XML education and training

what? where? how? - a university view

Denise Downs

School of Computing & Mathematics, University of Huddersfield

London

a.m.wrightson@bcs.org.uk

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Abstract

Developing XML capability in IT practitioners is becoming an urgent and widespread requirement, arising from the adoption of XML across many industry sectors over a relatively short space of time. There are a number of ways in which Universities, other educational institutions, and commercial training providers, can work together to help fulfil this requirement. Combining skills development for immediate needs, with wider educational & professional development objectives, and (degree & other) programme requirements, can be a challenge - an open, collaborative approach benefits all concerned.

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Contents

The XML capability gap

The XML capability gap

A massive requirement for XML skills, knowledge and experience (in new entrants, and also in experienced IT professionals) is an inevitable consequence of the phenomenally fast adoption of XML that we are seeing in so many industries. This skills gap is becoming an uncomfortable reality for many organizations - and will be all too familiar to many of you attending this conference.

Although we are mainly concerned here with XML, this is not a unique situation. The useful life of specific skills, and to a lesser but still significant extent, specific knowledge, has rapidly decreased over recent decades. Its effective life is probably less than 5 years now in many technology areas. Even where much of the base knowledge has been around for some time - as in SGML/XML - fast growth in adoption, and continued developments in the technology itself, mean that the existing workforce of skilled, knowledgeable people is soon overstretched, and there is a serious skills shortage.

Moreover, as many organizations have already found, it is not just a skills shortage but a scarcity of knowledge and experience which is key - it is easy to send a programmer or business applications developer on an XML training course, but you don't get a fully competent document analyst or structured information designer back at the end of the week! Training can be a pretty good introduction to eg XML syntax, but the techniques which are essential to good applications design take a lot longer to learn fully, and are not always present at all in commercial skills training.

University response: pre-entry education

Many Universities have previously placed the emphasis heavily on knowledge and approach over skills, taking pride in graduating people into the workplace with knowledge that would last for years, and into an environment that had the resources to permit graduates to develop their skill set. This picture may still be a comfortable ideal, but as many graduates and employers are learning, it is not a workable reality for most new recruits today.

Many companies have spent the last few years becoming leaner and more productive and as such are now demanding an application and orientation from graduates that allows them to become effective quickly. For example, IT graduates are taking positions in small multi-function teams which support IT infrastructure within an organization whose main business is not IT; others join IT service providers where although the organization itself may be large, the pressure for each individual to be able to deliver chargeable services to clients, is very high. Because of this, there is an increasing requirement for a well managed trade-off in initial education between immediately applicable skills, and the foundational principles and theories of the discipline.

Students themselves are also becoming more demanding in terms of the currency and quality of the skill set they require, and value specific skills as much if not more than knowledge.

University response: continuing education

In addition, the pace of change is now so great that we need to look more widely at a flexible approach to deliver skills training; not just to our own graduates but also through life long learning. While companies often want specific skills training to meet a need, most recognize that in addition, fostering a learning environment and supporting individuals to develop their knowledge also develops skills and breeds a creative, responsive workforce. Taking short courses in specific areas, applying and consolidating those skills in work-based projects, then submitting a portfolio of evidence to attain credit towards a qualification, is a useful model that meets immediate company needs and also provides individuals with an accredited self-development path. A few Universities are also developing models that incorporate external training organizations. The intensive, high quality delivery of specific skills is delivered by the training organization, and then the approach, methods and application are developed in a complementary approach by the University - the end result for the student being improved skills, a holistic understanding of the subject matter, and the ability to claim academic recognition.

