The Moving Forward wiki caught my attention today. As I looked through the list of 21st century skills, I noticed several absent items as compared to lists from just one or two years ago.
There is no mention of productivity tools. There is usually an emphasis on learning to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint in most sets of 21st century skills. There is a bullet for computerized presentation skills, but I think the lists is referring more to the skill of presenting effectively and not the skill of using PowerPoint. This is a great step forward. It shows we are moving from an emphasis on learning to use specific programs to an environment where programs are viewed as tools to accomplish grander things.
The new ISTE NETS for Students has a similar ring.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
This is an exciting list if you are a teacher. Look at that first item! Our students must be creative and innovation. This sounds like the post I had a couple of days ago. The ISTE set looks a lot like the original 21st century skills I linked to.
The Ohio Academic Content Standards for Technology will have to be updated to reflect these new ISTE standards, but that may take years. As educators we need to focus on how we can begin to implement these standards now. Each year our young students lose is much more than a year in the life of a life-long-learning adult.