Blog #4 21st Century Skills

Today we here we hear in the education system constantly that our students need to have "21 century skills"- Okay, exactly what is that? Our students our digital natives, yet in our schools we, the educators, do not provide these tools. I don't mean "all" of us, but I will say the majority of us. Why? I believe it is because "we" are stuck in a paradigm of teaching that holds us prisoners.

As writer Alvin Toffler points out, 'The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.'" Are we setting up our students in this pattern. I came across a video that shows how our system is and what we can do to better the situation.

Here is the problem with adopting and providing 21st learning skills to our children as stated in an article posted on the website "Tech&Learning"(http://www.techlearning.com)

The quote below comes from a report from a new public-private coalition known as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org) and it stated:

"While many education, business, and government leaders concur with the importance of technology as a tool for 21st century teaching and learning, this realization contrasts sharply with what is happening in a number of states and districts as they scramble to respond to budget cuts and accountability pressures. "Unfortunately," says Margaret Honey, vice president and director of EDC's Center for Children and Technology, "in the schools that have the most pressure on them to improve test scores, technology often takes a back seat, along with the arts or anything that is seen as peripheral"(http://www.techlearning.com/article/13832).

In essence, we know the problem, we know how to fix it, yet the politics behind it stymie the solution!

Check out this video, entitled: :3 "Steps for 21st Learning". In this video it points out "Three simple steps" that we as educator can use to help our students be learning in the 21st century.

The 1st step is to transform our classroom into a "creative learning space".

The 2nd step is to teach our children how to: compete, cooperate and collaborate.

The 3rd step is to introduce them to their global peers (through Web 2.0) and provide an opportunity of collaboration.

This is just a start. If we want our students equipped to learn and compete in the 21st century then we need to provide the right environment and right tools for them!