Week Two: Blog Posting #4 - 21st Century Skills and Lifelong Learning

21st Century skills and lifelong learning are not new ideas. What 21st century looks like, is different as it reflects changes in all aspects of modern day life. Technology has influenced not only what we do, but how we do it. Along with these exciting and life altering changes, society has been met with considerable challenges as well.

In the article by Prensky (2001), Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants the author makes a point of distinguishing between the cognitive differences between those raised in the past 20 years and those of previous generations. The impact of instant access has opened doors to learning and definitely supports the opportunity for lifelong learning as long as the user has a level of literacy to use the tools effectively.

The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (2007) provides a framework that consists of 4 basic skill areas that they believe are necessary to infuse into our current educational system to adapt to the changing landscape of learning. The interesting piece regarding these skill areas is that they are the same skill areas that would be important before the onset of the “digital age.” Literacy, creative thinking, effective communication and task completion have always been goals of education; however today the use of technology changes everything. The biggest challenge then remains how to provide the training and education needed to use the tools effectively, safely and productively. This is the current task for our educational system PK-16.

The lifelong learner in all of us is enhanced by the technologies that have been created and the ongoing development of Web 2.0 tools. Through the simplest use of email, we are able to reach out to and be reached by anyone, at anytime which provides a connection and a communication that is not just text based but also can include other media formats. Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are a great example of using a set of Web 2.0 tools to customize and manage learning based on personal interest and need. PLN’s are reflective of the need to understand and interact with tools that enhance and enrich our lives thus creating the desire to stay connected and keep on learning.

Prensky, M., (2001) Digital natives, Digital Immigrants from www.marcprensky.com/writing/ Prensky - Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - Part1.pdf