Visual Language

21st Century Skills

Related but separate to the topic of technology integration is 21st century skills. According to the Benton Foundation, 21st century skills refer to

"...a set of cognitive, technical and communicative skills that all Americans need to possess to make our nation more productive, economically and socially."

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Benton Foundation created a publication, Learning for the 21st Century, that provides an in-depth framework for educators, academics, business leaders and employers. These skills include:

• Information and communication skills
• Thinking and problem-solving skills
• Interpersonal and self-directional skills

Reading this it occured to me that foundation year is a great time to explore these skills, esp. through technology integration across disciplines/subjects and visual language. My ideas to address these skills:

• Project-based art & technology instruction that emphasizes collaboration and peer-mentoring; adapting to a variety of roles and responsibilities; working productively with others; and respecting diverse perspectives.
• Incorporating new and existing technologies to help students learn and create oral, written, and digital-based communication in many forms and contexts.
• Providing more opportunities to expose students to a variety of tools (including digital) and practice to master necessary skills.

Revamping the entire foundation year curriculum may not be necessary. However, creating a structure to accomodate these methods will require some careful coordination and buy-in from faculty and support staff. The same goes for tech integration. Working more closely with other departments such as Critical Studies and others is also very important.

posted by Nettrice @ 3:14 PM