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11:30am 17 September 2010

Garry Roberton
Garry Roberton MNZCS
Alison Young FNZCS
Donald Joyce MNZCS
Stephen Corich MNZCS

Programme Manager Wintec, HOS Computing CPIT, Assoc Prof Unitec and HOS Computing EIT, respectively

ICT education needs to evolve rapidly in order to address the knowledge and skills demanded by the 21st century employers.

Employer requirements are influenced by a number of factors currently impacting on the industry including an aging workforce, business and IT operating in a global labour environment, an increasing emphasis on soft skills, due to a demand for personalised on-demand technologies, and new and emerging IT services.

Educational institutes are adjusting to the changing demands of learners and employers; learners who are spending an increasing amount of time online and employers who not only demand new 21st century knowledge and skills, but also demand strong basics. In order to meet these obligations, educational institutes need to utilise a strong community of practice (CoP) to develop and maintain relevant qualifications that can be delivered utilising 21st century technologies.

This paper celebrates past successful innovations in the ICT education sector, particularly the collaborative approach of the ITP sector from 1986 until today through the National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualification (NACCQ), then discusses the necessary ongoing evolution of ICT education to address the needs of learners and employers in the 21st century.

About Garry Roberton

Garry Roberton is a Principle Academic Staff Member and Programme Manager with the School of IT at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec).

He teaches a wide range of subjects, specialising in computer hardware, data communications and networks. Garry is a Cisco qualified instructor.

He is a member of the NZCS and a Fellow and Immediate Past Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications (NACCQ). Garry is also a past editor of the NACCQ curriculum document for polytechnic ICT certificate and diploma qualifications.

Prior to the recent global recession he helped publicise the critical issue of ICT skills shortages with articles appearing in a variety of media including The NZ Herald and Computerworld.

About Alison Young

Alison Young is Head of School of Computing at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology.

She has an extensive academic and professional career that has involved academic leadership in research, scholarship, teaching and curriculum development nationally and internationally and an extensive publication record in national and international conferences and journals.

Alison is an invited international keynote speaker, Vice Chair of the International ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), member of the international ACM Educational Council and Fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society and National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications.

About Donald Joyce

Donald Joyce has been active in computing since 1962, when he ran FORTRAN programs on an IBM 1620 at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Undaunted by that experience he went on to complete a Cambridge PhD, teach at Massey University in New Zealand, the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and the University of Papua New Guinea, before settling in Auckland.

He is Associate Professor in charge of postgraduate computing programmes at UNITEC and teaches a course on the Impact of IT on Society. He served on the NACCQ Executive from 1993 to 2004 and was its Chairperson from 1998 to 2003.

About Stephen Corich

Steve Corich is Head of the Computing School at the Eastern Institute of Technology and he holds a Masters in Communications Management from Massey University.

His research interests are in the area of using technology to enhance learning.

He is currently completing a PhD at Massey University where he is attempting to automate the measurement of critical thinking in discussion forums. Steve is Chair of NACCQ and is the National Moderator for computing unit standards levels 5 – 8.