ZDNet | ZDNet iGeneration Blog RSS http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/rss en-us <![CDATA[Is there an employment gap between employers and students?]]> A new study by Millennial Branding,  a Gen-Y research and management consulting firm based in Boston, MA, and Experience Inc. has shed some interesting reflections on whether there is an employment gap between employer and student — and also just how far background checks online are spreading.

Using a data pool of over 100,000 U.S. companies and 225 employers, the firm collated information  to uncover whether an “employment gap” exists between what companies expect, their business practices, sources of hire for the class of 2012, and whether students have the correct skill requirements to be attractive to employers.

Why are so many graduates currently unemployed? These findings may enlighten us as to some of the issues involved:

  • 91 percent of employers believe that students should have one or two internships before they graduate;
  • However, half of companies have not hired any interns in the last six months.
  • 79 percent of employers have hired 30 percent of interns or less;
  • Furthermore, 87 percent of companies think that internships on average are too short — rather than two months, they believe it should be a minimum of three.

Dan Schawbel, Founder of Millennial Branding said:

“The expectation that having an internship can lead to a job no longer exists. Employers should hire their interns into full-time positions to save recruiting and training costs. Students should strive to have as many internships as possible before graduation and not rely on a single employer for a job offer.”

The issue concerning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is wide-ranging. There is a shortage of people that are equipped and trained to take on roles in these industries, and the rate of students opting for these choices is declining.

According to the survey, 34 percent are recruiting engineering and computer information systems, and only 18 percent are recruiting finance and accounting trainees. 47 percent said “it’s either hard or very hard” competing against other brands when hiring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) talent — possibly due to the overall shortage.

When employers do find the talent they’re looking for, just how have they found it? It seems there may be a transition towards social network recruitment strategy — as an incredibly high 83 percent of hiring has now come from social networking, whereas less than half (48 percent) now use job boards, and only 44 percent rely on referrals.

When social media recruitment takes place, 35 percent conduct background checks online — if we compare this to ten years ago, it is reasonable to predict this will continue to increase. Out of the employers who admitted to this procedure, 42 percent use LinkedIn, 40 percent use Facebook, 15 percent use Google+ and only 2 percent use Twitter.

For more information, view the infographic below:

]]> <![CDATA[Microsoft's So.cl network launched amid Facebook press]]>

While most pairs of technologically-inclined eyes have been diverted by the Facebook IPO, Microsoft has quietly launched So.cl, a social ‘network’ that ran in beta and was tested by university students last year.

Originating from Microsoft’s FUSE labs, the network is promoted as a tool created for use by students and academics for research purposes. Pronounced “social”, the service has not been reported as a Facebook rival or Twitter rip-off. It is, instead, an additional layer to social networking — and requires users to login through either a Facebook or Windows Live account.

Running on the same themes as other social media sites — including Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and Tumblr — the ’social search’ can be used to share web pages of interest, assemble montages of media (think Pinterest as an example) and collaborate to discuss or extend the sharing of items — So.cl may become more than simply a research-based tool. All searches are public by default.

So.Cl states in its FAQ:

“We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools.

We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.”

Microsoft asserted the site is not meant to compete with Facebook or search engines last year, however, it is not closed purely to student use. In fact, with these kinds of features, Microsoft may not be aiming to compete directly with a force as large as Facebook — but potentially become an additional layer to the social networking world that will become as popular as Pinterest eventually.

Through the combination of features that are popular on other social networking sites — such as Pinterest’s Boards feature — and the attempt to encourage students to use it, it may be that Microsoft is taking a long-term approach to break into the social networking sphere — with students as its first port of call.

Image credit: Screenshot C.Osborne

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]]> <![CDATA[TeenTech Weekly: Zuckerberg's student mocking, privacy policies, free Xboxes]]> This edition of TeenTech weekly rounds up Generation Y and student news that you may have missed. This week we’ve read about Mark Zuckerberg’s past, student privacy issues and their mobile devices, and how to manage Gen-Y employees.

1.) Mark Zuckerberg mocked Facebook users in student messages. (The Telegraph)

Messages from Mark Zuckerberg’s student days show the Facebook founder mocking his partners and joking about users trusting him with their data.

