21st century skills

The five common themes from the assigned videos are: engage students, modern students embrace and rely upon technology, to meet the potential in students teachers must be knowledgeable in the potential presented by current technology, the race in civilization is no longer one about arms but rather about arming students with tools to meet global demands, and using technology to help students create, visualize and understand concepts is the new signature of 21st century teachers. Teachers today need to know and understand the 21st century skills which students are coming to class with. These skills are based in the use and manipulation of technology to be part of the curriculum. Rather than wrote memorization or chalkboard drawings, teachers can empower students to delve further into lesson content using a variety of technological tools from texting on cell phones to designing a virtual model of a Mars space station. These methods of learning keep students interested and give them every opportunity to excel in their education. If video games are more entertaining and interesting than lessons, which one are students more likely to spend time on? In the rapidly passing decade which began the 21st century, technology has advanced by exponential leaps and bounds. Technology goes beyond simple slide shows and now includes an array of visual experiences from news footage of events to virtual breakdowns of the alternate possibilities. By presenting the "what-ifs" in a format everyone can share, conceptual thinking in students can be enhanced. What I'm curious about is how school districts are encouraging teachers to take time and learn the latest technological tools. For teachers at the bottom of the pay scale, or those worrying about getting pink-slipped, where is the motivation for personal time and expense to be spent learning these skills? Finally, I would love to see a study published on students in top performing colleges and universities and how many of them came from tech-heavy high schools.