DIGITAL MEDIA Connecting Careers Beyond Graduation

DIGITAL MEDIA Connecting Careers Beyond Graduation

A C P B N W H I T E P A P E R

J u l y 2 0 1 3

A dynamic

multimedia

curriculum

that helps

high school

students build

professional

skills to

prepare for

the workforce

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Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network

THE LEARNING LAB

1049 Asylum Avenue

Hartford, Connecticut 06105-2411

Research Writing & Design by Interactive Media and Education Consultant

Kelly James Carrington -

Contents

Executive Summary ……………………………….….. 1

Introduction ………………..…………………………… 3

Emerging Digital-Media Trends …………………..... 6

U.S. and Global Industry Needs ………………….. 10

Top Industry Jobs ………………………...…….…… 14

Conclusion: Career Media ………………………..… 20

Appendix ……………………………………………..… 23

Executive Summary

In July 2012, a Public

Broadcasting paper proposed the

concept of a teaching facility called

THE LEARNING LAB at

Connecticut Public Broadcasting

Network with students from the

Hartford Public Schools’ Journalism

& Media Academy. In September

2013, THE LEARNING LAB will

open as a collaborative learning-training center.

The yearlong program will offer hands-on learning

as it fosters a welcoming venue for community

conversations and an innovation hub to develop

media projects. Career and technical education

courses, blended with traditional high school

instruction, will help students connect academic

training with practical concepts and real-world

careers.

THE SKINNY THE LEARNING LAB

Opens 2013 school year

100 Hartford high school seniors

20,000 square feet classroom and studio space on two floors of CPBN’s Hartford headquarters

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This white paper makes clear the

pressing need for students who are

ready to enter a job market that

demands they stay ahead of rapid

advances in technology in the Digital

Age. THE

LEARNING

LAB will

provide four immediate improvements:

Students will

be certified in

software to be

competitive in

the job market or be ready to go to

college. The curriculum will use hands-

on digital-media learning

with academic courses.

Businesses will fill

their growing digital-

media needs with well-

rounded, qualified

lifelong learners.

Hartford Public

Schools’ poor academic

performance will get a

boost from students who

are excited about doing well and graduating.

The Hartford Public Schools’ profile will

continue to improve as it joins a growing

number of schools that are meeting

government and business goals for

“

improving digital media education.

You look at our schools and ask, 'Why are we doing things in

this ancient way?' Our system of education is locked in a

time capsule. You want to say to the people in charge, 'You're

not using today's tools! Wake up!’ ”

–– “Star Wars” legend GEORGE LUCAS, Edutopia.org

Introduction This white paper –– DIGITAL MEDIA: Connecting Careers Beyond Graduation –

– provides the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, and THE LEARNING LAB (with its partner, the Hartford Public Schools’ Journalism & Media Academy) an overview of crucial employment and workforce trends for digital media careers.

This report will outline top digital-media industry jobs in the state and nation, focusing on careers in high-demand fields and emerging high-growth multimedia industries. Research shows these job markets are widening around the globe. With advancements in high-speed broadband computer connections, a growing number of national and global communities rely on quality digital-media delivery systems to offer more music, audio, video, multimedia information, and entertainment content on the Internet and on mobile digital-media devices.

Multimedia education facilities, such as THE LEARNING LAB, have anticipated the interest in new technology. By stressing the importance of academic and

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vocational training, these facilities will prepare students to meet technology needs at local, state, and national levels. High school students with a concentration in new technology, digital infrastructure, learning technologies, and media-based infrastructure will have the necessary skills to play an active role in an economy reliant on technological advances.

Offering career-technology education in public schools that emphasizes digital multimedia curricula, is an essential component of President Obama’s and the nation’s economic recovery program. This white paper outlines local and state initiatives that offer technology training, specifically with digital media, to support career education.

The Obama administration embraces digital media, multimedia, and social media on the Internet. A team of digital experts forms the backbone of his administration.

A Mother Jones magazine article “Meet Obama’s Digital Gurus” said: “Last fall, a tech-savvy startup burst onto the scene with a hiring spree: ’We are looking for analytics engineers and scientists in our Chicago headquarters to work on text analytics, social network/media analysis, web personalization, computational advertising, and online experiments and testing.’

