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__Mission Statement__
We want to explore how to balance our humanity in a world of technology.

__Discussion__
We encourage discussion about 21st century skills, the pros and cons we have identified, and educational trends in general.

Join the conversation! What are your views on the benefits, advantages, strengths and progress 21st Century Skills offer students as well as the drawbacks, disadvantages, weaknesses and faults some of these same skills and technologies create.

__Our Questions__
What are the benefits and disadvantages of these skills? How will we implement these skills as educators? ||
 * What are 21st century skills?

**__21st Century Pro & Con List__**

 * = __Pros__ ||= 21st Century Skills ||= __Cons__ ||
 * = Ability to handle numerous tasks

Students have multiple and varied abilities and can transition flexibly between tasks ||= // Accessing and Analyzing Information

(Multi-tasking) // ||= Tasks completed with less efficiency.

The knowledge and depth within any specific skill set are not as well developed (reading, writing, debate, etc.) ||
 * = Many students find it much easier to communicate on-line or through other digital media ||= // Effective Oral and Written Communication // ||= Some students are not developing their oral communication skills and are uncomfortable in a face to face interaction, discussion, and debate ||
 * = Source of information (body of knowledge), references, data

I have a student who, as a senior in high school, has his own business. He has a patent, a lawyer, a market, and is entirely self-sufficient and self directed. His website is [|www.buckbegone.com]. ||= // Initiative and Enterpreneurialism // ||= Depth and quality of information, accuracy of information, some students may not be ready to pursue at this point in their development || and // // Responsibility // ||= No longer has ownership or protection of ideas ||
 * = When in charge of own learning, students become more invested and thus take more ownership and accountability of their work. They no longer view assignments are "busy work" that they do not want to complete but as a vital tasks they themselves have set as steps in accomplishing their educational and/or project goals. ||= // Accountability
 * =  ||= // Critical Thinking // ||=   ||
 * = Ideas are able to be reached and shared by many ||= // Collaboration Across networks // ||= At times it is dangerous to interact with invisible strangers across the digital domain. Issues of security and safety, especially for students, become paramount. Furthermore, as with Wikipedia, the quality of the information exchanged across these connections is also a question. Is the person an expert, in what way, can he be trusted, etc.? ||
 * = Networking with peers

For my CIL class, my students find a real life issue or problem that they wish to change. They identify the problem, research it, propose a plan to become an active participant in the world and in making the problem and thus would be better, and then take action according to the plan (volunteering, letter writing, fund-raising, outreach/education, etc.). ||= // Problem Solving // ||=  ||
 * ||= // Adaptability // ||  ||
 * By allowing students to pursue ares that interest them (what they are curious about) and the freedom to create their own products or assessments (using their imagination), learning tasks and results are more deep, ingrained, authentic, and more likely to transfer between areas of study. ||= // Curiosity and Imagination // || There are always those students who are resistant to open ended tasks and self directed learning, preferring to have you as the teacher just "tell" them "what to do" rather than have them explore and apply their interests, curiosities and imagination. ||
 * The same student who owns the BuckBeGone company([|www.buckbegone.com]) is very socially and environmentally aware. Not only are his products biodegradable and environmentally friendly, but he also donates a portion of the proceeds to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. ||= // Character Education // ||  ||