Preparing Citizens for the Knowledge Society and Digital Economy

Summary

Key Points:

What can the Government of Canada do to help PSIs develop citizens prepared to engage fully with the developing knowledge society and digital economy?

1. As the Conference Board of Canada developed "employability skills" that drove curriculum development and learning in PSIs over the past 20 years, we now need a similar document that outlines the critical skills to be developed by Canadians to enable their engagement in the digital economy and knowledge society. What are the benchmarks for digital skills? Such a government developed and endorsed document would provide the evidence the PSIs need to create institutional outcomes based on those identified skills.
2. Ensure that fair use dealing legislation for educational institutions trumps private industries' ability to engage digital locks. Fair use dealing is currently being superseded by the use of digital locks in the proposed copyright legislation. This must be changed to allow appropriate access to digital content for educational purposes.
3. Government needs to enable some form of mitigation strategies between industry and educational institutions' needs for access.
4. Access to individuals and public viewing should be the same in the educational context; the public viewing access is too restricted and doesn't allow learning events to proceed appropriately.
5. As much as possible, government must encourage digital content to open–source such as that demonstrated by Creative Commons licensing. Government funding for business and industry should be restricted to development that will be open–source.
6. Governments must support the development of trained ICT professionals to increase capacity geographically across Canada.

Submission

Key Contact: Elaine Soetaert, PhD., Dean, Learning Resource Services (elaine.soetaert@NorQuest.ca)

Capacity to Innovate Using Digital Technologies: Discussion Questions

Growing Canada's digital advantage in order to generate wealth, ensure future economic growth and productivity, create new jobs and maintain a high standard of living for Canadians will require an increase in ICT–enabled innovation across all sectors of the economy. Canada must become a country of technology leaders.

Private sector will play the primary role, but governments can assist by refocusing and realigning existing programs and policy levers to support the adoption of digital technologies across all sectors, while also protecting the online marketplace. Both public and private sector leaders need to define what they can do to encourage greater adoption and use of digital technologies within their sectors.

1. Should Canada focus on increasing innovation in some key sectors or focus on providing the foundation for innovation across the economy?
   
   We believe that there should be a foundation for innovation in all sectors across the economy. Investment in foundational services in all sectors provides a broader opportunity for innovation. Due to Canada's geographical size, access to broadband technologies is critical for collaboration and innovation. Since innovation comes from all sectors, there needs to be opportunity for all innovators not just the well–funded or those selected for funding. Canadians are a diverse population with a wide diversity of skills. Privileging certain sectors marginalizes others and, by extension, hampers the growth of the economy.
2. Which conditions best incent and promote adoption of ICT by Canadian businesses and public sectors?
   
   As e–government grows and more public sector services are available via digital technologies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will see the value of the use of digital technologies to serve their clients. This will enable a much–needed understanding of the value/need of ICT to their business today and in the future through the extension to the global market for products and services. As well, as the public is enabled to access both data and services through e–government, they will begin to demand the same of SMEs. This will drive the adoption of the technologies. So, the first place to start is with government data and services. Many municipalities in the US make large amounts of data and services available via digital technologies; these could become a blueprint for activity in Canada.
   
   Additionally, tax and financing incentives would be helpful especially to SMEs.
3. What would a successful digital strategy look like for your firm or sector?
   
   For post–secondary education, the critical issue is access — access to data, to digital assets, learning objects etc. As such, a strong presence on the Multi–stakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) to influence the Internet Governance Forum (IGF is critical to ensure that post–secondary institutions have access to the components that they need to robustly engage in research and provide highly engaging, relevant, and immediate access to learning. The members of the MAG must be sensitized to the needs of education to ensure that decisions are made to enable this sector.
   
   What are the barriers to implementation?
   
   The digital copyright laws need to be created and clarified with appropriate fair dealing legislation as does the USA to enable access for educational purposes to otherwise copyright protected content. Further, the proposed copyright legislation has placed the highest level of security in the hands of private providers of content through privileging digital locks over other access opportunities such as fair dealing. This gives private industry too much control over content that should, through fair dealing, be accessible for enabling learning and research in the post–secondary sector.
   
   Additionally, access costs are becoming prohibitive; for large segments of the population — especially those engaged in full–time learning at the post–secondary level. Once the appropriate hardware is in the hands of the learner (cell phones, laptops, etc.) the additional access costs are too high. In Canada, our cell technology access costs are too high — especially in comparison to other nations.
4. Once anti–spam legislation, and privacy and copyright amendments are in place, are there new legislative or policy changes needed to deal with emerging technologies and new threats to the online marketplace?
   