“The administration has added dozens of positions that did not exist 10 years ago, titles such as chief scientist, director of modeling, battleground states election analyst, and chief integration and innovation officer.” READ MORE about Obama’s digital team, the job titles, and more descriptions and innovations in government, civic leadership, and general education of the public through media services, text, image, video, animation, and audio.

In partnership with the nation’s business and education leaders’ objectives, the Obama administration outlined its goals to increase job growth in the digital arts, which will necessitate more vocational youth training.

White House Guiding Principles for Technology

Technology is essential for economic growth and job creation. Ensuring America has 21st Century digital infrastructure — such as high-speed broadband Internet access, fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks, new health care information technology, and a modernized electrical grid — is critical to America’s long-term prosperity and competitiveness. Obama has committed to making high-speed wireless services available to at least 98 percent of Americans. Through $7 billion in targeted investments from the Recovery Act, the administration has expanded broadband access nationwide, improved high-speed connectivity in rural areas and public computer centers, and increased

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Internet capacity in schools, libraries, public safety offices, and other community buildings. READ MORE

THE LEARNING LAB was created to provide career and vocational training in digital media. This white paper will highlight program goals and objectives in other similar national programs. It will recommend a curriculum designed for a rigorous 21st Century program that helps students attain skills that give them global advantages –– skill sets that can apply beyond graduation to college or to a workforce career.

This paper recommends ideas to address motivational and environmental learning issues in our nation’s schools, including Hartford, the state’s lowest academic performing district, reflected in a low graduation rate and the largest achievement gap in the nation.

This white paper’s recommendations to rethink career and technical education align with our nation’s public schools’ need to prepare students for public and private economics and workforce competitiveness. Schools and teachers equipped with new ways of learning and teaching appropriate job skills, as at THE LEARNING LAB, will respond well to business priorities and global requirements.

The U.S. government and private industry support new media and technology curriculum that meets global technology demands for career-oriented students who have media and lifelong technology skills.

The need for technology-savvy employees fits well with THE LEARNING LAB’s ideals. As Obama said in a February 2012 speech: “An economy built to last demands that we keep doing

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“ everything we can to help students learn the skills that businesses are looking for.”

Certainly, it is obvious to the business community that creativity and innovation drive the global marketplace. It is the U.S. education community that needs to embrace curricula that teaches strategic creative skills starting with early learners.”

–– RUTH LOZNER, designer and educator

Emerging Digital-Media Trends Many education leaders believe the American economy will thrive with high school

graduates who are ready either for college or for a career because of a rigorous, relevant, and result-driven career and technical education. READ MORE at “U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2011–2014”

This philosophy matches the goals of THE LEARNING LAB, with its objective to provide high school students the opportunity to enter the workforce with an Adobe Certified Associate credential and the academic credits for college admission.

THE LEARNING LAB will apply other findings from this report for its hands-on technology-based curriculum, establishing new course structures to improve the Hartford district. State and national trends show young adults ages 18 to 25 are “more likely than older adults to feel they will need more training or education,” a Gallup Poll finds. “About one in four (26 percent) say they will get that education from a four-year college, but 19 percent say they will seek that training through courses or programs provided by their employer,” Gallup says. “More than 30 percent tell pollsters they will take courses at a community college, business, technical, or trade school.”

Art and design degrees are growing in popularity, the National Center of Education Statistics says, increasing each year since 1999. While many of these degrees are in fine arts or studio art, business-media communication degrees focus on technology, Internet knowledge and skills, visual design, and multimedia. The salaries for “art and

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design” professional occupations (Labor Bureau of Statistics 2010 category “digital media design”) range nationally from $46,680 to $80,630.

Employment projections by the labor department show the job market becoming more competitive for high school students. The department recommends students become proficient in industrial-standard computer software applications and earn appropriate certification to increase employability. The labor data show employment of multimedia designers and animators will likely grow by 8 percent until 2020. “Growth will be due to increased demand for animation and visual effects in video games, movies, and television,” the Occupational Outlook Handbook says. Employment in these jobs is expected to increase from 66,500 in 2010 to 72,000 in 2020.

THE LEARNING LAB directives mirror trends in the global demand for computer technology and the nation’s educational reforms. Other programs and case studies nationally similar to THE LEARNING LAB’s technology-based career training program reflect a fundamental shift in education and demonstrate how technology can motivate students to complete high school. Hartford’s low graduation rate likely will improve, research shows, by adding technology learning high school and as early as K-9 education.

