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= 21st Century Skills in Practice =

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Well, one thing we can say for MIchael is that he is trying. Only, it's not such a pretty sight. Part of the problem is that he is using technology for technology's sake--and it doesn't work that way.

Our mantra for the day is. . . "It's NOT about the technology; technology is the tool we use to build toward the objective."

Dan Pink, author of __A Whole New Mind__ In his book A Whole New Mind, Pink discusses the need for developing skills that can't be outsourced--developing the creative, innovating, problem-solving and collaboration skills. It's these skills that are job security--things that cannot be done by a computer, a robot, or a call center in Bangalore.

PInk also talks about the fact that knowledge is cheap. Think about this--when I was a high school student back in the 70's, we looked to our teachers as those people who could dispense the knowledge we needed. My teachers taught us the things that we needed to develop a career, be job ready, make a living. The problem today is that anyone with a computer can find that knowledge in five seconds flat--and knowledge that was once so valuable is not so valuable any more. What IS valuable is knowing __what to do__ with the knowledge--how to turn the knowledge into something useful, creative, needed.

Here, Dan Pink talks about left- and right-brain thinking at a Best Buy company meeting. media type="youtube" key="3wOgYm3YBZk" height="344" width="425"

And, his explanation of his ideas for Discovery Education:

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Don't Teach Your Kids This . . . -- we can't turn our backs on the need to use tools properly.