Today’s Employers (Part 2 of 2)

Please share in the comments area the most important skill that has helped you succeed.
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Part 1: Today’s Student and Learning Preferences
Part 2: Today’s Employers and What They Need
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PART 2

In Part 1, a snapshot was provided of today’s student and their learning preferences. In this post, the focus will be what skills students need based on information provided by today’s employers. After these two parts, I’ll be writing about what language educators can do to foster learning environments that will help students succeed beyond graduation.

This post’s research was started in September 2013 and is ongoing as of April 2014. Resources were pulled mainly from internet sources using the social media tools Twitter and Yammer. The research was initiated due to a desire to

  • communicate the value and relevancy of a liberal arts education
  • build in activities in distance education courses that apply the skills students need in their personal, academic and professional lives

Continue reading Today’s Employers (Part 2 of 2)

Student Demand for Online Offerings & The Need for Orientation

One of the driving forces behind the rise in hybrid and online courses is student demand. The numbers do not lie: there has been a steady increase in the numbers of students preferring to take online courses year after year and using technology in their own ways (Allen & Seaman, 2014; Educause, 2013). Why are more students taking blended and online courses? Continue reading Student Demand for Online Offerings & The Need for Orientation