The MOUSE organization, a New York City media/technology educational foundation, reveals the impact the digital arts have had on education. “The available public sale, advent, and adoption by individuals and business of the personal computer, new digital technology, and the Internet have created a fundamental shift in the economy, revenue streams, and communication, along with an overall systemic cultural change in education, workforce, and employment hiring practices,” its mission states.

“Currently educational institutions from K-9, secondary to post-secondary, vocational, and adult career training are at a pivotal point of educational reform. At the cornerstone of this reform is digital technology. Fundamental processes and methods of operation have changed –– evident of new educational programs such as that empower underserved youth to learn and create with technology.” READ MORE

In the past, some educators have resisted digital media “because they didn’t understand how it could streamline education and allow for new methods of study,” says designer and educator Ruth Lozner. “Leaders in design education have long supported the need for design education in the core curriculum.”

Design curriculum should be part of school reform, says Lozner, a college professor and member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

“Advocates from many subject areas have weighed in on what students should know or be able to do as part of the Common Core standards,” she wrote in a Jan. 2013 article for the Institute. “Some progress seems to have been made in math and

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language arts. However, there is one additional curriculum reform concept that has been successfully instituted and tested in several U.S. charter schools and many other countries but has been largely absent in conversations about K-12 education reform and, therefore, has been omitted from the recommendations to policymakers: design education.”

Lozner thinks the “first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.” She says Obama was correct in his 2011 State of the Union when he said: “If we want to win the future ... then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.” READ MORE

New digital media programs, educators, and professionals who support making technology and digital arts a priority in education, have allies in the U.S. government and the private industrial sector. The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities has made great strides in recommending educational initiatives to help turn around low-performing schools. Its landmark study, “Reinvesting in Arts Education, Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools,” hypothesizes that “high-quality and integrated arts education boosts academic achievement, motivates student learning and improves school culture in the context of overall school reform.” READ MORE

Given the national and global focus on digital-media readiness, it is important to understand that students need to be taught new technology skills. They need knowledge, motivation, and information about digital environments to compete in today’s global technology-based Internet economy. THE LEARNING LAB is a clear example of meeting the Digital Age’s education and training needs.

Governments and corporations support technology programs similar to THE LEARNING LAB with research grants and partnerships. Exciting programs that use media entertainment technology to educate students are considered mainstream methods of teaching. These programs succeed with curricula that include a holistic study of digital literacy and academic studies to prepare students for the workforce and for post-secondary education.

PCI Media Impact, an innovative media education program in New York City, is determined to make career media education entertaining. The school’s theme is “Tell a story, change the world.” PCI uses an active motivational approach that teaches skills through hands-on project learning.

“Entertainment-Education is the process of purposely designing and implementing a media message to both entertain and educate. This is done to increase audience members. Knowledge about an educational issue creates favorable attitudes, and influences behavior and cultural norms. Entertainment-Education programs draw on

our deep affinity for stories to reveal worlds of new possibilities, where dramatic conflicts and decisions are tied to real-world consequences.” READ MORE

Some resistance to media-based learning comes from academia’s misconception that too much time with media harms children and teenagers. A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey (2010) of more than 2,000 children and teenagers in the United States found that they spend an average of more than seven hours a day with a variety of media. By the time today’s young people reach age 70, they will have spent the equivalent of seven to 10 years watching television, the foundation says.

The report recommends more education in this new subject, saying the nation’s leaders and the medical profession should focus on educating the public about digital literacy, its use and misuse, and the overall effects.

Literacy has taken on new meaning in our technology-based society. A report in the February 2010 Pediatrics journal about media education suggests children can be “media

literate” through education. The report recommends pediatricians be trained to make media-literacy observations and should ask at least two media questions each visit.

“Media education has the potential to reduce harmful media effects,” the report says. “In the past two centuries, to be ‘literate’ meant that a person could read and write. In the new millennium, to be ‘literate’ means that a person can successfully understand and decode a variety of different media. Given the volume of information transmitted through mass media as opposed to the written word, it is now as important to teach media literacy as it is to teach print literacy.”

