21st Century Skills
The global economy calls for new skills like critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.
National Initiative: Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills
The Institute's Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills initiative underscores the critical role our nation’s museums and libraries play in helping citizens build such 21st century skills as information, communications and technology literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, civic literacy, and global awareness.
Partnership: STEM Video Game Challenge
IMLS is a National Community Sponsor of the National STEM Video Game Challenge. The Challenge, now in its third year, was inspired by President Obama’s "Educate to Innovate" Campaign, promoting science, technology, engineering and math education.
Search the Awarded Grants database for grants to programs that strengthen 21st century skills (issue areas have only been assigned to grants awarded since FY 2009)
21st century skills content on the IMLS Web site:
May 21, 2013 03:26 PM
The first National Day of Civic Hacking is June 1 and 2, 2013. More than 90 sites across the country are planning events that will bring together techies, entrepreneurs, do-gooders, and activists to invent new tools using publicly-released data from local, state and federal government agencies. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is joining in, contributing challenges and data about museums and libraries.
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March 18, 2013 12:55 PM
Webinars show museums and libraries how to get youth involved in the National STEM Video Game Challenge.
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February 21, 2013 09:38 AM
Applications are being accepted from recent master’s program graduates for nine-month residencies in the Washington, D.C. area.
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March 21, 2013 10:51 AM
A public awareness campaign launches today that will help empower people who aren’t Internet users, to get the training they need to get online.
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March 14, 2013 02:01 PM
As everything from report cards to student artwork goes digital, WebWise Keynote speaker Audrey Watters asks “Whose Learning is it Anyway?”
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February 15, 2013 03:44 PM
Launch of digital literacy training initiative will reach residents of public housing.
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This report outlines a vision for the role of libraries and museums in the national dialogue around learning and 21st century skills and includes case studies of innovative audience engagement and 21st century skills practices from across the country.
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Quick summary of makerspaces -- hands-on, mentor-led learning environments to make and
remake the physical and digital worlds -- in museums and libraries.
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August 11, 2010 03:54 PM
In this podcast, Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel explains: 1) What are 21st century skills? 2) Where did the 21st century skills movement come from? 3) Where do museums and libraries fit in the 21st century skills movement? Semmel also describes Making the Learning Connection, IMLS’s national campaign to better understand the opportunities, challenges, and key issues facing today’s museums and libraries in their efforts to meet their communities’ 21st century learning needs. The campaign includes an eight-city workshop tour, a national contest, new online tools and resources, and a series of interactive webinars.
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