Preparing the Next Generation of Innovators through Collaboration - Collaborative Technologies and Applications for Interactive Information Design - page 69

technical work, which is likely to remain here in
the US. Adding to our nation's need for techni-
cal workers is the retirement of the baby boomer
generation, whose absence will quickly deplete the
ranks of experienced technology workers, leaving
openings for younger recruits. To fill this desperate
need for science and technical workers in the US,
students, even as young as middle school, should
be encouraged to think about choosing a career
in science and technology. Not only should these
students be encouraged to consider these career
options, but they should be prepared to be the
innovators our nation will need to fill these high
level positions of the future.
Meeting the US future demand for highly
qualified science and technology workers entails a
challenge for both primary and secondary teachers.
Teachers must become fluent in the requirements
of these industries (i.e., tools, capabilities, and
resources) as well as the ability to translate these
requirements into actionable and stimulating learn-
ing experiences. Teacher training and professional
development needs to include the introduction
of pedagogical strategies for preparing students
for the 21 st Century workplace and integrating
technology-related competencies seamlessly
into the current science and mathematics core
curriculum.
There is an abundance of research that fo-
cuses on the need for more science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers
now and in the future. According to one recent
estimate, while only five percent of the U.S.
workforce is employed in STEM fields, the STEM
workforce accounts for more than fifty percent of
the nation's sustained growth (Babco, 2004). In a
document titled The Knowledge Economy: Is the
United States Losing Its Competitive Edge? (Task
Force, 2005), several serious signs of trouble were
pointed out. The most significant sign is that the
US is not awarding STEM degrees at the same
rate as other countries. Undergraduate science
and engineering (S&E) degrees within the US are
being awarded less frequently than in other coun-

tries. For example, only 5.7% of first university
degrees in the US are in the natural sciences and
engineering, while in some European countries,
including Spain, Ireland, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, France and Finland, this percentage is
between 8 and 13. In Japan Natural Science and
Engineering awards make up 8%, and Taiwan and
South Korea each award about 11%. In 2000,Asian
universities accounted for almost 1.2 million of the
world's S&E degrees and European universities
(including Russia and Eastern Europe) accounted
for about 850,000 S&E degrees, while North
American universities accounted for only about
500,000 degrees. In 2000, about 78% of doctoral
degrees (89,000 of the approximately 114,000)
earned worldwide in S&E were earned outside
the United States (The Task Force on American
Innovation, 2005).
Our nation is facing a serious future shortage
of STEM professionals, and such shortages could
put the US at risk in both the economic and secu-
rity sectors since it would require dependence on
engineers from other countries in high technology
jobs in the future. The US congress responded to
these needs by passing the The National Innova-
tion Act of 2005 (109 th Congress, 2005). This bill
responded to the report published by the Council
on Competitiveness (Council on Competitive-
ness, 2005), by focusing on three primary areas
of importance for improving the US innovation
in the 21 st Century: (1) research investment, (2)
increasing science and technology talent, and (3)
developing an innovation infrastructure. This bill
also established a President's Council on Innova-
tion to develop a comprehensive agenda to promote
innovation in both the public and private sectors.
It also expanded existing educational programs in
physical science and engineering and considerably
increased the funding for basic research, nearly
doubling research funding for the National Sci-
ence Foundation by 2011.
In 2006, President Bush unveiled hisAmerican
Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) (White House
Office of Communications, 2006), a strategy to