1)  “The leap in new technology options and the shifting demographics of the workforce mean that the old, traditional way of doing business are rapidly being enhanced by new ways of working. More business will be conducted using emerging communications technologies and social networking platforms.”

Professional Learning Communities will soon be filled members of this “shifting demographic.” They will be comfortable with technology as a natural extension of their work, how they communicate, how they collaborate, how they plan, etc. The technology is certainly going to continue to evolve making it even easier to collaborate virtually.

2)  “Technologies that people prefer to use in their private lives will become the technologies people want to use at work...what we call the consumerization of collaboration.”  

Technology is going to increase its involvement and importance in all aspects of our lives. The younger demographic will assume these technologies will be used, and demand it if they aren’t.

3)  “The younger generation prefers to use multiple channels of communication, often choosing social networks, text messaging or instant messaging instead of e-mail and in-person meetings.”

They (and a growing percentage of the current population of educators) will see these technologies as a logical extension of who they are and how they work.  Technology is going to change how (we) collaborate and interact with each other.

Economic, technological, informational, demographic and political forces have transformed the way people work and live.

Students will spend their adult lives in a multitasking, mutifacted, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world---and they must be equipped to do so.

...literacy in the 21st Century means more than basic reading, writing, and computing skills.  It means knowing how to use knowledge and skills in the context of modern life.

As much as students need knowledge in core subjects, they also need to know how to keep learning continually throughout their lives.  Learning skills comprise three broad categories of skills: 
1) information and communication skills      2) thinking and problem-solving skills     3) interpersonal and self-directional skills

Skilled 21st Century citizens should be proficient in information and commnication technologies...to access, manage, integrate and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, and communicate with others in order to participate effectively in society.

Education and business leaders indentified three significant, emerging content areas that are critical to success in communities and workplaces: 
1)  global awareness;                      2) financial, economic and business literacy;          3) civic literacy.