Resource Pack - Digital Skills

The digital skills cluster refers to the digital competences to enable learners to participate actively in life, in school, and in work in the digital age.

Digital competence incorporates the ability to benefit from digital technologies to enhance an effective pedagogical practice. A digital-competent teacher requires a deep knowledge regarding digital competences to mentor and guide learners in their learning path, expected to be more autonomous.

Empowering learners with the right digital technologies is fundamental in creating a responsibility as digital intervenient in the complex social media networks. The use of digital technologies usually requires active mythologies in the teaching and learning process.

Digital competences must be used in such a way that places learners as the focus of the teaching and learning process.

The digital skills cluster incorporates the following skills:

• Technological Literacy: Technology literacy refers to the knowledge and skills required to effectively and responsibly use technology tools and resources. Technology literacy is similar to digital literacy, in that an individual who is technologically or digitally literate is well-versed in thinking critically and communicating by utilizing technology. These individuals understand how to consume, create, authenticate and share digital content, and can easily adapt to new technologies.
• Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI: Traditional AI focuses on performing a specific task intelligently. It refers to systems designed to respond to a particular set of inputs. These systems can learn from data and make decisions or predictions based on that data. Generative AI can be thought of as the next generation of artificial intelligence. It's a form of AI that can create something new. Generative AI focuses on creating new content like text, images, and music. Generative AI models are trained on a set of data and learn the underlying patterns to generate new data that mirrors the training set.
• Working with Digital Devices and Applications: Carry out simple digital tasks like operating already configured hardware, finding information via web searches, using standard software for communicating or collaborating with others or for creating and editing simple content, and choosing between standard measures for protecting devices, personal data and privacy in digital environments. [1]
• Media and Information Literacy: The ability to access media, to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of the media and media content.[2] Media and information literacy involves a range of cognitive, emotional, and social competencies. It is also crucial to have the expertise to use technological equipment and tools to motivate learners in the learning process.

Characteristics of Generation Z Teachers

Generation Z teachers can be from the Baby Boomer, Generation X and Millennial generations. These three generations share  the following common characteristics:

• Adaptability and Flexibility: They witnessed major technological advancements and workplace changes, such as the advent of the Internet. This has made them adaptable and technologically versatile.
• Cultural and Social Diversity: They grew up at the time of the civil rights and equality movements, which made them generally more sensitive and responsive to diversity and inclusion. They value participation in their communities, which reflects their desire to contribute to collective well-being and leave a positive legacy.
• Digital Gap: Although they are adept at technology, there is still a significant difference with the younger generations when it comes to the ease and naturalness with which they use recent technologies.

Importance of Digital Skills for Generation Z Teachers

The significance of digital skills for teachers of this Generation is multifaceted:

• Professional Engagement: the modern workplace is continuously evolving, often requiring creative solutions to new challenges. The need of digital knowledge to be able to combine: organizational communication; professional collaboration; reflective practice and Digital continuous professional development (CPD).
• Digital Resources: teachers should be able to select, create, modify, manage information, protect, and share it through the use of digital resources.
• Teaching and Learning: Teaching towards learning (learners at the centre); guidance (mentoring), collaborative learning and self-regulated learning.
• Assessment: Assessment strategies; canalizing evidence and feedback and planning;
• Facilitating Learners' Digital Competence: information and media literacy; communication; content creation; responsible use and problem solving.

Generation Z learners have grown up in a world that values digital environments and social media face different learning contexts.

Teachers' digital competences need to foster an efficient learning environment allowing Generation Z to be engaged in their learning path and to mentor them on digital technologies, digital social media, and digital environments. This mentoring is only possible if teachers are well-equipped with the needed digital skills.

[1] ESCO, consulted at: https://esco.ec.europa.eu/en/classification/skill_main#overlayspin.

[2] Adapted from ESCO, https://esco.ec.europa.eu/en/classification/skill_main#overlayspin.