Models for delivery

We need to develop flexible models that allow people to acquire knowledge and skills at different times and from different places; yet much of the current rhetoric about computer-based delivery misses the key value of retaining some personal delivery mechanism, responsive to students' individual needs. This is an area where both theory and practice need to evolve much further, into a workable, viable whole. We also need to be smarter in our development of knowledge and skills within our own academic staff given the rate of change. The establishment of subject groups with a champion in particular areas who maintain the knowledge base, and help disseminate the information, is another useful model. The incremental development of materials to support the subject area follows, ideally yielding a pack of materials that can be used for a full delivery or a pick and mix approach. These resources can then be used in University teaching, and also made available to other organizations. This leads to a wide variety of routes becoming available for delivery:

Modules for undergraduates, which are highly skills, based, complementing more traditional degree content. There can be an issue with determining the appropriate designated level for this kind of content -e.g. in our framework, they count as "intermediate" level (i.e. a level which is not expected to be part of the final year).
Modules for masters, undergraduates or HND students which encompass both knowledge and supporting skills at varying depths of study depending on the course
Full-time, intensive courses delivered over 5 days, delivered either by University staff or by a training company. This can either be undertaken as a self-contained course, or delivered with additional assessment from the University utilizing problems brought from the workplace. These would generally correspond to a module in a masters programme, thus allowing students/attendees to accumulate academic credits at a professional post-experience level.
Modules studied at the University, with attendance for certain key elements but some aspects studied from a distance, and assessment undertaken through workplace examples. This model is already widespread, e.g. in part-time MBA courses.
Companies can select particular elements from our modules - with some guidance - and we will construct a course for them based on half-day building blocks. This enables them to specify their requirements and have a course tailored for them; while we gain from re-use and a small overhead in consultation.
Seminars for companies to introduce them to the subject matter; we have found that a "breakfast briefing" taking an hour or so is a usable vehicle for local businesses
Overview courses for those wishing to take it a little further but for no more than a day - these can be delivered at the University or on company premises
Materials published on the web by academics; these can be made more useful for specific learning needs by supporting them with facilitated electronic discussion that allows individuals to express their views, gain feedback, and so develop their understanding.

This full array of options is difficult to achieve - but many Universities are becoming more flexible and innovative in their offerings, and an international marketplace is beginning to develop.

Students in the workplace

Training of a company's own staff is a well-tried approach to gaining particular skills. There are similar benefits to be gained from extended student work placements, which bring in someone with a learning culture and current knowledge and skill set to work with the company's permanent staff over a few months or a year. Placements also allow students to develop their own skill set further, and many organizations are now using student work placements as an integral part of their graduate recruitment programme. Common models for student work placements are a three month project at the end of a postgraduate course, resulting in a deliverable for the company as well as an academic dissertation; and a full year "sandwich" placement undertaken as part of an undergraduate programme.

The supervision of these students is a good way to train company staff in general supervision skills, as well as facilitating technology transfer of what students have undertaken within University into your own staff. Student placements have also encouraged new ideas and new approaches to current ways of working - companies benefiting from the presence of an individual who has an inquiring mind, and does not 'think in the company culture box'. Companies benefit not only from the student's up to date skills and knowledge, but also from the direct supervision of the student by the University - this is particularly true for the 3-month postgraduate projects, where the purpose of the project is often to try out or evaluate some significant innovation, under the mentoring/coaching eye of an academic who can bring in valuable theoretical insights to complement the company's practical technical and market knowledge.

In the UK there are also some schemes to encourage companies to work closely with academics and recent graduates on innovative projects, with a proportion of the costs involved met by the government.

Sharing the load of XML capability development

Developing human resources with good XML capabilities is a shared problem - so it makes sense to look for some collaborative solutions. SGML UK already provide a useful resource for learning about XML technology not only in their meetings, but also reaching a wider audience by the simple means of placing the electronic slideshows from those meetings on their website - and of course we have all benefited from Robin Cover's invaluable compendium at OASIS. However, there is also a definite and distinct need for resources which are suitable for introducing the technology to students in a more structured way. In theUK, SGML UK (the local branch of the international SGML Users Group), the Electronic Publishing Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, and OASIS, are facilitating the establishment of a self-help network for academics wanting to introduce XML into their local IT curriculum. At the time of writing, this is still in very early stages, but hopefully it will soon grow to provide support not only on a person-to-person level, but also in developing a common stock of resources for delivering XML-related content within the UK University curriculum - and possibly wider afield. There is scope for obtaining UK HE-sector R&D funding for such a venture - sponsorship from potential employers of "XML-enabled" graduates would also be helpful and very welcome.

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