Innovate+Educate Blog

Government website aims to increase digital literacy in America

May 17, 2011

U.S. Department of Commerce recently unveiled the components to a new federal Digital Literacy initiative along with a new website that aims to help increase computer and Internet skills in America.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced a new digital literacy initiative on Friday that works to expand economic and educational opportunities in America. Locke joined U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., and U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., in unveiling www.DigitalLiteracy.gov.

The new website provides libraries, community colleges, schools, and workforce training centers a variety of resources and tools for teaching computer and Internet skills. According to recent studies, these kinds of “community anchor institutions” have become increasingly necessary for success in today’s economy.

The new website announcement was made during a visit to a public computer center at Coppin State University.

Prior to the unveiling, Locke and the senators toured a computer lab and witnessed first-hand how the people in the community are utilizing this website, which can allow any person to find free training on a range of digital literacy topics, at different skill levels, including searching and applying for jobs online.

“In a globalized, 21st century economy, when you don’t have regular access to the high-speed Internet – and the skills to use it – your education, business, and employment opportunities are narrowed,” Locke said. “The tools we are unveiling today will help more Americans gain valuable job skills and augment the Recovery Act investments we are making to expand broadband access and adoption nationwide.”

In partnership with nine federal agencies, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) created DigitalLiteracy.gov to provide librarians, teachers, workforce trainers, and others a central location to share digital literacy content and best practices.

These trusted groups can, in turn, better reach out to their communities in providing them the skills today’s employers need.

NTIA also is partnering with the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to promote the use of the portal by the nation’s more than 16,600 public libraries where, in 2009, more than 30 million job-seekers used computers to search and apply for jobs.

In launching DigitalLiteracy.gov, NTIA is building on knowledge gained from managing its broadband grants program in order to provide digital literacy resources to all Americans.

Seamless Summer of STEM helps inspire students for college, career

April 21, 2011

Innovate+Educate announced this week the “Seamless Summer of STEM” initiative for the Southern Hub of the New Mexico STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Network.

Jamai Blivin, president and CEO of Innovate+Educate, explained that a statewide consortium of higher education, community college, K-12, informal learning, policy and industry partners helped establish this program with plans to provide a full schedule of exciting summer opportunities in robotics, filmmaking, engineering, and the latest technology to students in Las Cruces, Gadsden, Hatch, and beyond.

“We know summer break can be a tremendous opportunity to introduce students to new concepts and future careers, or it can be a time when school year learning is lost,” said Blivin. “Seamless Summer’s goal is to inspire students to gain the skills that will connect them to a future career in their region.”

Seamless Summer will connect STEM programs in the Southern HUB of the New Mexico STEM Network with a full June-July calendar of activities for students as well as provide a summer calendar of professional development opportunities for teachers. Organizers said this will increase awareness of the need for STEM for students in these areas in addition to providing a valuable resource for parents and educators.

On June 16, Innovate+Educate and the NM STEM Network Southern HUB will celebrate the launch of Seamless Summer at the Innovate+Educate southern New Mexico facility at the Tri-Border Innovation Center in Santa Teresa. Launched in partnership with the Gadsden Independent School District (GISD), the Tri-Border Innovation Center will house cutting-edge science and technology that links New Mexico’s regional assets, technologists, and entrepreneurs to students and their learning.

N.M. Senator Cynthia Nava (Superintendent of GISD) said the Seamless Summer program is important because it allows students to have a continuous learning process with an emphasis on their individual specialty. “Students can continue to strive for excellence throughout the calendar year,” added Nava.

Jami Grindatto, Innovate+Educate Chairman of the Board and Corporate Affairs Manager of Southwestern U.S. for Intel Corporation said the Tri-Border Innovation Center will cultivate an entrepreneurial learning environment and planning is underway with key stakeholders for the center to serve as a convening, collaborative location for the tri-regional partners in Southern New Mexico, Southwest Texas (El Paso), and Mexico. “It will serve as a key location for “Seamless Summer of STEM” this June,” said Grindatto. “Innovate+Educate especially would like thank the Gadsden Independent School District and Senator Nava for their leadership in this public/private partnership.”

To view the full calendar of activities visit www.SeamlessSummer.com.

U.S. Chamber report outlines industry’s role in STEM reform

April 15, 2011

“Too often, STEM reform amounts to a well-intended effort to superimpose good ideas on a rickety, aged set of institutions and organizations. If our current efforts are to deliver more than that, we must combine good intentions and thoughtful proposals with a fierce commitment to remake America’s schools and school systems for the 21st century.”

This is one of several worthy excerpts from a new report The Case for Being Bold: A New Agenda for Business in Improving STEM Education.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) hosted a national summit of business and education leaders on Wednesday that coincides with the release of this report, which outlines the essential role business plays in the success of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, which is crucial to U.S. students’ preparation for the workforce and America’s future economic health.

As the report notes, to tackle the STEM challenge more ambitiously, business leaders should focus on specific key areas.

These specifics include taking full advantage of strengthened and streamlined academic standards; rethinking how teachers are hired, deployed, and prepared; and promoting new models of schooling that can facilitate STEM learning, among other key items addressed in the report.

The ICW is the non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ICW promotes the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America’s greatest economic resource, its workforce.