   As mentioned above, costs to access the internet either through cell technology or other methods are too high. Legislation could address this.
   
   Additionally, there should be temporary worker and immigration policies for skilled IT workers and provision of qualification verification for foreign IT workers.
5. How can Canada use its regulatory and policy regime to promote Canada as a favorable environment for e–commerce? Any additional questions we need to address?
   
   No Comment

Building a World–Class Digital Infrastructure: Discussion Questions

Ensuring a state–of–the–art network infrastructure to promote innovation, attract investments and support world–class health care, research and education will be key to making Canada a leader in the global digital economy. All Canadians should have access to high–speed networks as digitally savvy citizens, consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and artists — to connect them to the potential that the digital economy offers. With major investments by the private sector, Broadband Canada and other government investments, Canada is on its way to connecting all Canadians. However, reaching this goal will take the concerted efforts of all stakeholders — individuals, businesses and governments.

1. What speeds and other service characteristics are needed by users (e.g., consumers, businesses, public sector bodies and communities) and how should Canada set goals for next generation networks?
   
   Speed isn't the critical part of the network as it once was. The concern is more the openness and ubiquity of the services available to educators, students and employees. It's very important that our educators, students and employees have open Internet access at home or wherever they may be, not suffering from arbitrary limitations imposed by telecommunication providers and third parties. It's becoming the case that PSIs will be using commodity Internet access services for more of our work (applies equally to both students' school work and employee's work) in the future, and so it becomes critical that we don't find some services unavailable or unable to function due to such limitations.
2. What steps must be taken to meet these goals? Are the current regulatory and legislative frameworks conducive to incenting investment and competition? What are the appropriate roles of stakeholders in the public and private sectors?
   
   The first step is a Canada–wide plan for mapping high speed networks that incorporates wireless services to all geographical areas built in collaboration with the provinces and territories ensuring a minimum capability, affordable service and access to all population centers. Secondarily, the Government of Canada should oversee the effective and quality delivery of this service through contracts with service providers to ensure minimal costs, high performance, and ubiquitous availability.
3. What steps should be taken to ensure there is sufficient radio spectrum available to support advanced infrastructure development?
   
   Ensure that adequate infrastructure investment for broadband services in rural areas is more effective as further development is required.
4. How best can we ensure that rural and remote communities are not left behind in terms of access to advanced networks and what are the priority areas for attention in these regions?
   
   Rural and remote communities are already left behind, so the priority for these regions should be to have access as soon as possible; wireless technology is likely the best answer to this problem.
   
   The most marginalized groups are the aboriginal and Métis communities — especially in the north. One strategy is to entice entrepreneurs to set up infrastructure to give wireless access to rural and remote communities — perhaps through tax incentives; however, there will still be remote communities for which this strategy is not viable as entrepreneurs cannot make enough income with a very scarce population. Government will have to ensure access for these communities.
   
   There needs to be adequate and continued funding that focuses on providing high–speed connections to high–bandwidth users in a manner that supports future network extensions by all technologies. In order to achieve greater penetration of high–speed services the Government must support the roll–out of ducting and dark fiber through urban centers and extending network availability in rural regions.
   
   Immediate areas of priority should be:
   
   
   • Improving the availability of very high speed services to businesses, local public and education facilities in urban areas
   • Improving rural broadband infrastructure (backhaul and 'last mile') by supporting fixed, wireless and satellite solutions.

Growing the Information and Communications Technology Industry: Discussion Questions

Governments have a role to play in putting in place the policies and programs that encourage businesses to innovate and compete. As well, governments must ensure that Canada has an investment climate that attracts and retains strategic investments. At the same time, the private sector has the primary role in growing the ICT sector.

The Government of Canada would like your feedback on the following key issues to help grow the digital industry in Canada:

1. Do our current investments in R&D effectively lead to innovation, and the creation of new businesses, products and services? Would changes to existing programs better expand our innovation capacity?
   
   Any changes to existing programs must foster an environment that is conducive to open expression; this supports innovation.
2. What is needed to innovate and grow the size of the ICT industry including the number of large ICT firms headquartered in Canada?
   
   
   • Improved supply of skilled IT workers.
   • Incent increased productivity.
   • Make large government contracts or government subsidized contracts, such as those in the education and health sectors dependent on a substantive investment in R&D and facilities in Canada.
   • Selectively promote to high–potential ICT firms Canada as the place of choice to establish an ICT business.
3. What would best position Canada as a destination of choice for venture capital and investments in global R&D and product mandates?
   
