21st Century Skills

There is quite a bit of discussion about 21st Century Skills in publications on the internet and in print. Two recent articles in T.H.E. Journal Online address 21st Century Skills. The first, 21st Century Skills, discusses the role technology plays in preparing students for the 21st Century work world. The second article, 21st Century Workforce, discusses the skills students need to prepare for work in the 21st Century.

A group called The Partnership for 21st Century Skills comprised of business, education and government leaders is working to provide a framework for skills students will need to succeed in work in the 21st century. This Partnership encourages schools, districts and states to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education and will work to provide the tools and resources to facilitate this process.

Six states have adopted the 21st Century Skills Framework and are working to integrate these skills in academic standards. The states include Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Wisconsin has currently has four initiatives focused on 21st Century Skills. These initiatives include Global Literacy, Summit on 21st Century Skills, High School Task Force and Personal Financial Literacy Standards.

For more information, visit The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Web 2.0 Tools

What is Web 2.0? Great question. Try a Google search for the phrase "Web 2.0". Results 16,1000,000 hits. WOW! Narrow the search by adding the term "education" and the results fall to 2,250,000.

As you can see, there are many resources to learn about Web 2.0 in education. Instead of searching the entire Internet for relevant sites about Web 2.0, try these for a starting point:

Kathy Schrock's Web 2.0 page: http://kathyschrock.net/web20/