Finding new opportunities to promote workforce development and bring industry into the classroom was the theme of this year’s Technology and Learning Conference at Montgomery County Community College.

The College hosted the annual event, now in its 28th year, Friday, Sept. 30, entirely online. This year’s conference featured more than 25 sessions ranging from Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (ARVR), accessibility, classroom strategies and health and wellness. More than 465 individuals from around the world attended the conference, including from as far away as Vietnam, India and Greece, representing more than 15 countries in total. A full video replay of the entire conference is available online.

“Every year this conference continues to grow, and it provides engaging opportunities for discussion and educational growth around the latest technologies both in and outside the classroom,” said Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, MCCC President. “I’m especially excited about this year’s conference theme “The Next Generation of Learning: Where the Classroom Meets Industry.”

“The keynote discussion will focus on workforce development and how educators can help support students and provide them with the necessary skills for 21st century work needs,” she said. “A very relevant topic, as employers will need to rely upon more skilled, technologically advanced workforce for the future.”

The keynote panel featured Melissa J. Stowasser, Assistant Vice President of Community Partnerships at Trident Technical College, Dr. David Lindenmuth, Director, Rowan Institution for Education Leadership (RIEL) and Program Coordinator for the School Administration program and a faculty member in the Department of Educational Services and Leadership and Rebecca Chisolm, Regional Manager, Network Academy North America. Kyle Longacre, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development, moderated the discussion.

“We have an excellent panel that is vetting the various pathways that all students are able to progress through from their education journey, as they consider what the careers of today are and how we’re able to connect with industry to be able to build a bridge and cross that bridge for successful futures for our students,” said Longacre. “Each of us as educators has a key role to be able to guide our students and give the counsel and encouragement that they need. And we also need different tools to be able to help us in that progression.”

Stowasser said her technical community college has had apprenticeship programs for over 50 years but there’s been a new development among employers becoming more engaged with educators as of late.

“What we’re finding in more recent years is that they’re no longer just serving in an advisory capacity,” she said. “Employers are really beginning to engage in the educational process and become part of the educational team.”

Similarly, Lindenmuth emphasized thinking differently about how educators prepare students for the jobs of the future.

“Do they still need to be able to write a five-paragraph essay? Of course, they do,” he said “But they better also be able to get their point across on Twitter or in a multimedia presentation or whatever the case may be. Those skills have to transfer.  For me personally, our role in education, we need to prepare our students for the opportunities of the future and sometimes we don’t know what those opportunities are, but we need to be able to give our students the skills to be able to handle those jobs when they do come about.”

Twenty years ago, he said, a drone pilot today, who makes an $80,000 salary, might have been told to stop playing video games. “Those types of things are what we have to prepare our students for. Not just the same rote materials that we used to do 20 years ago. It’s the skills and how they transfer into the various aspects or opportunities that are presented.”

Chisolm said in the past, employers wouldn’t even consider a job candidate who didn’t have a four-year degree. That’s no longer the case, if the candidate can show they have the skills needed to be successful.

“Whether it’s a formal apprenticeship or whether its capstone projects, employers want to see evidence of mastery of skills,” she said. “That you can show up at the job and sort of know what to do.”

That said, she added, students need to come prepared with both hard and soft skills.

“Soft skills like collaboration and communication,” she said. “I can’t afford to hire a just a great engineer, I need someone who can look you in the eye, collaborate in a meeting and get an idea across as well.”

This is the third year the Technology and Learning Conference has been delivered entirely in a virtual format.

“It is exciting that our move to a virtual format has brought in so many participants beyond the tri-county region,” said Dr. Celeste Schwartz, Vice President of Information Technology and Institutional Effectiveness, “and we will continue with this format in the future.”

Other topics during the conference included “Using Telepresence Robots for Remote Participation in Classrooms, “Promoting Immersive Learning with Common Devices” and “Developing the Mindful Learner.”