   No Comment
4. What efforts are needed to address the talent needs in the coming years?
   
   All of Canada's population needs to have information and digital literacy skills. Those who are learning these in post–secondary institutions need to gain experience with these literacies during relevant, robust, integrated projects that address real community problems. Additionally these projects could address the learning of entrepreneurial skills as these will be foundational in building the talent needs for the future. More needs to be done at an early age to motivate students to ICT training and engineering; real–life integrated projects could enable motivation in this direction.
   
   Tax incentives should be given and low–cost student loans should be provided to learners. An important target group should be new immigrants as they often need additional help in gaining the literacies needed to fully contribute to the Canadian economy. Another important target group would be ICT professionals to increase the capacity of the ICT sector.
   
   Industry should be discouraged from international outsourcing and provide those jobs to our Canadian pool of talent. Additionally, a program that enables placement of ICT graduates in appropriate jobs and assists in re–settlement would provide mobility to geographical areas that are bereft of such skills.

Digital Media: Creating Canada's Digital Content Advantage — Discussion Questions

The economic impact of the transformation of media from analogue to digital engages a significant part of the Canadian economy. Canadians' use of digital media continues to grow each year. Digital technologies are being integrated into the production, distribution and consumption of content. In parallel, the digital media sector is shifting away from linear production chains with distinct players and discrete products into three main areas of activity: 1) the creation of content; 2) enabling content creation and distribution; and 3) the aggregation of content. A significant part of the innovation taking place today and the prospects for future prosperity are related to these activities. An up–to–date marketplace framework for Canada's digital media sector will create Canada's digital content advantage and position Canada as a destination of choice for creativity and innovation.

1. What does creating Canada's digital content advantage mean to you?
   
   Canada's digital content advantage in a teaching and learning setting such as post–secondary institutions (PSIs) means that all learners will have access to high–quality educational content. That means that PSIs must continually work to put content online and make it readily available to all learners. Currently, with the competition for learners and the jealously guarded copyright of institutions, this is not happening broadly, but only in pockets of activity such as through Creative Commons licensing. Institutions should be able to safely provide digital access rights so that they are able to share digital materials that they develop (sharing of intellectual property) without fear of loss of competitive edge. This is a fundamental issue in post–secondary education.
   
   We need to have laws that make content more accessible and affordable. PSIs and their learners do not make a profit in their use and reuse of digital content. Originators of works should not be concerned that educators use of their content cuts into their profits. More accessible and affordable content would enable our learners not only to learn well, more efficiently and more effectively, but they would have a great degree of comfort in working in the digital realm as they move into their careers. Integrating technology in all its facets into learning experiences creates digital citizens with habits of mind that allow them to seamlessly use technology and effortlessly see connections and uses for the technologies. A "habit of mind" is knowing how to behave intelligently when you don't know the answer to a problem, especially when dealing with dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and uncertainties.
2. What are the core elements in Canada's marketplace framework for digital media and content? What elements do you believe are necessary to encourage the creation of digital media and content in both official languages and to reflect our Aboriginal and ethno–cultural communities?
   
   Creative Commons licensing encourages the creation AND SHARING of digital medial and content. If the Government of Canada would to put out funding envelopes for creation of digital media and content in both official languages and to reflect our Aboriginal and ethno–cultural communities with the requirement of the use of Creative Commons licensing, PSIs would respond. And as the content of the Creative Commons builds, synergies occur and more content gets created, used and shared in accordance with necessary legislation and guidelines. Funding envelopes should support both research about how digital media and content can support our diverse communities and for development of content. Such a resource would begin to build synergy and momentum.
3. How do you see digital content contributing to Canada's prosperity in the digital economy?
   
   Learners need experience with digital content and technologies as they are fundamental to the developing knowledge society. Canada's knowledge society is one in which everyone has the capacity to create, access, evaluate, utilize, share and disseminate information and knowledge, so that individuals, communities and peoples are empowered to pursue their interests and talents, improve their quality of life, and to achieve their full potential. Digital media, content and other technologies have the power to reshape social bonds and to foster a greater sense of community. This sense of community — sense of what it means to be Canadian — can enable people in resolving profound social problems that are facing us in the 21^st century.
   
