I am currently doing my Master of Education at USQ University, Australia. One of the topic i am studying and discussing with other people around the world is "what skills the learners need to survive in the 21th century"?
Having lived in many different places and taught in Australia, US and United Arab Emirates, I have found that the basic skills that learners must have in the 21st century are almost the same for everyone.
Learners must develop good people skills. Working with people, being part of a team, and being able to interact with others are essentials for success in today’s workplace. Emotional intelligence is as important as IQ for survival.
Critical thinking is another important skill that our learners must acquire to survive in the 21st century. As technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, cognitive skills like self-direction, curiosity, creativity, risk taking and others are becoming increasingly critical.
Being able to communicate effectively in oral and written format is very important skills that our learners must develop.
Global Awareness... the internet has brought everyone close to each other. A great example of that is this online course we are taking at USQ. We have people from at least 10 different countries and many different cultures. Learners in the 21st century need to recognize and understand countries, sociocultural groups, public and private economic entities, , and individuals across the globe.
Technology skills… Knowledge about what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals.
I would love to hear from many of you on this topic and on any other topics that related to technology and education..Best Regards...
Guss
2 comments:
Hi Guss,
Well done on your blog. I'll post my comments about the content on the USQ discussion forum.
Jane
Technological skills are needed to survive in the next few centuries, however, one of the skills needed to be a well rounded student is to have some cross-cultural skills. Without good cross-cultural skills then all technology becomes absolute. Wars have started for cultural discrepancies, if we have only known how to deal with it. In summary, I think that cross cultural skills are as important as technological skills because at the end you must deal with the person behind the computer.
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