enGauge+21st+Century+Skills


 * enGauge 21st Century Skills**

Schools need to do more to keep in pace with technology skills in order to meet the NCLB legislation of being computer literate by grade 8.

A roadblock to meeting this goal are:
 * Skills are not define or included in many state learning standards
 * Skills are not measured on most state and local assessments

Schools need to:
 * Acknowledge the skills
 * Embrace new designs and the new skills that are needed to accomplish the new designs
 * Must base accountability on these 21st century skills

The skills are:
 * Digital Age Literacy
 * The ability to use “digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (International ICT Literacy Panel, 2002, p. 2).
 * Inventive Thinking
 * Higher level thinking skills, such as adaptability, managing complexity, and self-direction, curiosity, creativity, and risk taking higher-order thinking and sound reasoning are more important because technology has made simple tasks easier
 * Effective Communication
 * “Information and communications technologies are raising the bar on the competencies needed to succeed in the 21st century”(p. 4). Both researchers and the business community agree: Effective communication skills are essential for success in today’s knowledge based society.
 * High Productivity
 * “We are living in a new economy—powered by technology, fueled by information, and driven by knowledge” (p. 1). Though not yet a high-stakes focus of schools, these skills often determine whether a person succeeds or fails in today’s workforce.