The task of educating the youth of today to be creative, confident, capable and resilient digital citizens who can communicate effectively, think critically and solve the problems of the future is no easy task! The continually changing field of technology and the complex skills required for employees of the future mean more emphasis must be placed on building the digital capabilities of our students (OECD, 2019). An introduction to the issues explored in this guide are outlined in the video below.
Digital artefact: DLEs for 21st Century Learning
Preparing for a changing world
The Australian education system strives to prepare students to thrive in a time of rapid social and technological change, whilst also adapting to the complex environmental, social and economic challenges being faced (Education Council, 2020, p. 4). The emergence of a platform society, whereby many of our everyday operations are occurring online, as well as increasing innovations in technology and the transformation of employment opportunities are all contributing to the need to ensure that all classroom pedagogy moves into the 21st century with a focus on building the skills and capabilities needed.
The future of employment and skills… A case for change
The World Economic Forum’s Jobs Reset Summit proposed that as the adoption of technology increases, by 2025 up to 50% of the world’s working population will need reskilling (Whiting, 2020). Even before the economic shocks of 2020, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Skills for 2030 report, similarly deduced that trends in globalisation and advances in artificial intelligence will change the demands of the labour market and the skills needed for workers to succeed in the future (OECD, 2019). Thus, while the current online nature of society requires students exiting secondary and tertiary institutions to have the ability to effectively utilise and navigate technology, it is the human centred skills such as creativity, metacognition, the ability to learn and social and emotional intelligence that will future proof their employability. Furthermore, research conducted by the Foundation for Young Australians states that in order to lessen the education to work transition gap, students require enterprise skills such as the ability to problem solve, communicate and work as part of a team and the mismatch between the education young people are receiving and the skills and capabilities required for work must be addressed (Foundation for Young Australians, 2018, p. 14).
Creating 21st Century thinkers – How do we get there?
Whilst the use of digital learning environments (DLEs) in schools is not a new concept, the rapid transition to remote learning in 2020 ensured they are certainly now a given in Australian classrooms (Maguire, 2020). Although this is a step in the right direction to ensure that more learners are acquiring the skills to engage with a community online, there is still work to be done to ensure these platforms are being used to their greatest potential (The Brainwaves Video Anthology, 2014). Bridging the new digital divide involves educators creating online learning experiences that move away from simply transferring outdated pedagogy into the online space, and instead promoting engaging and participatory uses of technology in order to access the true learning benefit of these platforms (The Brainwaves Video Anthology, 2014). This involves being open to new ways of teaching and learning that may look quite different from what characterises the average classroom now (OECD, 2019). Effective teaching puts student inquiry at the centre and actively engages students (OECD, 2019); thus, the use of DLEs and engaging online tools that develop the skills needed for the future should be used in combination with effective pedagogical practices, such as design thinking or project based learning, to achieve best results.
Click the icons below for a sample of online educational tools that can be used.