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New York Post

Digital media, career education, new job markets, and digital literacy are linked to the success of prospective business needs and the success of the nation’s and the world’s information-driven technology-based economy, the journal says. READ MORE

Clearly, there is a need for technology-based education of students by a new group of digital media specialists.

U.S. and Global Industry Needs The boundaries between traditional education and entertainment, and digital

technology and career educational training are changing. A new style of teaching in digital media entertainment can captivate and excite students, inspiring them with images, text, sound, motion, and interactivity. This method of digital technology and career educational training is expected to improve student performance and narrow the Hartford district’s achievement gap.

This white paper has established the value of new teaching applications, styles, and learning experiences by digital specialists and instructional designers. Using Adobe Systems (the leading producer of technology and software applications), teachers will create videos and use photography, graphics, animation, and audio in new immersive classroom environments. Interactive learning applications, delivered on HD digital television, desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, along with many new devices in development, require digital- technology workers with that expertise.

But, as classrooms adopt new technology, educators must make it clear that raw information is no substitute for knowledge and skills obtained through experience. Digital-media teachers will use hands-on technology and project-based teaching to study real-world scenarios and lead discussions of current and projected employment needs. Project-based learning that references historical developments and future jobs leads students toward career paths that encourage them to grow with new developments and motivates students to graduate.

We all understand the impact of computer games on our culture, especially on young people. Gaming skills will help students use state-of-art technology to experience new challenges, augment realities, gain information and knowledge through visual interactivity, video, sound, text, and imagery. The imagination and skills of media specialists working with educators, writers, scientists, and

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technologists, could create an endless collaboration of experts to educate the world on a vast array of subjects. Using popular technology will help educators utilize leading-edge multimedia formats to impart knowledge.

“Computer games may be perceived more as promoters of mayhem than serious subject matter,” digital education booster George Lucas writes on his Edutopia.org website, “but they have the potential to teach children rich content, critical academic skills for literacy and math learning, and the kinds of creative thinking and processes needed for later success, according to a report.” The George Lucas Educational Foundation –– a well-known authority on digital education, career education, and digital arts –– heralds classrooms that integrate technology with project-based, cooperative learning. The foundation’s Edutopia research validates THE LEARNING LAB’s core components and its mission to reform education with technology-based media literacy.

A motivational framework of real-world experiences is crucial in providing students reference points for careers, degree education, and lifelong learning that develops 21st Century skills. THE LEARNING LAB shares the Lucas Foundation’s vision for being “a place of inspiration and aspiration based on the urgent belief that improving education is the key to the survival of the human race.”

The media and entertainment industries will grow as they have for the past decade. Consensus forecasts show media that are interactive, delivered through the Internet and mobile platforms, will account for most of the growth, as opposed to traditional media, which will see its market continue to shrink. Global demand and growth opportunities for new media are expected to increase 14 percent in the next few years. The so-called BRIC economies –– Brazil, Russia, India, and China –– will account for much of the expansion.

Business experts at Deloitte Consulting, in a report "Where the True Growth Lies, the Market for Digital Media," say interactive media platforms have led to a “transformational shift in traditional media channels.” Deloitte says several new television

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platforms have emerged in the past decade “and are growing at a breakneck pace. Globally, television viewership has been growing at a healthy 8 percent rate for the past few years and is expected to reach double digitals soon, based on the emergence of these new interactive platforms.”

In the same report, Deloitte says media and entertainment revenues have shown steady growth in developing countries in the past decade. Most, if not all of traditional media, will become interactive, as these charts from Deloitte Consulting show. Applications "born" interactive will grow as emerging global markets develop infrastructures with more broadband and mobile use, as shown below:

In addition to a growth in interactive media, experts expect a steady increase in the use of social media as it expands to mobile platforms. Business Insider magazine says, “Social media mobile friendly ad formats, placed on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, attribute to the most significant growth in the media advertising market.”

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Social Media Advertising magazine notes that "social networks have scale –– enormous user bases and deep databases. They have high engagement –– Americans were spending an average of 12 hours per month on social networks as of July 2012, with 18- to 24-year-olds averaging 20 hours. In addition, potentially, social media gives brands a uniquely captive audience for their content." READ MORE

The number of digital media employers is growing in Connecticut, increasing business needs in advertising and promotion, creating openings for digital-media designers and specialists. Traditional media services are turning to digital solutions to grow, providing more employment opportunities.

