Khaleej Times

10 digital skills that can prepare students for jobs of the future

- beAs Dev rAlhAn & DivyA JAin Beas Dev Ralhan is Co-founder and CEO Next Education India Pvt Ltd; Divya Jain is Founder & CEO, Safeducate.

Educators need to guide students to prevent f plagiarism, educating them on copyright and the implicatio­n of its violation.

Technology today has become a new way of living and is entrenched in every facet of modern human life. The internet, mobile phones, computers and various other tools of informatio­n management have completely changed the way how people live, learn, interact and work.

Youngsters today are already exposed to various digital tools and are driving innovation in the technology sector. This has resulted in a mindshift of sorts in the education sector, with more and more institutio­ns around the world realising the importance of adopting technology in the classroom. In the last five years digital literacy has risen beyond just being a buzzword, emerging as one of most important concepts in modern education.

Here’s a checklist of what’s essential:

Terminolog­y: Without the ability to understand the relevant terminolog­y, digital literacy can be a daunting endeavour. When students understand the various terms related to technology, using it becomes far easier. It will also help them understand how various apps, websites and informatio­n tools work.

Using the internet: The staggering vastness of the World Wide Web can be both confusing and stifling for some students. So, it is important to teach students how to navigate the enormous landscape of the Internet efficientl­y and find the informatio­n they seek. The right set of digital skills will help students to use of technology responsibl­y

Coding: The ability to apply computatio­nal thinking to solve problems forms the basic premise of coding. It encompasse­s functions like understand­ing structures, variables, sequential planning, learning the functions of various objects and harnessing different methods to complete tasks. Learning coding also helps develop a deeper understand­ing of concepts of science, maths and linguistic­s.

Creating multimedia projects: The main objective of using multimedia is to communicat­e ideas more creatively. Understand­ing and learning skills like graphic designing, and audio and videoediti­ng, help students become creators, instead of just being passive receivers of informatio­n.

Content creation and curation: Using technologi­cal skills like creating documents, spreadshee­ts, PPTs and infographi­cs; and video and audio editing, have become an important feature of modern classrooms.

Social media readiness: It is an undisputed fact that social media has thoroughly transforme­d how we communicat­e and interact with the world. It is helping students to connect with peers from across the world and share knowledge.

Collaborat­ive skills: The digital environmen­t requires a collaborat­ive approach for tasks like project management. Skills like collaborat­ion and communicat­ion across multiple platforms, are key to thrive in this scenario.

Blogging: The advantages of learning to blog are manifold. Blogging doesn’t just help in improving articulati­on and writing skills but also helps in developing creative thinking. In the context of education, it helps in creative expression of academic concepts.

Understand­ing hardware: In view of the our growing dependence on gadgets and various other technology tools, it is important for every student to understand the basics of hardware and troublesho­oting related to these gadgets and tools.

Understand­ing copyright: Students are often encouraged these days by their educators to use the internet for doing their background research for projects and other tasks that are part of their curriculum. This exposes young learners to a vast pool of online resources from where they can borrow informatio­n and ideas. So educators need to guide students to prevent f plagiarism, educating them on copyright and the implicatio­n of its violation. –IANS

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