Government Technology - September 2007 - (Page 58)

signal: noise BY PAU L W. TAYLOR CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER CENTER FOR DIGITAL GOVERNMENT index Jurisdictions/Agencies: j Back to School (Again) he lyrics of Back to School Again, a minor and late hit for The Temptations, still seem to speak for the downcast countenances of students as they ride iconic yellow buses back to school. It’s a scene reminiscent of older siblings and even parents who sat in similar buses en route to similar schools over the years. Therein lies the rub. There’s nothing new about teenage angst and the alienation of youth. James Dean is best remembered for being a Rebel Without a Cause — on and off screen. The themes play out today in popular culture and in schoolyards nationwide. By all outward indications, teenagers are smart, jealously protective of genuine community (online and off), hungry for immersive experiences (such that it isn’t just a video game anymore), suspicious of institutions and social norms that don’t seem relevant, and likely to take refuge behind their ear buds with play lists that no radio programmer could’ve devised. T According to the recently released results of the 2006 survey, only 22 percent of middleschool students considered themselves an “advanced tech user.” Only 25 percent of high-school students claimed “advanced tech user” status. And fewer than three-quarters of the middle- and high-school students surveyed (71 percent and 70 percent, respectively) considered themselves to be “average.” When asked, “Are schools doing a good job preparing students to compete for the jobs and careers of the 21st century?” slightly more than one-third (38 percent) of high-school students said “yes,” and fewer than half of middle-school students (44 percent), teachers (47 percent) and parents (42 percent) answered affirmatively. Those responses come as Congress considers reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act after a half decade of education reform and in a job market where 70 percent of the nation’s jobs require individuals to use computers. If none of this has hit home yet, consider that an estimated half of Arizona 46 Boston 16 Burlington, Vt., Police Department 38 California 46 Cambridge, Mass 14 Champlain College 38 Charles County, Md. 14 Colorado 42 Frederick County, Md. 14 Harvard University 14 Illinois 42 King County, Wash. 50 Michigan 42 Montgomery County, Md. 14 National Science Foundation 14 Nevada County, Calif 14 New York City 26, 50 New York 42 Project Lifesaver International 42 Richland County, S.C. 14 Texas Health and Human Services Commission 28 Texas 42, 50 U.S. Department of Energy 18 Utah 46 Virginia 46 Vendors: Accenture 28 Acer 54 Axis Communications 56 BBN Technologies 14 Deloitte 28 FirstEnergy 18 Google 46 Microsoft 46 Microtek 56 Nintendo 26 Panasonic 56 Sony 26 Southern Co. 18 ViewSonic 56 Yahoo 46 Are schools doing a good job preparing students to compete for the jobs and careers of the 21st century? Yet teenagers can be excused for not being particularly sanguine about predictions that they’re the first generation of Americans that won’t be wealthier than their parents. And the uncertainty they face is compounded by global competition where there seems to be more threats than opportunities. Project Tomorrow put some numbers to this angst through its national Speak Up survey of students, parents and educators. all state governments expect to lose another third of their IT staff to retirement in the next four years. The retirees’ replacements may come from what Dr. Jean Twenge describes as “generation me.” In her book, Generation Me, she describes why “today’s young Americans are more confident, assertive, entitled — and more miserable than ever before.” God help us all. Advertisers Index Alcatel 59 Brother 33 CDW.G 30-31 Dell 47 ESRI. 48 Gateway 2-3 Hewlett-Packard 9,37,60 IBM MRO 21 Motorola 5 NEC Display 15 New World 41 Northrop Grumman 23 Seiko 49 Sprint 34-35 Symantec 25 Tessco 43 Toshiba 39 Tyler 13 Verizon Wireless 7 SEPT_07 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - September 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture ESRI Insert The Last Mile GT Spectrum Profile Nuclear Revival Way Back Machine Intel Insert Tale of TIERS Joining Forces Saving Seniors Site Seeing Quarter Miles Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Digital Communities Contents Our Road Ahead Course of Action Shared Interests Special Report: Foundation for the Future Using Wireless to Save Lives Smart Grids for Energy Conservation Community Governing and Wizards

Government Technology - September 2007

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