Leveraging technology to build a workforce ready society

Attainment of a degree is a key predictor of success in the workforce. In the United States, twenty percent (20%) of high school students drop-out before graduation. Individuals who lack workforce readiness skills face a lifetime of lost income, benefits, and job opportunities. The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP), put forth by the United States Department of Education, calls for a reinvention of the nation´s education system to address its shortcomings preparing students for college and the workforce. Realization of this goal requires leveraging the power of technology. Technology, and ubiquitous Internet connectivity, provides the means to deliver low cost, lifelong, personalized education and remediation around the clock, in and outside the classroom. The Best We Can Be program - an online college and career readiness experience - is presented as a case study to demonstrate how technology may be integrated within K-12 educational settings to better prepare the next generation with skills needed for success. Best We Can Be has three major aims. The first is to engage students in productive learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subject matter. The second is to help students develop a realistic understanding of their own personal strengths and weaknesses with respect to workforce readiness, and how this may impact their future career options. The third aim is to provide proactive, individualized intervention to help students achieve their personal workforce readiness goals. Design and implementation approaches and challenges associated with developing an infrastructure to serve these aims are discussed.