21st Century Learning Skills

We hear the word Digital native used a lot. We all recognize we are teaching digital natives. The question is are we teaching them the 21st Century Learning Skills?

Digital Native: Simply someone who has grown up in a world where technology has always been around- they have never lived in a world without computers, Internet, and cell phones. It was a term created by Marc Prensky, who has written extensively on the education of digital natives. He used it in a well known article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, which is a short read if you are interested.



21 Century Learning Skills: You could read for hours about it. This is a good short article from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Or even easier, here are two quotes from the article:

"Twenty-first century skills combining technology literacy, critical thinking, creativity and mastery of core subject matter are the lifeblood of a productive workforce in today's global, knowledge-based economy," Susan D. Patrick, director of educational technology at the U.S. Department of Education.

"Successful businesses are looking for employees who can adapt to changing needs, juggle multiple responsibilities and routinely make decisions on their own. We must infuse 21st century skills into K-12 education in order to better prepare students for the realities of work and life in the 21st century."- Karen Bruett- Dell

Now, I am a person who sometimes over simplifies things, but when I put these two things together, I come to the following conclusion:

Bloom's is more important than ever. Only now, kids need to be working collaboratively on projects that incorporate technology and fall in the upper levels of Bloom's.

It's easy to forget that it's not just about using computers. It's about being able to make decisions, handle responsibilities, working together, and creating things.

It's about making sure our Digital Natives are both engaged AND working on 21st Century Learning Skills.

I guess this also means that when my kids are working on a million different things, getting their fingerprints all over the computer screens, and having to start their whole project over because they didn't save it in the right folder, they are just becoming prepared for the future. :)