Mary Meeker presentation on Internet Trends 2008
Slide show from the O’Reilly/CMP Web 2.0 conferences presentation done by Mary Meeker.

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Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence, determination and hard work make the difference. Calvin Coolidge

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The vision statement of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education says that it is “dedicated to the belief that lifelong learning contributes to human fulfillment and positive social change.”

Personal enrichment is important, but education can do more. It can lead to greater job satisfaction as old skills are honed and new skills are learned.

Jobs are changing in today’s world and skills need to be updated in order to keep pace. More education can propel an individual into a higher-paying job or even into a new career opportunity.

Our own company offers a variety of educational programs including tuition for college courses. If you are uncertain where to start, check with the Human Resources Department for a listing or an appraisal of your needs. A local vocational school, community college, or university is also a good place to go for information.

The Lumina Foundation for Education helps expand access to post-secondary education targeting adult learners, particularly those with low income or academic under preparation. The National Association of Realtors also lists online courses that can advance one’s career.

Many courses are now offered online. If you want to check whether an online course is accredited, visit the Council for Higher Education Web site, www.chea.org.

Age is no age limit for education. People over 55 can try Elderhostel. It offers the opportunity to partake of lifelong learning while offering a chance to have fun with peers.

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To keep U.S. living conditions continuing to rise, our workers have to be worth what they cost in a global economy. They have to have a world-class and constantly improving education.
But when Fortune’s Geoff Colvin spoke with school superintendents, he found that their mood was one of frustration. Some parents objected to their kids having to learn algebra, others just aren’t interested in the schools.

Their attitude is showing up in obvious ways. One parent’s bumper sticker says, “My kid can beat up your honor student.” T-shirts bought by parents advertise such messages as, “For Sale: Text books and school supplies, never used,” and “Save energy. Sleep in class.”

It’s even seen on television. In the popular “Two-and-a-Half Men,” Jake does anything he can to avoid doing his homework. But he still gets everything he wants from his parents. You can bet school kids are watching and deciding that playing dumb is OK or funny.

A few parents have always had a contempt for education, but they never thought they could complain to educators that their kids were getting too much of it. Now they do.

The signs of disrespect for education are a cause for worry. It may be that the most important factor shaping our country’s economic future will be what we do individually to show our kids how valuable education really is.

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Using the Web 2.0 write up in Wikipedia this video is to help teach educators about Web 2.0 tools.

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Some family rooms are being renovated with features like desks and laptop ports for every member of the family. Included are special lighting for computer work, homework, and reading. There can be bookshelves, storage areas, and work stations for each person.

One builder quoted in The Wall Street Journal offers a bright yellow education room with chairs and desks that adjust to adult and kid heights. In the family home office, mom, dad, and the kids bond over work instead of television.

Some moms and dads, however, say they need a separate home office.

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When you add a column of numbers or calculate a percentage, do you wish you had better math skills?

Do you sometimes think that a better job would come your way if you knew more computer programs? Or maybe you just want to enrich your life and have the urge to go back to school.

Continuing education and on-the-job training programs include everything from basic education and equipment operation to computer training and college classes.

The Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses improve language, reading, and writing skills. English as a second language is a good subject for those who came to the U.S. from another country.

Math and basic educational courses are excellent preparation for a GED (general equivalency diploma) or high school diploma equivalent. Many school districts also offer ABE classes.

In some areas of study, the company offers tuition reimbursement for college courses. Most approved courses are directly related to a person’s current job, but others are not.

Stop by the Human Resources Department at your earliest convenience. Check to see what courses of study are available to you and sign up before classes are filled. You could find them enjoyable as well as beneficial to your future.

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Looking to the future and possible skilled labor shortages, some companies are courting kids in middle school and younger.

The American Business collaboration, funded by IBM, Texas Instruments, and Exxon Mobile, will expand middle school science and technology camps to serve 500 kids at 10 locations in five U.S. cities.

Texas Instruments is also expanding support of middle- and high-school science camps in Dallas and Plano, Texas. Boeing is expanding its popular summer science camp for grades one through 12 near Huntington Beach, Calif. AT&T backs three science and math camps in Detroit and Chicago. Intel sponsors three science camps in Colorado and Oregon.

Health education camps in Denver are supported by Kaiser Permanente of Colorado. A camp in Vermont is sponsored by the Northeastern Vermont Area Health Education Center.

Interested parents should watch for camp postings or contact their child’s school guidance counselor.

Camps are generating good results. After attending the pharmacy camp, 89 percent of students said they were interested in becoming pharmacists, up from 26 percent before.

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The cost of higher education is high and going higher. Some parents and students wonder whether it’s worth the price. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that it is.

Workers who hold at least an associate degree will earn more each year in their working lifetime. In 2004, the median income for a worker without a high school diploma or GED was $23,176. Those with a high school diploma earned $31,875.

Workers with a bachelor’s degree netted $50,394, while those with a master’s degree earned an average of $60,514.

Income potential is higher for those who earn an associate degree ($38,597) than for those who pursue a four-year degree but don’t graduate ($36,381).

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August has become the new back-to-school month, usurping the title from September for kids in grade school and high school. Most universities and colleges still open their fall semesters in September.

That probably means that many of us are wondering whether we should be signing up for a college course, or some other type of class.

Textbooks and classroom learning have their place. They give people an overview of their work and why it’s important. Some technical courses actually teach skills that can be used on the job, or at least on some job if not your own.

Without detracting from the importance of education, training consultant Ram Charan says action is the real key to learning. He recommends building learning into the work. People learn more, says Charan, from active on-the-job training than from classroom instruction.

The Center for Workforce Development estimates that U.S. companies spend up to $50 billion a year on formal training, but that 70 percent of all workplace learning is actually informal, costs less, and is more effective.

In the real world of work, you often don’t know what you need to know until you need to know it. That’s where informal training comes into its own. It’s just-in-time learning, and that’s valuable. The return on investment is immediate for the company and the individual. It boosts morale, because people like to grow.

Charan also says a workplace full of people seeking and giving help to each other becomes a wellspring of ideas for continuous improvement.

Not taking any courses this year? That doesn’t mean you won’t be learning. In our organization, learning and building skills are a continuing process.

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