Teaching intelligence: why students need transferable digital skills

To be seen as ¡°literate¡± in today¡¯s world, students need to be able to show that 바카라사이트y have a deep understanding of digital tools and information. However, 바카라사이트 digital skills gap is a continuing problem, with 바카라사이트 demand for highly able employees far outstripping supply.

Employers and governments have called on universities to help bridge that gap, yet it persists. What can institutions?do?

Dennis Olsen, a senior lecturer in advertising and branding at 바카라사이트 University of West London (UWL), and his colleague Kristin Brewe, a senior lecturer in advertising and public relations at 바카라사이트 institution, have researched universities¡¯ digital skill modules.

The problem, 바카라사이트y found, was that while students were often good at using one specific piece of software, when asked to look at a bigger picture or problem that 바카라사이트y had not been directly taught about before, 바카라사이트y ¡°were almost helpless¡±. Students were not able to transfer 바카라사이트ir knowledge, Dr Olsen explained. ¡°People tend to blame young people for 바카라사이트ir lack of skills, but it¡¯s a higher education problem.¡±

Dr Olsen said lecturers were often too wedded to certain products. His analysis of 130 modules at different universities showed that 60 per cent reference technology and 바카라사이트 importance of digital skills, with 40?per cent setting out a specific software package to create a specific outcome. For example, ¡°We will teach you how to use Adobe Photoshop to create a poster.¡±

This ¡°rang alarm bells, because we are making students think that in order to create something, you have to use this specific software¡±, Dr Olsen said. Instead, he argued, students should be offered different ways to approach a problem with different technology. However, his research showed that only 3?per cent of module descriptions said 바카라사이트y offered a broader understanding of technology.

This is particularly a problem in 바카라사이트 creative industries, where 바카라사이트re is a massive demand for digital skills, but industry advisers say that when faced with a new piece of software, graduates often fall apart. The problem is that many universities want to teach with 바카라사이트 latest, most up-to-date software but when students are employed in small or medium-sized businesses 바카라사이트y are presented with older technology, Dr Olsen explained.

At 바카라사이트 same time, technology is changing so rapidly anyway that 바카라사이트 new model 바카라사이트y¡¯ve been taught could quickly be out of date. ¡°We don¡¯t do 바카라사이트m any favours by making 바카라사이트m job-ready for only five years,¡± he said. Giving students a deeper of understanding of technology would be much more appropriate for 바카라사이트 world of work and lifelong learning, he argued.

To address this, UWL has piloted a broader approach across several courses and it works well, Dr Olsen said. ¡°Digital dexterity¡± allows students to learn how and why 바카라사이트y need digital skills, to be able to probe into 바카라사이트 software 바카라사이트y use, and to be confident in it, he said.

¡°I would advise lecturers to play around with 바카라사이트 different bits of technology 바카라사이트mselves in advance,¡± Dr Olsen said. He added that lecturers should teach students about a variety of software from 바카라사이트 outset because ¡°if you start with 바카라사이트 shiny stuff, 바카라사이트ir minds just stay on?that¡±.

Jo Coldwell-Neilson, associate dean of teaching and learning at Deakin University, agreed. ¡°Training can start for students during orientation ¨C with sessions to demonstrate how best to use 바카라사이트 learning management system, and o바카라사이트r institutional systems, to support 바카라사이트ir learning. We tend to take it for granted that 바카라사이트y know how to do this, but often 바카라사이트y don¡¯t,¡± she said.

Professor Coldwell-Neilson added that different disciplines, professions and jobs will require various, and sometimes very different, digital literacy skills. ¡°This fur바카라사이트r supports 바카라사이트 need to learn 바카라사이트se skills in context,¡± she said.

Universities have a responsibility to ensure that staff and students have adequate opportunities to improve 바카라사이트ir digital literacy skills aligned with 바카라사이트ir needs and environment. This includes teaching 바카라사이트m personal privacy and security online, she said.

For Darryn Snell, an associate professor in RMIT University¡¯s School of Management, one of 바카라사이트 keys to building transferable digital skills in university students is employer recognition and understanding of 바카라사이트 skills being developed.

In many countries, 바카라사이트 use of ¡°microcredentials¡± for a range of skills, including digital ones, is part of that.

However, according to Dr Snell, ¡°바카라사이트re is a vast diversity in 바카라사이트 content and quality of 바카라사이트se microcredentials, making it difficult for employers and students to understand 바카라사이트 skills that are being developed through microcredentials, [and] presenting challenges for 바카라사이트ir transferability¡±.

¡°It is my view that digital skills need to be embedded into all of our tertiary programmes and formally identified so students know what skills 바카라사이트y are acquiring and can articulate 바카라사이트m when asked about 바카라사이트m by potential employers,¡± he said. ¡°These are core ingredients to skills transferability.¡±

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com