In Fairfield, Hearst Media Services uses print and online digital media in four daily newspapers, eight community publications, and a magazine. The company’s digital services offer content, text, image and online media, interactive media, animation, video, and audio. With more accessibility to broadband, faster connection speeds, and the attraction of lower operating costs, companies like Hearst will need more employees with digital arts training.

In Hartford and New Haven, CBS Outdoors, Bulletin & Digital Billboards designs and operates digital billboards along the I-91 and I-95 corridors. CBS Outdoors has expanded from printed matter to digital outdoor and public networks, digital billboards, urban panels, LCD mall networks, and LCD Rail Networks. As with traditional media, digital media relies on advertising as a major revenue stream.

Another digital media giant has moved to Stamford. NBC Sports Group Complex — home of “NBC Sports,” “NBC Olympics,” and the “NBC

By the Numbers 1 newsroom (460-feet wide and 320-feet long)

6 on-air studios/control rooms

50 graphics suites

50+ edit rooms

250+ producers work in the newsroom mezzanines

1,000 miles of broadcast and networking cable in the building

Source: Stamfordmag com

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Sports Network” — has helped make Connecticut a center of digital media broadcasting.

A national online employment listing service, Indeed.com, advertised more than 60 positions in the digital media area at Stamford’s NBC Sports location. These positions ranged from assistant video editor, product specialist designer, video workflow engineer, interactive web designer, sales designer, coordinator-digital media technology, associate sports web producer, to graphics designer –– a few of the many new positions relating to the increased need for career education in digital media.

Another of Connecticut’s giants in multimedia broadcasting is ESPN Inc., which offers more opportunities for students with digital-media training. This company started about 30 years ago in Bristol as a technology-based company that was a pioneer in the multimedia sports entertainment industry. It now has more than 50 business assets, televising 65 sports in 16 languages in more than 200 countries. ESPN, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, focuses on print, radio, Internet, and television, with departments in production, programming, digital media, content development, and enterprises and business development.

Another digital-media company with its corporate headquarters in Connecticut is World Wide Entertainment in Stamford. The professional-wrestling company boasts a global entertainment business, with a digital-media operation that’s impressive. “For the first quarter of 2013, our primary website, WWE.com, attracted an average of more than 12.4 million monthly unique visitors worldwide. These visitors viewed an average of more than 318 million pages and 34.3 million monthly video streams,” the company says. The WWE has broadband services, video syndication, e-commerce and mobile services. READ MORE

Today's students will need to align themselves with jobs these companies offer by receiving the proper education, hands-on experience, learned skills, and knowledge. They will need proper technical certification from a career education school to become lifelong learners and to help them go on to a higher-education degree. Lifelong learning is a requirement for a successful career in a technology field. Because of ever-changing developments, methods and techniques in the media industry, digital-media specialists must continually improve and update their skills.

We are living in a new economy — powered by technology, fueled by information, and driven by knowledge.”

–– U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

“

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Top Industry Jobs

Top digital media jobs in today’s market require top skills, research shows. New media is considered a fast-paced industry, on-demand at any time, anywhere, on many digital devices, with the ability to provide feedback and creative input, and to generate real-time new and sometimes unregulated content. The new media includes the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, video games, CD-ROMS and DVDs, and digital television platforms.

For American workers to succeed in today and tomorrow’s economies, leading educators say, they need new digital-media training or higher degrees. People who find work and keep their positions will have to bring digital skills and knowledge to the job, educators say. Workers in the 21st Century also will be expected to have solid reading, math, learning, and critical thinking skills.

Current talent and technical skills will not be enough. Students, educators, and workers need to upgrade their technical skills to keep pace as technology continues to change and evolve. Learning must become a lifetime habit. Marketplace needs are expected to increase enrollments at community colleges, local career centers, and other community-based education centers. Those facilities will help with career-planning tools, basic skills, technology skills, and other educational courses.

The 21st Century Workforce Commission says the nation’s economy depends on a new level of educational literacy. The commission, established by Congress to take a snapshot of the nation’s information technology workforce, says that literacy includes “strong academic skills, thinking, reasoning, teamwork skills, and proficiency in using technology.” The 17 commissioners offered nine keys for success and called on business leaders, educators, and government officials to provide leadership:

Build 21st Century Literacy –– Every American youth and adult needs strong academic, thinking, reasoning, and teamwork skills, and technology.

