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Great resource for returning students to start their own business over the summer.

The website Globalization101 is a vast resource covering many topics regarding the globalization phenomenon. The article High-Stakes Testing in particular looks at different educational systems, and how US admissions are undergoing reform, while being compared to other educational system styles. The major link between this article and the first chapter of the World is Flat is the focus on skills, not job titles or location. The new standardized admissions tests will focus on skill development opposed to grades which may level the playing field for people to find internationally connected jobs. 

This week I started on JobBank.gc.ca and searched my local market, York Region (as listed under "Basic LMI Resources - Where to Start" in our course notes). As I typically work with students, this particular site www.betakit.com and an article about funding for youth entrepreneurs was a great source of info to share with my students! Reza Moridi, Minister of Research and Innovation, was at Communitech this morning in Waterloo and announced a partnership with the Campus-Linked Accelerators (CLA) and On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEA) to help students interested in building their own business gaining skills to succeed. The CLA is investing $5.8 million and the OCEA providing over $650,000.

This article is part review and part thought-provoker in relation to education and Friedman's Flat world. The article primarily reviews the flattening forces, in very little detail, but throws a twist in at the end as it talks specifically about the education system. It is suggested that classrooms become "flat" as well so that everyone is given the same chance to be involved.

I recently attended a parent student council meeting and the principle indicated that there are a lot of schools paying attention to the works of Dr. Tony Wagner in order to enhance innovation skills within the high schools in Ontario. He also has a book called "Creating Innovators". Really interesting, think I am going to purchase it to read over the holidays!

Richard Paul's article is about the increasing need, in this intertwined, globalized world for us to foster critical thinking in our children. As we have already learned from both 'The World is Flat' and 'The Shift', in this flattened world, simply obtaining basic skills or knowing the answers to certain questions will not be enough. Paul argues that our current K-12 school system is not breeding creative students, and is not giving students a chance in the ever-changing work landscape. He maintains that in order to keep up with globalization, we need to be fostering in our children the ability to problem solve creatively, to anticipate patterns and meanings, to think abstractly, to ask 'why', and to be able to communicate, collaborate, and negotiate with others.

This article talks about a program at the University of Waterloo aimed at engaging children, at an early age, in science and technology skills. It mentions that our education system is not doing enough in this area, so tech companies are investing in these programs to enable students to have more exposure to these STEM opportunities.

Convergence 1 - (pg 204 of 3.0 edition, Friedman) "The convergence of the ten flatteners had created a whole new platform. It is a global, Web-enabled platform for multiple forms of collaboration. This platform enables individuals, groups, companies and universities anywhere in the world to collaborate - for the purposes of innovation, production, education, research, entertainment, and, alas, war-making - like no creative platform ever before" This website offers courses from "top universities and organizations worldwide". It allows students to listen to lectures, take quizzes, submit assignments and receive peer feedback. These can be taken from anywhere in the world and are taken at your own pace in a blended learning environment.

I found this article very interesting, even though it is just statistics. One stat that stayed with me is the ratio of guidance counsellors to students in Canadian high schools is 371:1. I was surprised at this ratio, considering that the decisions a student makes in high school will have a great affect on their postsecondary education, training, or occupation options.

After reading these chapter in "The World is Flat," in particular chapter seven, I was thinking about l education and what has been beneficial to my learning now and in the past. it reminded me of this video about the benefits of music. Music is and always will be very important to me, and I thought this video would be worth sharing.

In Chapter Seven, Freidman talks about Georgia Tech's investment in musical activities for their science students. This video gives an overview of the neurological research behind why playing music benefits the brain.

Join a global learning community to create, connect, and collaborate with students around the globe. Skillshare offers online classes to fit your schedule with bite-sized lessons from industry leaders that will help you turn ideas into action. Lynda Gratton mentions in "The Shift" that in the future we will have to differentiate ourselves from the crowd by creating a body of knowledge and skills to achieve mastery, as well as connecting with others around the world.

This week I researched different Graduate Placement Reports from Colleges and Universities that you could use to find Labour Market Information. UofT - Was difficult to find, had to do a lot of searching. Only gives overall employment rate, not broken down into programs or even program areas.

Here is a website where people can join an on-line "coffee" chat room to discuss and share insights and spark ideas that will "plant the seeds of the future opportunities" We're connecting students, recent grads, and young professionals with leaders and established professionals over a cup of coffee. This site demonstrates the ability to connect with professionals both locally AND globally. What a great idea!

The link brings you to the job board, but the site seems to be a really good resource in general. It provides a newsletter, links to great articles on CERIC, information about courses/workshops/webinars/etc.

Theodre Lewis shows his relevant concern with the impacts of technology on work and jobs which Gratton and Fiedman have elaborated in their books The Shift and The World is Flat respectively. Lewis's imperative voice is that the vocational institutions have to incorporate the technological trends to the traditional concepts of education system in order to make students adaptable to current job market. He pinpoints that those whose who are engaged in career designing or teaching now require to focus "on changing skill needs, changing work, changing jobs, and the role that technology plays in such change, there is need for an ongoing related discourse." This information is relevant to the course contents we dealt with.