these technologies really going to die? How long will it take for them to become completely obsolete?
Combustion engines
Oil spills, rising gas prices, pollution – all reasons for a push for new, cleaner technology. There have been a lot of options that have been played with as replacements for combustion engines. One of these taking off will require the infrastructure to support the idea – think charging stations instead of gas stations!
Top Tech Questions at Your Holiday Gathering
If you are the go to tech person in your family, you might be dreading the upcoming holiday gatherings because you will undoubtedly be cornered by a few of your family members about their technology questions. I recently read an article “How to survive Holiday Family Tech Support”, that is a survival guide for the tech questions you will be asked at your family gatherings.
The questions you will get will most likely be very vague, and without more information you will not be able to give good answers. Here are a few of the common problems you will encounter:
Continue reading “Top Tech Questions at Your Holiday Gathering”
How to Delegate
I came across an interesting article “The Right Way to Delegate Your Next Big Project” by Mike Michalowicz about delegation and I wanted to share with you some of the tips to make you a successful delegator.
Delegation is something we all have to do whether it is at home or at work and well we don’t always do it successfully. For example I often delegate household chores to my husband, but often times I find myself frustrated with the outcome or taking over completely because I have a hard time letting go of control.
We struggle with delegation because it means letting go of something we will still be held responsible for, but if done right delegation can mean accomplishing a lot more and giving each project the time and effort it requires. Here are the tips-
Champion
Find one person you trust to assign the project to. Make sure this project will be the only big project on their plate. Let your champion have room to make decisions related to this project.
Reward
Offer a reward. This will provide additional motivation and incentive to make the project a success.
Publicize
Make it public that you are assigning this task to your champion. This shows your support for your champion and the project, lets other people know who to turn to, and motivates because everyone will know who is responsible if project fails. Always point people back to your champion.
Do you have any personal examples of how you delegate? What about when a lack of delegation resulted in a project not going as planned? Tell us your stories in the comments!
Project Based Learning Gains Momentum
Although you might still recall feelings of dread when you were told that you had to work together with a group of peers on a project for a class assignment, they are the projects you remember the most. In the fourth grade I worked with a group of my classmates on a book report and although I dreaded the task before, I had a lot of fun completing the assignment and I still remember exactly what it was about. This leads me to believe in the idea of project based learning for students.
Top 10 Reasons to Get Certified
IT certifications have many benefits. From the obvious to the not-so-obvious, we came up with a list of the top 10 benefits of having a certification.
- More money
- Advantage
Of course this is the number one reason – getting a certification can lead to a pay raise in your current position, a promotion, or being hired for a different position that pays more.
Getting a certification can be the competitive edge needed to overcome the competition for the same position. The point of a certification is to prove to everyone that you know your stuff. From an employer’s perspective, they see potential employees touting their qualities and abilities all day. Would you rather hire someone who only says they can do the job, or someone who took a test to prove it?
Do You Know Your Company Security Policy?
IT Security is a big issue these days, and it doesn’t surprise me that a large number of employees have not been trained on their company’s policy, and those that have been trained have not received current training. Many companies inform or train employees on their security policy when they are hired, but what about the ones that have been with the company for 10+ years? It is important to have recurring trainings to keep employees up to date on this issue. Up-to-date training is important because it will keep employees abreast of current policy and also help prevent confusion on the policy.
Internet Security Policies are more important now than they ever have been, because they are intended to safeguard data and IT Security as well as sustaining employee productivity. There are new threats every day, and apart from the security software on your computer, the best line of defense is practicing safe computer usage.
Are you aware of your company’s policy? How well do you know the policy? How were you told about the policy and do you have regular trainings about the policy?