Developing Student Employability Through The Creation Of Online Professional Identitites - Using Learning Technologies To Develop Employability Skills Workshop - 11/07/2013
When helping students to become employable, it is important that they fully consider the content of their professional identities online. This forms part of their overall professional presence, which can form a part of the job selection process for careers. This session, delivered at a Higher Education Academy workshop at the University of Salford, explores the role of professional identities within the employment process and considers how these can be considered within teaching.
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Developing Student Employability Through The Creation Of Online Professional Identitites - Using Learning Technologies To Develop Employability Skills Workshop - 11/07/2013
3. 3@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Why I’m Interested
In Employability
Thomas Lancaster
Senior Lecturer in Computing at Birmingham
City University
Programme Leader BSc Computer Science
Teach Professional/Employability Skills
HEA TDG Funded Research “Improving
Industrial Sandwich Year Placements For
Computing Students”
Developed and Delivered HEA Employability
and Online Professional Identity Workshops
Social Media Advocate
4. 4@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Not Just Computing!
Online Professionalism is equally valid for all academic
subjects
Students should be expected to be fully computer
literate in order to gain professional employment
An Online Professional Identity is one of the clearest methods
through which a student can demonstrate their computer
literacy
9. 9@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
We Can Help Our
Students Show More
Work Experience
Assignments Simulating
Industry
Industrial Sandwich Year
Placements
Participation In Student
Competitions
Portfolio Of Work
Interest In Their Subject
Outside The Classroom
Evidence Of Entrepreneurship
Project or Dissertation
Tailored Towards
Employment
11. 11@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Social Media
Provides Jobs
1 in 6 American job seekers found their most recent job
through social media
40% attributed this to LinkedIn
78% to Facebook
42% to Twitter
“I wasn't scouted. I involved myself in a brand's
Facebook page and a company which works
with that brand took an interest in me and
offered me a job.”
Zachary Chastain
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/16/social-recruiting
24. 24@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
I Teach And Assess This
Professional Practice UG2 (over 2012-2013 year)
Level 5 (Year 2) module taken as part of BSc Computer
Science and BSc Business Information Technology
Approximately 120 students
Including Direct Entry students
15 credits
Taught over 20 weeks (19 teaching weeks)
Module covers employability and project/research skills
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Employability Content
Week Topic Week Topic
1 Online Professional
Representation
5 Personal Development
Planning
2 The Placement Selection
Process
6 Assessment Centre
Simulation
3 CV Writing And Application
Forms
7 Time Management And
Planning
4 Aptitude Tests 8 Interview Techniques
26. 26@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Assessment
Create a Professional Online Presence (using your own
website or one other delivery platform of your choice)
This should support placement and job applications
(encourage real life use)
This should show creativity (and answer the “so what?”
question)
The Professional Online Presence should include:
Appropriate information to present you in a positive light
CV
2 year Personal Development Plan
28. 28@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Some Findings
Students generally seem appreciative of the
practical approach to employability incorporated
into the module
Many seem shocked that employers and
academics know about social media (their secret
home)
Highest take up is with using LinkedIn, which few
students had a profile on before teaching
29. 29@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Some Challenges
Difficult to encourage involvement from
international students
Some students remove their Online Professional
Identities after assessment, or do not wish to
engage with employability
Need to encourage teaching staff to “lead by
example”
Getting students to actively market themselves
requires an approach across more than one module
31. 31@DrLancaster slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster ThomasLancaster.co.uk
Slides And Resources
HEA Computing Workshops
“Enhancing The Employability Of Computing Students Through An Online
Professional Presence” (slides and teaching resources)
http://www.bcu.ac.uk/tee/events/previous-events/employability-workshop
“Professional Presences for Academics”
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2013/9-May-Birmingham-STEM
Other External Sessions
HEA STEM Conferences 2012 (Workshop) and 2013 (Paper and Talk)
British Computer Society – Cheltenham and Gloucester Branch (Talk)