   New media and technology such as video and videoconferencing can create understanding between generations in traditional aboriginal societies, as these technologies support oral traditions. As well, new media can capture and share culturally relevant, traditional knowledge such as processes involved in powwow preparation, tanning, or food drying to promote aboriginal technology and contribution to Canadian cultural and scientific knowledge. Canada's strength resides in our diversity and creating synergies amongst the different cultures, forms of knowledge, and ways of knowing.
   
   Our paradigms, rules and regulations need to change. Many are no longer relevant to the digital age. Fair use dealing in copyright legislation is crucial here because PSIs often need to use content that is "industrial" in its nature — that is made by and used by industry in their business — to prepare students to engage with this content when they enter the industry.
4. What kinds of 'hard' and/or 'soft' infrastructure investments do you foresee in the future? What kinds of infrastructure will you need in the future to be successful at home and abroad?
   
   Most of the infrastructure investments we see in the short–to–midterm future are centered on making services available to larger groups of people (i.e. completely open to everyone) while maintaining the security and integrity of those services. We need affordable, accessible broadband for all Canadians. Without such investments, everything else discussed here will fail to make an impact.
   
   A 'soft' infrastructure investment would be in enabling the maintenance of a current skill set. There are very few recognized and promoted programs to achieve this in ICT. One of NorQuest's professionals commented, "In my own career education I'm usually forced to go to US–based companies for this." Related to this is the reality that any skills are going to be rather out–dated shortly after learning them. Continuous re–education is necessary to address this challenge. Additionally, it's important that skills taught are not going to be overly limited to a single industry/position where possible and are instead something that is applicable in many industries and contexts.
5. How can stakeholders encourage investment, particularly early stage investment, in the development of innovative digital media and content?
   
   Again — funding envelopes from the Government of Canada — perhaps with the requirement of broader stakeholder (business and industry involvement) with PSIs would encourage both innovation and early stage investment. Make content development part of the business strategy.
6. How can we ensure that all Canadians, including those with disabilities (learning, visual, auditory), will benefit from and participate in the Canadian digital economy?
   
   Universal Design (UD) is a requirement to ensure that Canadians with disabilities can participate in the developing knowledge society. UD principles should inform all development — both corporate and educational — to enable such Canadians participation.

Building Digital Skills for Tomorrow: Discussion Questions

Training and learning is a complex area of shared federal and provincial/territorial jurisdiction. While the provinces and territories have primary responsibility for training and education, the Government of Canada has overarching responsibility to ensure Canada's economic security and prosperity by: growing the labour force by reducing barriers; improving the quality of the labour force by supporting skills development; and enhancing labour market efficiency through facilitating labour mobility and adjustment. To further inform the policy directions of the Government of Canada in improving the quantity, quality, and efficiency of the workforce in the area of digital skills, we are seeking your feedback on the following questions:

1. What do you see as the most critical challenges in skills development for a digital economy?
   
   One of the biggest challenges the education industry faces is to understand the transition and transformation occurring in the new digital world. In the Web 1.0 world people primarily used the Internet as a research tool to find information but personally contributing very little. Creating and contributing content within that world required specialized technical skills. With the transformation to Web 2.0 people without specialized skill sets are creating and contributing content like never before — managing personal Blogs, using online collaboration tools like Wikis to create new ways of working, sharing experiences on social networking sites, or providing feedback as customers to improve product design and services. Because of this new future, learners are often more advanced than instructors — as they use this technology everyday. Significant professional development and support has to be done to ensure that teachers stay current with technology.
   
   Additionally, technology is advancing at a tremendous rate — this means that instructor skills need to be refreshed annually; with current teaching and learning models this is very challenging to do. Without investment in our teachers, we cannot help learners to engage with technology appropriately with a resulting lack of graduate skill to engage in the digital economy. With the appropriate skill set, teachers can engage learners in relevant, robust, integrated projects that address real community problems, motivating learners to use technologies.
   
   Costs for developing curriculum that uses digital media and web technologies is very high which is exacerbated by the reduced access due to copyright restrictions; fair dealing legislation is needed.
   
   We are currently experiencing a shortage of skilled and experienced ICT workers — this is a challenge to supporting the digital economy. Additionally, business needs to recognize the strategic importance of ICT to the success of the business. Creating and supporting an executive leadership role for ICT management in most businesses, in particular, government, health and education would enable a focus on the use of ICT to support the digital economy. This leadership could enable a robust career path for ICT professionals outside of management.
2. What is the best way to address these challenges?
   
