What Does "21st Century" Really Mean?

I was working with some great guys from the K20 Center's Alternative Education program last week, and one of them asked a really profound question. Do you think they became obsessed with 20th century education at the turn of the last century? "21st Century" has become a such an overused expression that it risks being watered down until it means nothing. Every grant application we were reading was discussing the importance of providing a 21st century education or teaching 21st century skills. How many of the writers of those grants really know what that means? What does it mean?
For some people, "21st century" has become a synonym for "modern". In education circles, however, 21st century should mean a specific set of skills and disposition described in such documents as The Framework for 21st Century Learning from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills or the Standards for the 21st Century Learner from the American Association of School Librarians. These new standards shift learning from a teacher-centered proposition to student-centered, project-driven, collaborative, and global learning. Technology is an important tool for this type of learning, but it is not the focus. It is important that the educational community agrees that when we say “21st century,” we’re describing the skills we will focus on so that our students are prepared for life after school.