2.) Students learn job skills as IT techs. (US News)

A Missouri school’s program reflects a national trend of training high school students.

3.) The implications of schools demanding access to student mobile devices.

Schools are demanding the right to search smartphones and laptops in a bid to catch cyberbullying. What are the implications?

4.) Should college students be forced to buy e-books? (The Street)

It’s not just rising college tuition and room and board charges. It’s all those incidentals, from student activity and health fees to lab fees and books that are turning higher education into such a financial burden.

5.) Why BYOD, not banning cell phones, is the answer. (The Journal)

It’s difficult to have a conversation about using cell phones for learning without someone complaining that the phones will be a distraction. These complaints presumably come from those who have never been in schools where cell phones are used as learning tools.

6.) Microsoft eyes students, offers free Xbox with purchase of Windows PC.

Microsoft is once again offering students a free Xbox with the purchase of a qualifying Windows PC.

7.) Student journalists saved by Twitter. (Montreal Gazette)

Montreal police have tweeted protest routes, traffic tie-ups and arrests, and even answers to followers’ questions throughout the 14-week student strike. Twitter proved its value again Wednesday night, when it helped spring five student journalists from a police roundup of protesters.

8.) How to manage your Generation Y employees better. (NBC)

You may know them as the Generation Why, the Trophy Generation, Gen Y, or Millennials. This generation has been completely infiltrating your organization. They come with their own unique traits that, when harnessed correctly, can produce incredible results.

But not everyone sees it that way.

9.) Can Facebook get a child expelled from school? (Forbes)

Apparently in one school in Queensland, Australia, it might do just that.

10.) NH colleges commit to increasing STEM graduates. (NECN)

New Hampshire’s community colleges and four-year school are working together to turn out more high-tech graduates.

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]]> <![CDATA[Principal accused of posing as a student on Facebook]]> Following her resignation, a principal is under investigation for posing as a student on Facebook.

Close to St. Louis, Clayton High School principal Louise Losos has been at the school since 2005. A recent graduate of the high school has accused Losos of posing as a student on the social networking site named “Suzy Harriston” in order to befriend both students and parents.

If someone sends you a friend request when you have a number of mutual friends, you are more likely to accept the request — even if you don’t recognize the person in question. According to reports, several hundred people linked to the school accepted the friend request before suspicions were raised.

As “Suzy” became accepted, it gave the principal license to track student and parent social networking activity, from comments and conversations to “likes” and group activity.

The district has publicly stated that “..the district and Dr. Losos had a fundamental dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media”.

If true, it is possible that the principle’s behaviour was spurred on due to a previous incident concerning school policy and a resulting student reaction. A popular physical education teacher had his football coach duties removed after giving strength training advice to students — against a Missouri State High School Activities Association rule — and later did not have his contract renewed.

As a result, angry students ignited a social media campaign to try and bring back Coach Horrell. A Facebook group dedicated to the cause attracted hundreds of supporters. It is possible that the movement, uncontrollable by the school, may have caused the first seeds of distrust to become planted — which resulted in the principal taking an inadvisable approach to monitoring online student activity.

Richard Nuell, a Clayton parent, said:

“I don’t know what’s taking place here, but I would be concerned with that going on without their knowledge. It’s an invasion of privacy, I believe.”

The principal’s resignation will take place in June. However, Losos’s behaviour may lead to lasting consequences. Further than potentially being a violation of trust and privacy, as well as breaking Facebook’s Terms of Service through the creation of a fake account, it could become the catalyst for stringent rules to be put in place to protect both schools and students.

A meeting on Monday is scheduled to discuss the situation with both teachers and students.

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]]> <![CDATA[Teaching practices exposed on Facebook]]> When questionable teaching practices enter the classroom, you’d better hope your students don’t record the evidence.

At school, I remember certain events which are questionable by any standard. Children locked in cupboards and forgotten ties — part of the uniform — replaced with a paper substitute bound to the neck with sellotape.