   Ensure continued access to education and skills upgrading. The strategy must include objectives and targets in the following areas:
   
   
   • ensure the use of ICT as a key component in teaching and learning in teacher education courses
   • support teachers and education leaders to achieve competence in the effective and creative/innovative inclusion of technologies in the delivery of education programs
   • ensure teachers receive the professional development to enhance and strengthen their ability to integrate the use of ICT into the classroom.
   • PSIs need to use ICT in all components of its business. If instructors need to use the technology to access business documents and systems, they will learn digital skills that they can incorporate into the teaching and learning environment.
   • promote IT skills training at all levels of education.
   Other considerations are:
   
   
   • Governments need to address their less–than–adequate handling of the ICT profession within its own environment.
   • Increase visibility of ICT within corporations – this will increase motivation among students and other staff to make it a career.
3. What can we do to ensure that labour market entrants have digital skills?
   
   Jut as the Conference Board of Canada developed "employability skills" that drove curriculum development and learning in PSIs over the past 20 years, we now need a similar document that outlines the critical skills to be developed by Canadians. Those skills can then be incorporated into learning events and, upon graduation, labour market entrants would be enabled with the appropriate digital skills. Such a government developed and endorsed document would provide the evidence the PSIs need to create institutional outcomes based on those identified skills. These benchmark digital skills could be used as a business and industry entrant qualification.
   
   Additionally, there must be continued Government and business support and financial commitment to ensuring professional development of teachers and education leaders in the use of ICT. Teachers and education leaders must possess the skills and tools to design and deliver programs that meet students' needs. We can incent teacher engagement in ICT skill development through compensation and the standardization of qualifications.
4. What is the best way to ensure the current workforce gets the continuous up–skilling required to remain competitive in the digital economy? Are different tactics required for SMEs versus large enterprises?
   
   There is no one best way to ensure continuous up–skilling. Different people and businesses will respond differently to various methods and tactics based on their interests and needs; it is not dependent upon the size or style of business.
   
   Strategies that are generally used are:
   
   
   • Incent internal ICT training and upgrading.
   • SME businesses need to clearly understand their ICT skills needs.
   • Incent SME businesses to carry bout ICT training such that short term business losses are offset.
   • Encourage/incent adult training.
   • Increase opportunities for government shared infrastructure through hosting by larger enterprises to assist smaller entities.
5. How will the digital economy impact the learning system in Canada? How we teach? How we learn?
   
   As more information becomes readily available to Canadians, collectively we will increasingly engage in a knowledge driven economy situated within a knowledge society. Technology is central to a knowledge society as it is the increasing access to information through technology that enables the production of knowledge products through innovation. As information and communication technologies drive economic production, they also shape society as they create opportunities for virtual communities on a global scale.
   
   With the advent of instantaneous and widely accessible information and communication technologies, we are living in an era where our actions increasingly influence and are influenced by realities in other parts of the world. Therefore, to truly understand their own communities, Canadians must gain a deep understanding of the relationships of interdependence that they, their communities, and their country have with the rest of the world. Learners need to know how to use technology to collaborate, communicate and create knowledge and products using ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information.
   
   Non–traditional learning alternatives will enable more learners, of any age, the opportunity to develop more personalized learning experiences tied to their individual learning goals and life styles. This requires educational intuitions to maintain a strong student/customer centricity. Traditional face–to–face learning environments need to accommodate more distributed learning modalities. Again, faculty members need to use technology effectively in their facilitation of learning events.
   
   When we look specifically at ICT professionals:
   
   
   • ICT training across Canada needs to remain current.
   • Accreditation has to be earned continuously to maintain currency.
   • Training needs to be relevant to business needs for the ICT workforce.
6. What strategies could be employed to address the digital divide?
   
   Again — accessible affordable technology is what is needed to begin to address the digital divide. Once this is available, educational institutions can begin to require faculty and students to use technology in learning events.

Improving Canada's Digital Advantage (Conclusion)

1. Should we set targets for our made–in–Canada digital strategy? And if so, what should those targets be?
   
   Regarding general digital skills, as discussed above, benchmarks of digital skill expectations need to be set for all workers, similar to the Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills. For all industries there should be targets for the availability and capacity of ICT professionals geographically — to ensure all citizens and businesses have access to such professionals.
   
   Regarding targets for individuals specifically in the ICT industry, there should be targets for:
   
   
   • The number of PSI ICT trained graduates
   • The number of ICT course enrolments
   • The number of ICT worker immigrants
   • The number of trained IT executive managers
   • Investment of businesses in ICT
2. What should the timelines be to reach these targets?
   
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