Lead Through Partnerships –– Americans who are leaders in regionally and locally based partnerships, supported by well-designed state and federal policies and programs, create the most effective solutions for addressing 21st Century Literacy and Internet technology skills shortages.

Form Learning Linkages for Youth –– American high schools need to strengthen their connections with post-secondary education and the workplace to motivate and encourage students toward higher personal goals and give them a realistic sense of the world of work.

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Identify Pathways to Information Technology Jobs –– American adults and youth need to understand the skills needed for digital employment at various levels and the opportunities for training.

Increase Acquisition of IT Skills –– More Americans need to enroll in and complete high-quality information technology programs that provide them with up-to-date skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s IT workplace.

Expand Continuous Learning –– Americans will need to continuously upgrade their skills and knowledge as new technologies and work patterns emerge.

Shape a Flexible Immigration Policy for Skilled IT Workers –– American immigration policy needs to be flexible to address ongoing IT skills shortages.

Raise Student Achievement –– American schools need to make sustained and continuous improvements so that students are prepared for post-secondary learning and 21st Century jobs.

Make Technology Access and Internet Connectivity Universal –– Regional and national strategies need to provide for universal access to Internet connectivity, high-speed broadband, and computing technology, and to train technological literacy.

In THE LEARNING LAB’s Connecticut region, top jobs have shifted from individualized, repetitive work to collaborative efforts. The Workforce Commission report says: “Employers and employees now see the value of teamwork in which team members take mutual responsibility for their work, with each member providing creativity and innovation to continually improve results for which the team is held accountable.” Businesses, schools, employee organizations, and local governments also value strategic collaboration –– or teamwork. But the Workforce commissioners, referring to the study “Leadership through Partnerships,” say challenges face America’s new information economy:

Isolation –– Educational systems, post-secondary institutions, and workforce training programs have strong traditions of carrying out their operations without coordinating services or engaging in joint planning among institutions and programs.

Visibility –– Many businesses, particularly those that are new or in a high-growth phase, are unaware of the existence of many education and training resources. Other business leaders who have had negative experiences with workforce development programs, schools, or post-secondary institutions in the past might believe the systems are too intractable to be of any value in addressing IT skills shortages.

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Disincentives –– Funding allocations might be too small, thus creating disincentives to building IT training programs. For example, some funding formulas for colleges is based solely on student head counts and does not make allowances for the higher costs of technology procurement that IT skills training programs require.

Narrow Uses, or Perceived Narrow Uses –– Other funding formulas might be narrowly targeted toward specific participants or specific allowable costs. As a consequence, some funding can be difficult to merge with other funding sources to support a multifaceted project for building 21st Century Literacy or developing the digital workforce. Conversely, the funding itself might not be narrowly restricted, but local leaders might mistakenly perceive it to be.

Teamwork is at the center of the trend in educational reform to bridge the gap between high schools, post-secondary education, and the workplace. The federal Workforce Commission says it sees educators and business leaders working together “to create a multitude of innovative and thoughtful programs that integrate learning and the world of work. Employer involvement in schools and post-secondary education programs provides critical links between students’ school experiences and the requirements for success in the workplace. As students see the connections between their school work and the skills required for rewarding careers, they begin to understand the importance of learning and can make better decisions about their futures.”

The challenges for THE LEARNING LAB are to identify pathways to top digital-media jobs and to provide the knowledge and skills required for those jobs. THE LEARNING LAB must have a career-information center that offers students counseling, workshops, printed materials, and access to electronic job banks. This career-information center would be a contact point for students to learn about skills needed to succeed in the job market.

Digital Literacy is different than literacy obtained through traditional education, says an education research report. “The solution lies in public acknowledgment that yesterday’s education is not sufficient for today’s learner,” enGauge 21st Century Skills reports. “Academic excellence must be acquired within the context of today’s technological environment in order to fully prepare students to thrive in the Digital Age.

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EnGauge 21st Century Skills defines Digital Age Literacy as:

Basic –– Language proficiency (in English) and numeracy at levels necessary to function on the job and in society to achieve one’s goals and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.

Scientific –– Knowledge and understanding of the scientific concepts and processes for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity.

