Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Book Reflection

In reading this book things that caught my attention was how in todays society students need the "know how" for 21st century success. Part two explains the key 21st century skills: Learning and Innovation, Critical thinking, Communication, and Creativity. Digital Literacy-media, videos. Career and Life Skills-Work Ready For Life. Being flexible and adaptability are essential for work and citizenship. Though these skills hve been around for a long time they now take on a different significance with the digital tools available for work and learning.The 21st century skills require more interaction among learners while providing tools to further their skill building online collaberation, communication, leadership, and social and cross cultural skills. Students being exposed to these type of skills will prepare them as life long learners in the 21st century as well as into the future.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Book reflection

The key concept that sticks out in my mind after reading this book is how fast technology continues to change... and how we as educators need to prepare our students to enter a 21st century workforce. On p. 25, the book states that "The speed at which the underlying information and communications technologies are developing are truly astounding. Computer microchips continue to double their processing speed every 18 months.... the density of data we can store doubles every 12 months." These are just a few examples the book gives on the amazing, everchanging technological world. It is hard for me to grasp the advancement of techology, but I know it's there. I can recall learning powerpoint, excel, access, and word just a few years ago. Now, there are numerous other programs available to teach students. I beleive it is also important as we're teaching 21st century skills that they are relevant to what students will see in the workforce. Many of the skills are geared toward communication and collaboration. It amazes me how much technology is used in a typical workday simply to communicate with coworkers. I am convinced after reading this book that it is vital for educators to keep abreast of the newest 21st century skills and pass those skills on to our future generation.