Technology is already a massive part of our lives, being the foundation for efficiency in virtually all industries. The sheer benefits of adopting technology and digital skills cannot be overstated. As such, all modern students and budding professionals can do themselves a significant favour by engaging with the technologies and tools available to boost their output.
Given this, it’s also essential to ensure that students are equipped with the required digital skills to thrive in tech-dominated times. It’s imperative for students to succeed in their professional lives or to support students in developing these skills autonomously. It’s essential to have digital skills to thrive in the digital age. Students need not be experts, but it’s impossible to function in the present without basic digital skills.
This article covers essential digital skill sets and provides tips for educators on how to help students develop these skills.
Five Must-Have Digital Skills for Students
Working With Various Document Formats
Students and working professionals come across varied types of files on an everyday basis. They must have the basic knowledge of file conversion to different formats. For instance, converting Word doc to PDF shouldn’t be a task for students. They should also be well-versed in more common file types, including JPEGs and Excel spreadsheets. Students must also learn to use various Google documents, such as Docs and Sheets.
Educators can develop students’ skills in working with the most common files by requiring specific assignments to be submitted in a particular format. Making PDF submissions compulsory, for instance, forces students to learn to convert various file types to PDFs. Your students can also build proficiency with tools like Adobe Acrobat. These skills are necessary both in corporate environments and in higher education.
Communicate Effectively Online
Communication has always been an essential skill. However, where this was once a soft skill, the adoption of digital communication technologies has made effective communication a technological skill set just as much as it’s still about being an empathetic communicator.
Over the years, how we communicate has changed, so students should be trained in the latest technologies. The best way for schools to do this includes encouraging students to email their teachers and putting a greater emphasis on the educational potential of social media platforms.
Social media is an integral part of the youth today. Young people are present on various social media sites, making it essential for educators to familiarise themselves with this new mode of communication. Educators can start by setting up a Facebook group and engaging the class by sharing facts or encouraging students or group students to create pages to outline information or use these pages for group tasks/assignments.
When teaching young people how to communicate online, there should always be an emphasis on safety. The internet can be a scary place because of the anonymity it allows people, which makes recognising danger an essential skill.
Using AI
No matter what we think about it, it’s hard to deny that artificial intelligence has been an incredibly transformative advancement. AI is already used for many educational purposes, including helping students prepare for exams. AI is a tricky subject, especially in the classroom. On the one hand, it’s created new ways to cheat. Students can, for instance, simply ask ChatGPT to generate an essay on a particular topic and try to pass it off as their work. Teachers need to be aware of this.
On the other hand, AI can also be a potent tool when used correctly. It can help students do research more efficiently than they would using traditional search engines and databases. It can also stimulate students’ creativity by giving them suggestions in the form of bullet points. Any AI education should involve learning what AI shouldn’t be used for. At this point, large language models like ChatGPT cannot replace human writing. Students need to learn how to produce content independently and edit AI-generated writing to sound more human.
Basic Graphic Design
A big part of a school’s job is to prepare students for their careers. This involves equipping them with broadly applicable digital skills like basic graphic design. Learning to edit and design digital images is incredibly important in various industries. Whether you work in marketing, education, real estate, etc., knowing basic graphic design will help. Ideally, you’ll want to equip students with basic Photoshop skills. This would allow students to perform tasks ranging from slight touch ups to designing images from scratch. While Photoshop might have a reasonably steep learning curve, there are platforms out there like Canva that simplify graphic design.
Doing Research
Research is a valuable skill, regardless of whether a student decides to do it after school, primarily if they pursue higher education. Universities require students to write research papers, so abilities like finding and citing academic sources, writing in an academic style and summarising vast amounts of information in a digestible format are essential. Students can learn research skills through hands-on experience. Educators should teach them the skills mentioned in the previous paragraph and have them write basic research papers. Doing so on a small scale is the best preparation for writing the many long research papers that college is famous for.
As time goes on, being digitally proficient will only become more critical. Whatever career one chooses, it’s almost impossible to avoid some sort of contact with technology. Students must learn how to work with various tools. Students must also learn to be adaptable: technology is changing at a breakneck pace, and the ability to learn is more important than any specific skill.