Jamai Blivin, executive director of Innovate+Educate, applauded the ICW for convening on such a serious topic, noting that advancing U.S. global competitiveness does require a bold agenda and for business and industry to be involved in a deeper way than ever before.

“The American business community is well-suited to play a vital role in the STEM challenge. With enormous credibility, political heft, and their inevitable role as the employer of America’s STEM talent, industry can lead a voice and bring together the public and private stakeholders at the policy level, district level, and community level to address the critical situation we face,” Blivin said.

“Part of this is defining what real jobs exist today, what future STEM jobs there will be, and how to integrate that organically into the system itself,” she added. “Data, real labor statistics, and creating friction between all stakeholders are all keys to moving STEM forward. This has become a national crisis, and we are at a tipping point of success or our country’s demise.”

The U.S. Department of Education unveiled the results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for science in January. This report shows that only 34 percent of U.S. fourth graders, 30 percent of eighth graders, and 21 percent of 12th graders are proficient in science. This comes shortly after the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed American students continuing to lag behind their international peers.

For a nation that relies heavily upon technology and innovation for its economic strength, these reports underscore America’s vulnerable standing as a world economic leader.

Business leaders are the ones who will hire STEM graduates for STEM jobs, and they are positioned to help educators manage the transformational change needed. With other nations making dramatic educational gains and challenging American supremacy in technology, finance, and research, our nation’s continued success requires dramatic improvement when it comes to educating our youth in math and science.

If business heeds the call, America will have a brighter future with more jobs and a larger pool of talent prepared and eager to fill them.

New ‘Vital Signs’ report offers improvements to STEM learning outcomes

April 13, 2011

Citing concerns that many states do not hold U.S. students to real-world expectations for success in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), a group of prominent chief executives will call on governors to strengthen standards to prepare American students to compete globally on April 21 in Washington, D.C.

The CEOs, affiliated with the national non-profit organization Change the Equation, are calling for a sustained commitment to improving STEM education from governors in the wake of a report that finds most states have not set the bar high enough when measuring student proficiency in STEM subjects.

“We’re doing students, parents and America’s competitiveness a disservice by not demanding higher standards for STEM learning,” said Craig Barrett, retired CEO/board chairman of Intel Corporation and Change the Equation board chair. “Students in every state deserve the opportunity of a STEM education on a par with the best in the world.  America’s standing as the most innovative and prosperous nation on earth depends on our ability to boost student performance.  As business leaders, we are pledging to stand with governors who commit to high achievement standards in math and science.“

The state-by-state report called “Vital Signs” is being released during an April 21 forum in Washington, D.C., during which leaders from business, government and education will discuss the critical need for elected officials and states to commit to policies that ensure high and meaningful STEM proficiency standards.

A key focus of the event will be calling on governors to move to higher proficiency standards, even if that leads to initial drops in the percentage of students deemed proficient.

Featured speakers and panelists at the April 21 event will include:

• Craig Barrett, Retired CEO and Chairman of Intel and Board Chair, Change the Equation
• John Holdren, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Merryl Tisch, Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents
• Linda Rosen, CEO, Change the Equation

The 51 reports were generated by compiling the most recent data on the condition of STEM learning in each state. Research has already begun for CTEq’s second Vital Signs Report which will be released in 2012 and will be the most complete examination of STEM learning in each state ever assembled. 

Read more about this event on CTEq’s Website.

Union Pacific to start Santa Teresa project in June

April 08, 2011

A new fuel tax break signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez on April 5 has paved the way for Union Pacific Railroad to break ground in June on a $400 million refueling station in southern New Mexico.

The project, to be located next to the Santa Teresa municipal airport, is part of Union Pacific’s long-term plans to upgrade its Sunset Route, which runs from Los Angeles seaports to El Paso, to improve access to northern and eastern markets.

The tax break, approved by the state Legislature this year, will exempt the company from New Mexico taxes on diesel for its locomotives starting in July 2013, as long as Union Pacific has already started construction on the project.

Union Pacific Chairman and CEO Jim Young said the project will create about 3,000 jobs during construction, 600 permanent positions once the facility is operating at full capacity in 2025, and have a more than $500 million overall economic impact on New Mexico.

“Our strategic investment in this new facility helps improve capacity and enhance efficiency on a key part of our network,” Young said in a news release. “Investments of this kind are guided by our mission to serve and are leading to new business and record levels of safety and customer satisfaction.”

The facility, to occupy 2,200 acres, will include fueling facilities, crew change buildings and an intermodal yard and ramp to load and unload up to 250,000 containers annually that are designed for seamless transfer among ships, trucks and trains.

The project could greatly increase business at the Santa Teresa industrial park next to the municipal airport because such intermodal facilities help attract industrial warehouses that need strategic locations for rapid shipments to and from ports. Verde Corp. Realty Services at Santa Teresa has already invested heavily in tracks and other railroad infrastructure to connect park tenants to lines that will connect to the planned intermodal refueling station.

Union Pacific, which operates a 32,000-mile network linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the U.S., is investing about $3.2 billion in 2011 to upgrade infrastructure.

Read more: Union Pacific to start Santa Teresa project in June | New Mexico Business Weekly