One such ‘teaching’ method used by teacher Laurie Bailey-Cutkomp, employed at Zephyrhills High, Pasco County, may cost the teacher her job as the evidence was uncovered on social networking site, Facebook.

The teacher used a cone-shaped collar, also known as an Elizabethan collar, to punish misbehaving students.

Dubbed “the cone of shame”, according to ninth-graders, students who arrived late or behaved poorly were forced to wear it. Usually reserved for preventing animals from licking their wounds, according to reports, at least eight students were made to wear the item by the veterinarian-turned-teacher.

Pictures showing the cone being used in this manner were uploaded to Facebook, which led to parental complaints.

In a written statement, one student explained how the teacher used the item for ’student discipline’:

“I was in second period. I was drinking soda, and she said, ‘Do I have to put the cone on you? I didn’t say anything and she put it on me.”

Bailey-Cutkomp brought the cone to school after showing students the Pixar movie “Up”, according to the Times. In the film, a dog called Dug is forced to wear a “cone of shame” as punishment — replicated on the students.

Some students found the idea amusing and asked to wear the “cone of shame”, according to reports. However, once the photos were discovered on Facebook after being uploaded by students, parents did not find the idea so funny.

In self-defence, Bailey-Cutkomp said it was meant to be a “joke” and the aim was not to hurt or embarrass anyone. She told investigating district officials that she believed the cone would be an effective way to “redirect student behavior”.

Pasco County schools superintendent Heather Fiorentino has recommended firing the physical science teacher. In a letter detailing the recommendation, Fiorentino wrote:

“I am stunned that you would put dog collars on students for any reason. I am very concerned that you used this collar to punish and embarrass students in front of their peers.

When asked how you selected students to wear the collar, you explained that you initially used it to redirect student behavior. You also stated that some students requested to wear the collar to see how difficult it was to eat and move around while wearing it. Finally, you stated that you gave some students the option of either wearing the collar or sitting at the tardy table when they arrived late to your class.”

The teacher has been suspended and is waiting for a decision from the school board on whether she will be dismissed.

It can be seen as ironic that while the issue of cyberbullying and inappropriate student behavior online is often focused on, this time, it was a teacher’s actions that were discovered through Facebook. The board has been attempting to create a policy to control the taking of photos and videos at school, and now this issue has been placed back on the agenda.

Image credit: Mythic Seabass

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]]> <![CDATA[Google engineer: Create technology, don't just use it]]> As reliance on technology increases, it is important for us to try and engage the interest of the next generation to train in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.

If the rate of students opting for technical training continues to decline — as the current rates of computer science graduates in the U.S. suggest — then it may impact the future of technological innovation, the job market, and therefore the economy.

This week, middle school students from Aurora, Illinois, were visited by a software engineer in an attempt to reaffirm the message.

The eighth-graders were told about what it is like to enter one of the most rapidly-growing industries in the West, which consistently is creating jobs in a fragile economy. The engineer, Jessie Chavez, visited Granger Middle School, East Aurora Magnet Academy and Washington Middle School to explain how it is possible to enter the technological field and eventually work for one of the most well-known Internet companies.

Studying technology-related subjects may be stereotypically associated with geeky people, glasses and men — but times are changing. It still might not be the most popular subject to take on at university, or one that everyone is suited for, but it can offer financial dividends and job security.

For high school children, this isn’t necessarily the first thing on their minds. However, appealing to children through world travel, the famous bouncy balls in Google headquarters and Google’s Sky project were also part of the engineer’s presentation. He said:

“You might think that wanting to work in sports you’d have nothing to do with computers.
Wrong. These days, if you want to be a top athlete (and) work on your swing, you’re keeping track of your form, your position, your strength, the muscles you’re using — all of that is computer generated.”

Google’s education outreach program has recently given support to Aurora University’s STEM Academy partnership — comprising of four school districts — as part of its continual effort to entice the next generation to becoming trained and fill vacancies as Internet businesses expand.

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]]> <![CDATA[The implications of schools demanding access to student mobile devices]]> Principals in New Zealand are lobbying for a change in legislation that would allow schools to search mobile devices when students are on school property for evidence of cyberbullying.