Economic –– The ability to identify economic problems, alternatives, costs, and benefits; to analyze incentives at work in economic situations; to examine consequences of changes in economic conditions and public policies; to collect and organize economic evidence; and, to weigh costs and benefits.

Technological –– Knowledge about what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals.

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Visual –– To interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video with conventional and 21st Century media to advance thinking, decision-making, communication, and learning.

Information –– The ability to evaluate information across a range of media; to recognize when information is needed; to locate, synthesize, and use information effectively; and to accomplish these functions using technology, communication networks, and electronic resources.

Multicultural –– The ability to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences in the customs, values, and beliefs of one’s own culture and the cultures of others.

Global Awareness –– This happens with the recognition and understanding of inter-relationships among international organizations, nation-states, public and private economic entities, sociocultural groups, and individuals across the globe. READ MORE

One of the ways THE LEARNING LAB will give students an edge is with the Adobe Certified Associate program, a technical computer-skill certification that can help a digital-media designer get a top-paying job or can at least put an entry-level designer on a career path to attain one. The center will use Adobe Systems Inc. because it is considered the standard in digital-design-content software in the digital-media industry, covering design categories that include visual design, web design and development, photography, and video. In the job market, required skills for employees are identified by software application names, and then categorized into specific design purpose, talents, and what a business wants to produce. READ MORE

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Adobe makes software for print and online media in design disciplines and photography, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Muse, and Lightroom. In the area of video, it offers Adobe Premiere and AfterEffects; in web design, Edge Tools (motion), Dreamweaver; and, gaming, Adobe Flash. Design talent presented in an Adobe portfolio can impress prospective employers. As competition in the job market becomes keener, demonstrating proficiency in Adobe digital communication tools will help graduating students stand apart from peers, boost confidence, and expand career opportunities.

In Florida, where the education department requires students take about 150 hours of classes to be certified by an industry software provider, Adobe Systems leads the top 10 industry certification providers.

Data from a Florida education department study tracking technology students found industry certification programs were crucial to students landing jobs. State law requires districts to provide “academically rigorous courses that meet or exceed state-adopted, subject-area standards; lead to industry certification; and, where appropriate, result in post-secondary credit.” Districts also must establish career and professional academies to offer this coursework “to ensure standards-based instruction by industry-certified faculty.”

Florida’s technology and certification program has proven academically successful. “Over many years, research consistently shows that attendance and GPA, in particular, are associated with high school and post-secondary success. Industry credentials valued by employers and, in some cases, convey post-secondary credit. And, while admission to four-year colleges and universities is no guarantee of

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retention or attainment in higher education, it is clearly a positive first step.” READ MORE

THE LEARNING LAB has similar objectives and expects to improve Hartford’s student performance results.

Obama is calling for an ambitious overhaul of the federal E-rate program, a step that many education and technology advocates have been urging for years to improve what they see as schools' badly out-of-date technological capabilities.”

–– Education Week (June 2013)

Conclusion: Career Media The overall outlook for the digital-media design industry is bright. Business needs

digital-media employees who are competitive in the global economy. Rapid growth in digital technology has come from the Internet, computers, mobile devices, and greater broadband access. U.S. government initiatives support the information-based economy by encouraging public schools to provide career education and training. This has far-reaching impact on the economy and on students’ career educations. Many countries, such as India, China, Russia, and Brazil, are expecting growth in their economies and businesses because of the surge in digital media.

The digital-media job market is expected to show significant growth. The American Institute of Graphic Arts, in its quarterly survey of design leaders, found “confidence that both the general economy and the design economy are improving” and reported “robust job growth that could even get better” READ MORE

Labor experts say educators preparing students for digital arts careers should understand that most people hired for these jobs need at least a bachelor’s degree. The federal Occupational Outlook Handbook says job titles related to the curriculum taught at THE LEARNING LAB require a bachelor’s degree.

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Schools across the nation are preparing students for higher education through digital-media programs. A March 2013 Education Week newspaper article looked at how several schools

with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics curricula (so-called STEM schools) are putting a high priority on digital skills. “Educators in the Lake Washington school district in Washington state have partnered with a university to build a project-based, STEM-focused program that engages high-schoolers with technology and college-level digital curricula.

