Institutes

Video Games Prep Kids for High Speed Future, Says CHOICE Keynote Speaker
  June 5, 2007

Futurist and former educator Ed Barlow talks about the challenges of the global economy as Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts (right) and Okaloosa- Walton Workforce Florida Director Mary Lou Reed listen.

Assistant Superintendent Frank Fuller holds up a copy of the book "1776," which was handed out at the conference. Fuller believes that through CHOICE, Florida will boast one of the top five most prepared work forces in the US.

House Speaker designee Ray Sansom reminded the audience of the important role of private enterprise in addressing the challenges of Florida's future.

Senator Don Gaetz, former Superintendent of Schools, related stories of students whose lives were completely turned around when they joined the CHOICE program, which opens doors for both college and careers.

CHOICE IT Dean Patti Bonezzi and instructor Ben Shuman are proud of the 345 industry certifications earned by IT students alone.

With increasingly blurry lines separating the physical and the virtual world, educators need to prepare the next generation for an era of rapid change and the domination of advanced technology. "Educators are like 'Moses,' leading the way to a promised land we'll never enter," stated futurist Ed Barlow, the keynote speaker at last week's CHOICE summit, held at the Baytowne Wharf Conference Center in Sandestin.

Information is being acquired at an exponential rate, such that starting from 2012, he predicts that the world's knowledge base will double every year. Keeping up with the changes and having the ability to sort through that mass of information will become a critical life skill.

In light of these changes, video games are not such a bad thing, according to Barlow. "You have to make thousands of decisions in a very short time," he explained. The games also motivate children to use technology effortlessly. He predicts that educational video games will play an increasingly important role in delivering instruction in the coming years, as will online learning.

Workforce Education Fundamental for Economic Growth

With 70% of wealth creation related to human capital, the education of the workforce has never been more critical for the health of the economy in the U.S., Barlow declared. "Skill enhancement is becoming as important as degree acquisition," he asserted, and "lifelong learning" is rapidly becoming the norm, with workers requiring ongoing education to keep up with the constant changes in technology and the resulting revolution in the way business is done.

The problems experienced by businesses due to the lack of skilled workers entering the labor market will only be exacerbated unless school systems implement structural changes and develop strategies to enhance real world and real work relevancy, stated Barlow. He praised the CHOICE program partnership of educators, state government and the business community as a surprising and timely response to the urgent need for educational reform.

As State Senator and former Superintendent of Schools Don Gaetz explained, the CHOICE program was started in Okaloosa schools to fulfill the need for relevant career education that allowed students to prepare for both college and the work world. CHOICE classes use industry certification as the measuring stick for success, so that students learn the skills and technology that businesses require. The bar is set very high, yet so far, the students have shown they are up to the task. This year alone, Okaloosa's CHOICE students have earned 861 industry certifications in the fields of Information Technology (IT), Construction Technology and Aviation.

Dr. Frank Fuller, Assistant Superintendent of Schools is in complete agreement with Barlow about the importance of real world relevancy in secondary education. "Secondary schools have to get involved in workforce preparation in order to secure our regional economy," he stated. "The CHOICE initiative will move Florida into the top five states of the nation, in terms of workforce preparation, within the next two years."

Nineteen counties are already on board, thanks to the close partnership CHOICE enjoys with Workforce Florida and the local business communities, as well as the legislative efforts of Gaetz and House Speaker-designee Ray Sansom. The initiative also enjoys the endorsement of the Department of Education.

"Everything is changing so fast, you can't sit around and wait for things to happen to you," says Fuller.

"Run Faster, Work Harder"

Tomorrow's workers and companies will have to "run faster and work harder," in order to keep up with the frenetic rate of change in the global marketplace, Barlow agrees. He used the example of a Wal-Mart supplier he met, who literally checked how his sales at the chain were going every 90 minutes. If global sales went down a certain percentage, he knew he could expect a phone call from Wal-Mart, expecting his company to lower its price or be replaced. That type of real-time decision-making and quick adjusting will shortly become commonplace, he says, and the students of today need to be prepared for it.

Cutthroat global competition has created huge downward pressure on costs, yet Wall Street investors expect returns of up to 20%. In order to survive, companies need workers who are increasingly productive and continuously update their skills. Robots will take over the simpler tasks, so unskilled workers will find themselves with far fewer options than in the past. According to Barlow, the importance of technology training cannot be overestimated. It will affect all fields of industry, including health care.

User-Created Content Gives Control to the Individual

Another trend that shows no sign of slowing down is the explosion of user-created content of all sorts. He noted that TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" cover photo was a mirror, representing "You." Blogs, podcasts, Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace and TeacherTube are all examples of media information and entertainment created by users and readily available for free. Software developers continue to collaborate across international boundaries creating open-source applications and programs. This trend is changing the pace of information exchange, granting more power to the individual and creating new forms of marketing to which companies must learn to adapt.

Educators, government and business leaders need to work together to ensure that today's students are prepared for tomorrow's work place, says Barlow. In Okaloosa County and across Florida, the partnership has already been sealed through the innovative model of CHOICE. That can only be good news for the business community and good news for our children.

To view more photos of the CHOICE Summit, click here.

To learn more about Ed Barrow, visit: www.creatingthefuture.com.