The report indicates that as a way to change how schools deal with the ongoing issue of cyberbullying, principals want to shift from restorative justice to the suspension of bullies — with evidence gleaned from being able to legally access student’s mobile devices.

As the backlash from the parents of affected students increases, schools are looking for ways that they can legally monitor cyberbullying — which usually takes the form of text messages or communication across social networks.

Stuff.nz reports that Secondary Principals’ Association president Patrick Walsh is working with the Ministry of Education in order to try and give principals this power, which means they can search and confiscate mobile phones, laptops or any kind of digital device.

If the request proves successful, it may become a precedent for other countries to follow. Walsh said:

“Cyber-bullying has become so common and the consequences so serious, that it overrides privacy concerns.
To discover evidence of cyber-bullying or other inappropriate behaviour, it would be a necessary extension to search and seizure powers.”

Last year, guidelines were put in place to allow educators to search their students for drugs and weapons. Now, principals want this to be put in to law — as a means to also control cyerbullying.

A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life project stated that 95 percent of teenagers aged between 12-17 are now online, and 41 percent of those surveyed revealed that they have witnessed cruel behaviour online either ‘frequently’ or ‘sometimes’.

As cyberbullying is not a physical act in itself, although it may lead to physical situations, attempting to control it raises a host of issues. It may blur the lines between on-school and off-school free speech, and could put a school’s duty of care responsibilities in to question. The current legal system can be considered out-of-date, as expanding social networking and the increased use of mobile devices are not necessarily accounted for in current legal systems.

Giving educators access to these devices on school grounds may be a way to help combat the problem, but in reality, this approach may make little difference. Just because a principal could be allowed to view a mobile device does not mean they will know what to look for, and it also brings up another host of implications:

- Social networking sites and terms of use - By giving a third-party access, students may be breaking service agreements with sites they are present on.
- Privacy: It may lead to a trend where safety is placed before privacy rights, but this in turn could become a slippery slope, and where would lines have to be drawn?
- Data protection: To what degree would confiscation result in data access, and would any linked account be open to investigation - including social networking and email? If a laptop is taken, does that translate into the right to pry in to folders, images and video — or would educators be restricted to online activity (and therefore be able to scour the history folders?)
- Parental opinion. Parents may want more security in terms of combating cyberbullies, but will they be happy with schools monitoring their children’s behavior online?
- Children but not adults? If employers cannot ask potential employees for access to Facebook accounts, why can teachers ask students?

A ministry spokesman has confirmed Walsh had provided advice to officials, but no decisions have officially been made.

Image credit: Johan Larsson

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]]> <![CDATA[TeenTech Weekly: Facebook addiction, BYOD schools, Mac infections]]> This edition of TeenTech weekly rounds up Generation Y and student news that you may have missed. This week we’ve read about student BYOD policies, Mac infections and Facebook addictions.

1.) Gen Y grads more likely to launch start-ups. (USA Today)

Take an unpredictable job market, an overwhelming variety of possible careers, and a generation that thinks differently about the workplace, and you wind up with college graduates who are taking matters into their own hands.

2.) Tech health care and the problem with targeting Gen-Y.

Is Gen-Y’s reliance on mobile technology detrimental to their health?

3.) New technology to be blamed for schoolkids’ porn addiction. (DNA India)
Schoolchildren as young as 11 are spending up to 10 hours a day watching explicit adult material as new technology sneaks pornography into their pockets, experts have warned.

4.) Twitter teams up with UC Berkeley to offer course in Big Data.

Interested in programming? Some students at UC Berkeley will soon have the chance to view Twitter from an insider’s perspective.

5.) Clayton High’s principal resigns amid Facebook mystery. (STL Today)

The profile said she was from Clayton and had more than 300 friends, many of them from Clayton High School. No one seemed to question who Harriston was. That is, until the night of April 5, when a 2011 grad and former Clayton quarterback posted a public accusation.

6.) Wallingford hopes to test new student tech policy. (My record journal)

Students may no longer have to put away their smart phones or iPads before they head into the classroom.
The Board of Education is exploring a “Bring Your Own Device” program that would allow high school and middle school students to use their own personal devices in the classroom.