“Students at Metro Early College High School in Columbus, Ohio, work in a one-to-one computing environment that features laptops, iPads, and other devices to access an individualized multimedia curriculum created by their teachers.

“At the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., students conduct original research in 13 different specialized in-house labs stocked with state-of-the-art technology and equipment.

“Those three schools, like many other STEM-focused schools around the country,” the article continues, “are strengthening their partnerships with both private companies and higher- education partners to provide the kinds of high-tech; collaborative environments students will find as they move on to college and the workforce.” READ MORE

THE LEARNING LAB expects to prepare students who are college-ready with a career-oriented outlook. A focus on digital technology will give students lifelong learning skills, national trends show. The Education Week article says STEM schools were flexible and forward thinking because of their relationships with universities and businesses.

THE LEARNING LAB will connect classroom subject matter with real-world problem solving through a project- based digital arts curriculum. As media arts become a focus in general education, digital-media skills will cross many disciplines and offer many channels of expression, documentation, research capabilities, and presentation advantages to all professions.

Across the nation, schools are adopting the digital arts curriculum as part of general studies. Here are two that do it well:

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THE LEARNING LAB, like many of these schools and in keeping with the national education trend to provide digital-media curriculum, is determined to create an environment that will give its students a sustainable digital education for the future.

“Driven by new digital technologies, the future of learning is increasingly interactive, individualized, and full of real-world experiences and information,” says ConnectED, Obama’s plan for connecting schools to the Digital Age. The president has endorsed the mission and vision of schools such as THE LEARNING LAB. His administration has shown a clear interest in integrating the education of students and the training of American workers in the digital arts to help the economy. READ MORE

Digital media, like no other media in the past, will be the strength and force to help humanity move forward by understanding and communicating new ideas through innovation that will help solve problems through education, global unification, and

and digital media will define the future. THE human endeavor. Technology LEARNING LAB will prepare students for these challenges.

Cambridge, Mass., Public Schools, Media Arts School

”Students learn to plan, research and script media programs, and develop an understanding of the creative process. Students acquire field and studio production skills including use of digital video cameras and editing, and proficiency in industry-standard multimedia software. Related areas of learning include animation, music production, web development, and online content production.”

Media-based education addresses an important fact about the primary, secondary and college students, and America’s workers: Students were born in the Digital Age with a fully functional Internet, personal computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, the school says. Students are accustomed to extremely sophisticated, complex, efficient methods of communication. READ MORE

Central Middle School Media Arts Academy, Galveston, Texas

“The Academy offers students the opportunity to study media arts such as broadcast, video, digital photography, digital graphics, video game design, and virtual animation. They participate in TV shows, daily live broadcasting, work with industry professionals, Skype with colleges, and create visuals for events across the district. They also take challenging classes such as Algebra 1, in which Central had the highest scores in the district last school year.

“The campus theme is infused schoolwide through media projects used for core assignments. The students use iPads both as interactive academic tools and to edit their work. Besides media disciplines, they also have access to newly renovated science labs, athletic facilities, a state-of-the-art auditorium, band hall, and a well-stocked library.” READ MORE

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Appendix Data in this white paper was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education;

National Center for Education Statistics; Institute of Education Sciences; Office of Vocational and Adult Education; U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Manpower Demonstration Research Corp.; World Wide Web Consortium; National Academy of Sciences; and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. It also uses reports from leading companies such as Adobe Systems; Apple; Microsoft; Google; Safari; Mozilla Firefox; Microsoft Internet Explorer; and Opera Software. In addition, it uses information from top high-growth media firms, leading technology experts, digital media authors and designers, and multimedia educators.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

American Academy of Pediatrics

Published online September 27, 2010;

Council on Communications and Media

Media Education http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/5/1012.full.html

Career and Technical Education

Adapted CTE Course Blueprint

Of Essential Standards and Indicators

Trade and Industrial Education

7936 Digital Media II

mailto:T&[email protected]

Getting Creative with Perkins

Connecting Career and Technical Education to 21st Century Learning

Five for the Future Council on Competitiveness

Oct. 26, 2007.

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http://www.compete.org/images/uploads/File/PDF Files/Five_Final_8858COC.pdf

Driving the Global Knowledge Economy

Software & Information Industry Association, 2008

http://www.siia.net/estore/globecon-08.pdf

Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2008–09 Edition

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007

http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm

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