KNOWLEDGE and ATTITUDES Necessary for the 21st Century

Before knowledge can be absorbed or internalized, an open-mind is necessary. After knowledge is acquired, skills can be developed from that knowledge base. The future of education looks very bright. Technology and the Internet allow us to learn within a new paradigm. This paradigm should be ever expanding, as should our view in goal setting where, the sky is no longer the limit.

Some of the necessary attitudes of the 21st century:

1.) Focus on solutions - Learning that there is more than one solution to a problem. "Attacking processing problems from a variety of perspectives and using technology to create streamlined processes that were never before possible. Reevaluate all processes periodically." (Gates III, Bill, 1999, p. 315)

2.) Open-mindedness requires that we set aside what is known and be willing to explore the unknown.

3.) Cultural history and understanding the relevance of what is studied and learned is integral to the acceptance of where we were, where we are and where we are heading.

Knowledge that will be necessary for the 21st century will be:

• 1.) We must learn how to leverage our "Power Tools". Dr. Canton, author of Technofutures, classifies Power Tools in these categories:

  (a) Computers (b) Networks (c) Biotech (d) Nanotech

  Dr. Canton also refers to the building blocks that are pertinent to the Power Tools, which are bits, atoms, neurons, and genes. (Canton, James, 1999 p. 15)

• 2.) "Too few educators and leaders understand how the game is changing, let alone how to change with it. The need for high-tech workers is outpacing the educational systems' ability to generate them from the U.S. educational system." (Canton, James, 1999 p. 150)

  America's educational system must undergo a major change in the way of how it processes information. Using technology and the information provided on the Internet, we can aid competitiveness so that the high-tech business lobby will not be forced to bring in more skilled labor from other countries more advanced than ours. There will continue to be a fierce competition for high-tech specialists in this century. Knowledge capital will have great impact on the rise and fall of nations and companies.

• 3.) New careers will emerge as virtual lifelong learning accelerates the understanding of advanced techniques in these areas: "Biotech, cloning, wireless technology, robotics, space research, artificial life, deep sea aqua-farming, artificial intelligence, space-teraforming, android brain development, and virtual reality programming." (Canton, James, 1999 p. 139 -140) The demands for these technologies will be driven by the economies and distributed technologies of the Internet marketplace.
  The copyright of the article KNOWLEDGE and ATTITUDES Necessary for the 21st Century in Learning Styles is owned by Deborah Jeter. Permission to republish KNOWLEDGE and ATTITUDES Necessary for the 21st Century in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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