7.) Are Generation Y ‘careless’ in their use of Wi-Fi?

Are the iGeneration considering the full security implications of free wireless networks?

8.) Oxford University IT staff ’somewhat overwhelmed by Mac malware’.

In a pair of candid blog posts, a member of Oxford’s network security staff says the Flashback malware episode is the worst they’ve seen since the Blaster worm of 2003. And Apple is “making minimal effort” and “putting customers at risk.”

9.) As the online and physical blur, digital citizenship is now paramount.

For good or ill, as what defines us as people warps and no lines remain between physical and digital, what do we need to teach the next generation?

10.) Facebook, Twitter and our self-esteem. (Technorati)

A recent study by Harvard University provides insight as to why we use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. The study focused upon understanding why people actually are addicted to using these sites, and are more than willing to share their every moment, thought, and action.

Bonus: Gallery - Social media PR disasters and mistakes

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]]> <![CDATA[As the online and physical blur, digital citizenship is now paramount]]> Digital citizenship can be compared to the fundamental lessons children learn in the society they grow up in — from the acceptable modes of behaviour and politeness to what is legal and what is not.

In the West, we teach our children not to talk to strangers, to not punch our siblings and in Britain, you never get in the front seat with a taxi driver — but how far are we pressing the core values of what it means to be a ‘citizen’ in the digital world, where some activities contain similar elements of risk?

It is important for young children to learn, now, just what is acceptable online and what is not. Teaching children certain values when they are younger may help them avoid mistakes later on; when it could result in the loss of a job or place in education.

Digital profiles and physical identities are not necessarily considered separate any longer. Go to a bar in the UK and someone may ask for your Facebook link instead of your number; tweeted messages represent corporations even if they are written by third-party companies, and Gen-Y often prefer to text or email instead of calling a contact.

In a recent Digital Media IX survey (.pdf) comprising of 2,000 college students, the defacto social network of choice was unsurprisingly Facebook, whereas YouTube and Twitter were also very popular. LinkedIn became more important for those soon to leave education, and more than one-third of students used apps on mobile devices.

Whether for good or ill, as what defines us as people warps, it is necessary to educate the next generation in order to compensate. What may be acceptable to your friend in class may not impress the school when it is discovered on Twitter, and the rant you wrote on Facebook may just antagonize your father to destroy your laptop in retribution.

Safety is one of the key concerns that parents have demonstrated in relation to their children being on social networking sites. Online, a split-second poorly made choice can have long-term, detrimental consequences — in the same manner as the physical world.

Whether it is an impressionable young girl who wants to become a model targeted by men on MySpace, or young children being groomed online for sex, the risk can be compared to a child getting into a stranger’s car. The threat of one scenario is immediately physical, one is not — but both are dangerous.

Digital footprints are being formed often at a young age. Some parents begin the chain even before a child is born — by posting photos of their pregnancy scans on sites like Facebook. If you search the network in question, a plethora of baby profiles created by proud mums emerge.

From here, young children are given mobile devices such as iPads to play with, and eventually by school age, many have discovered the wonders of social networking sites and chatrooms.

Photos are uploaded, comments are made, juvenile bickering spills from the playground to be immortalized in text online. Even if such evidence is deleted, the ripples of impact never truly go away. A child may give away a phone number or address to someone masquerading online as someone else, or they may find themselves hauled in front of a principal for immature messages left against this week’s unpopular classmate.

If teenagers, in the throes of hormone-driven angst, decide to begin their digital profiling in this manner, by the time jobs and careers choice looms on the horizon, they may have already sealed their fate through a light of negativity. More employers than ever are researching candidates online, and even higher education facilities are beginning to join the trend.

The wealth of information one can glean from an individual with a digital footprint is extreme — and says far more than a resume ever could.

Furthermore, young people need to understand not only what is appropriate in the digital public domain, but how to effectively communicate within the limited formats the Internet offers. They need to know that emails are not necessarily private, and as conversational tones & context can often be lost through text-based communication, appropriate wording is crucial.

