ICT, Education, Transformation and Economic Development: an Amalysis of the US National Educational Techonology

Five sorts of research are reviewed in this article: 

• Macroeconomic research showing that over the past several decades the US and global economies have undergone a fundamental shift from a manufacturing economy to an information economy, much of it driven by ICT.
• Microeconomic research showing that individual firms are undergoing significant changes in organizational structure and business practices, much of it facilitated by the pervasive presence of ICT in the workplace.
• Labor market and workforce studies showing a significant shift in the kinds of jobs and skills that are needed by our economy, skills that are intimately connected to the use of ICT.
• Studies showing patterns of the everyday ICT use in American life, particularly use by young Americans, patterns that are closer to the use of ICT in the business world than to that in schools.
• Studies showing that American schools are not using ICT in a significant way or providing youth with the experiences and skills they need to enter the information economy.

 Macroeconomic Trends: shifting from manufacturing to information economy
 Macroeconomic studies – those that look at entire economies – show that the US economy has undergone profound changes over the past several decades. These changes have significant implications for how people work, live, and play and, most certainly, implications for education: for what is taught, how it is learned, and how schools are organized. Many of these changes have been fostered by the dramatic growth in information communication technologies. 
Microeconomic Trends: changes in business organization and practices
The use of ICT has supported a significant surge in US productivity; ICT-using industries posted an increase of 2.0 percentage points; all other industries showed an average gain of only 0.4 percentage points. 
They found that significant firm-level productivity increases were associated with changes in business practices that included re-engineering, regular employee meetings, the use of self-managed teams, up-skilling of employees and the use of computers by front-line workers.
This shift in business operation has profound implications for the value of human capital, relative to physical capital, and for the importance of a highly educated, technically skilled, and creative workforce.

Labor Market Trends: need for a different skill set
The restructuring of the economy, the reorganization of work, and the uptake of ICT have corresponded to a need for increased education and skill on the part of the labor force. A study found a significant increase in the number of workers in the US economy who have at least some level of higher education. 
The new economy requires an additional set of skills, particularly those related to the use of ICT.
When considering new hires, companies make an effort to assess critical thinking skills (76%), communication skills (81%), collaboration and team-building skills (61%), and creativity and innovation (60%); 76% felt that these skills wouldbecome even more important over the next three to five years, as the country comes out of the recession.
 Social Trends: everyday ICT practices
In addition to its economic impact, the pervasiveness of ICT across the country has had a significant social impact on America, such that people access, use, and create information and knowledge very differently than they did in previous decade.
Americans,particularly American youth, have become experienced and highly skilled technology users. 

Educational Trends: the current state of US education 
Given the massive changes in the economy and society, the significant technological resources available in American homes, and the impressive technological skills and experiences that young people bring with them to school, how well are schools preparing our youth for the information economy and knowledge society that they will live in during the twenty-first century? The answer is, not well at all. 
With both quantity and quality of education associated with economic performance, the future of our country looks bleak. At a time when a college degree or even advanced levels of education are becoming increasingly important, only about one-third of our young people receive a college degree.

 It is the use of ICT, along with other changes in business structure and practice, that is transforming the nation’s economy. Yet, the US education data indicate that ICT plays aperipheral role in American classrooms and schools.