To grasp the impact that technology is creating in education and training, society must consider how technology has revolutionized America’s culture. In barely five years, electronic technology has dramatically penetrated into every area of society. All of society can reflected on how some aspect of the new information age is changing their job, family life, community, or patterns of commerce. As the nation enter into the new millennium, the most fundamental shift will reflect a redefinition of training itself. To retain key talent, remain competitive, and ensure long-term profitability, organizations are making dramatic changes in the way they develop the knowable and skills of their workforce. Training as something provided for employees will be replaced by learning that employees initiate themselves. Training, when available, will be replaced by learning when needed. Training for the masses will be replaced by highly customized, just-for-me learning.

It is abundantly clear that the Information Technology (IT) industry’s employment needs and its impact on the American economy necessitate a more basic understanding of the IT workforce and its future role. According to

Each day in the corporate world brings a new technology. Businesses were becoming adapting to the idea of moving from typewriters to word processors when unexpectedly came faxes and e-mail, now the World Wide Web (Atkinson, 1999, p. 86). Many of the corporate leaders who are not technologically inclined, must make critical decisions bout which technology to invest in and when. Technology puts both employees and managers in a perpetual state of surprise and it’s an expensive party to pay for.

On the negative side, “computer-enhanced classroom put a computer between the student and the instructor and can make dialog more difficult. Computer teaching tools can mimic entertainment, foster a passive mode of learning, and short attention span. They can also detract from the reflective thinking needed to develop an understanding of abstract concepts. It takes years for many citizens to comprehend some topics. Learning how to access information is not, the same as understanding that information or understanding a presentation is not the same as understanding the concept being demonstrated. Which is the more effective and efficient use of one hour of time: studying three textbook pages or finding and viewing sixty Web pages?

Teachers’ use of technology is related to their training and preparation. In the 2001 Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), in which teachers were queried regarding their use of computers and the Internet. The survey focused on four topics: access to technology, teacher use of computers, teacher training, and continued barriers to technology use in the classroom.

About one-half of teaches (53 %) with computers in their schools used them for classroom instructional purposes. The most frequent student assignment to use computers was for word processing, followed by Internet research (51%), practice drills (50 %), and solving problems (50%). Additionally, many teachers used computer to conduct preparation and administrative task such as lesson planning and creation of instructional materials. Teachers also reported using the computer for communication with colleagues (p. 83-4).

How do managers and executives deal with these concerns? Many practice denial; keeping their distance from the very technology, they require employees to use. Studies have shown that while over eighty percent of the senior managers at some of the largest corporations in the United States now have a computer on their desks, up to fifty percent of these executives never turn on their machines. Only ninety-one percent of executes are not online, sixty-six percent do not use email, sixty-seven percent don’t carry beepers, and less than half personally use their company’s voice mail system (Wimmer, 2000, p. 407-18).

The aging of the population compounds this shortage of trained technicians. For example, many of the technicians who currently install and repair telephone systems are in their fifties. Technical colleges and universities are frequently receiving inquiries from telecommunications companies about the growing demand for data network and telecommunications technicians. The advent of the Internet and other digital innovations has increased transmission over existing telephone lines. Each of the graduates has several job offers and the demand for telecommunications workers will be compounded when many of the older technicians retire in the next few years. This increase in demand for technicians and the imminent retirement of highly trained, older worker is a trend felt in several industries.

Some topics in this essay:
Green Paper, Department Education, Microchips Microchips, Sandholtz Dwyer, Education Congress, Stress Wimmer, Labor Statistics, Western Ontario, Web Atkinson, Education Training, information technology, liberal arts, teacher preparation, impact technology, distance education, skilled workers, education training, technology workforce, future educators, shortage skilled, information technology workforce, shortage skilled workers, ratio students computers, wimmer 2000 407-18, bureau labor statistics,