Using capitals to demonstrate a point will not impress a business colleague, and jokes that may raise a laugh in the pub may not be received well over emails — and could even get you fired. These are mistakes that many people make, from the general public to public figures including politicians – believing that the social media world respects context in the same manner that the physical world can.

It simply isn’t true.

As digital networks become more entrenched, appropriateness is necessary to teach in order to protect individuals and their future prospects.

In the same breath, we are not exactly giving young people the best models to base their online behaviour on. Trolling is rampant, and for some reason, some believe that offending people online is acceptable — even though they would not do the same if they met the person in question in a business meeting or bar.

What can be done to protect children in a rapidly-digitizing world?

  • Discuss personal security: Explain what information is safe to release online, and what is not — such as phone numbers or locations.
  • Learn about and explain about privacy online: Spending a moment exploring social networking privacy settings means you can assist any of your children present on them — and keep the settings high.
  • Open channels of communication: Being open and honest may help children feel secure coming to you if they find themselves in trouble online.
  • Lightly monitor them if necessary: Especially for younger children, keeping an eye on their activity means you may be able to stop trouble before it escalates;
  • Set rules for Internet use, and follow through on consequences if they are broken.
These types of conversations have to be kept rolling as technology continues to advance. It is not only down to public schooling, but parents and training programs must also highlight the pressing need to keep digital footprints from causing damage. We do ourselves and our children a disservice unless we make sure young people are informed and equipped to face the modern world.

Image credit: TedsBlog

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    ]]>         <![CDATA[Tech health care and the problem with targeting Gen-Y]]> Generation Y may be stereotypically associated with being fed a steady diet of MP3 players, iPads and smartphones, but does its behaviour move beyond simply using social networks and search engines, and apply to the use digital networks for the benefit of their health?

    For a generation used to accessing information instantaneously on their mobile devices, it is possible that they may feel a disconnect from healthcare services for which technological, communicative innovation is still in its infancy.

    A recent survey conducted by ZocDoc and Harris Interactive polled over 2,000 adults nationwide regarding their opinion on healthcare access and found that within the Generation Y — 18 - 34 year olds:

    • 54 percent say they process of dealing with their health is “frustrating”;
    • 63 percent feel that they are at the mercy of their doctor’s or dentist’s front desk staff when making an appointment;
    • 76 percent said it is easier to find information to help them find a hotel that fits their needs than to help them find a doctor or dentist;
    • 64 percent feel that when choosing a new doctor or dentist, they do not know how to adequately evaluate whether or they fit their specific needs.

    More than half of those surveyed within this age group viewed accessing medical care as a ‘pain’, and due to this, have delayed getting medical attention in the past.

    The survey, conducted online within the United States between April 19th and April 23rd, 2012, implies that for a generation which may only make up 23 percent of the population but also claims the majority of smartphone and tablet owners, antiquated processes and a lack of transparency or real-time information may in fact have more detrimental effects than previously realized.

    For a society that expects information to be available immediately, today’s healthcare system does not necessarily cater for this demand.

    “This study highlights the need for the healthcare space to play technological catch up to other industries,” said Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center.

    “If we are not technologically savvy enough to make healthcare user friendly for our young population, then this generation will be less likely to regularly seek out the preventive care they need and deserve. As a physician, that’s incredibly concerning.”

    Mobile innovation is a trend that has exploded in recent years — and has disrupted industries from business and design to retail. However, perhaps healthcare needs to think about catching up. There are existing startups which cater for health services — such as booking an appointment or recording prescriptions — but there is yet to be an explosive contender that would disrupt digital healthcare in an irrevocable way.

    ZocDoc founder Dr. Oliver Kharraz concluded:

    “This study highlights that Generation Y is feeling powerless and frustrated by the current state of healthcare. As these young, connected patients solidify the health behaviors they’ll practice throughout their lives, it’s more important than ever to equip and empower them to take control of their own health by offering them more digital and mobile tools, services and information.

    By finding a way to bridge the gap between Generation Y’s expectations and healthcare’s inefficiencies, we can help alleviate some of this generation’s pain points as we enter into a new era of healthcare.”

    Image credit: JF Cherry

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