21ST Century Skills | YOUR definition | Learning and Innovation Skills | Creativity and Innovation | The generation today perceives a creative desire for self-expression which leads to out-of-the-box thinking. It produces skills that can discover and develop new ideas. | Critical Thinking and Problem Solving | It occurs in students when they learn to analyze tasks, identify assumptions, and make comparisons from different sources then giving a concise answer. | Communication and Collaboration | Being able to communicate not just with text or speech, but also with different formats. Thus by communicating well one can enhance his/her collaborative skills. | Information, Media, and Technology Skills | Information Literacy | Knowing and being aware that information is diverse and can come from different points. Thus being a able to evaluate which is the most credible source to use. | Media Literacy | The ability to analyze, create and access media in different models. Using critical thinking to know the real meaning of a media platform wants to depict. | ICT Literacy | The use of technology as a ubiquitous tool that can help in processing information. Also being informed in the ethics & responsibility of using technology only as a tool not as a substitute to real things. | Life and Career Skills | Flexibility and Adaptability | Being able to do various things and not being constrained into doing just one task. Can conform to different kinds of environment with ease. | Initiative and Self-direction | To take responsibility for a task without being told to do so. | Social and Cross-cultural skills | The ability to understand differences in social and cultural contexts, such as beliefs, norms, & way of life. Using the appropriate skills in order to function in diverse cultural contexts. | Productivity and Accountability | The efficient use of time, right resource allocation, and self-direction to meet the demands of productivity. To complete tasks appropriately one must have the proper application of tools and platforms. Self-sufficiency, commitment and motivation is needed to achieve in this complex setting. | Leadership and Responsibility | Leadership is not only centered on the leader and what he/she does, it must be a people-centered kind of leadership. Anchored with the communication skills and building relationships to develop others in being in their top most self. |

Your Insights These different kinds of skills are vital in harnessing the potential of a student. Knowing that this generation is quite different from the one’s before it because of the presences of technology. For me the challenge for educators is to connect these skills that students develop in their social setting with the skills needed in educational environments.