The traditional, 20th century’s school system, is outdated. Globalization and the rise of new technologies during the 21st century have revolutionized our learning methods, and therefore, our teaching system must undergo a thorough revision.
Nowadays, educational systems cannot only focus on content, since it expires very quickly. In addition to that, we must educate students in digital skills, since they will be key to correctly develop career opportunities in the world that awaits them once they leave school.
Why are digital skills the future of education?
There are many signs that lead us to believe that digital skills education is the future:
  • We currently live the rise of what is known as Industry 4.0: the incorporation of digital technologies into production processes. This means that workers performing mechanical tasks will be less demanded; and on the contrary, those who can interact with the existing technology will be essential for the work market.
  • It is estimated that by 2020, 90% of jobs will require that the person who performs them have digital skills. By that time, there will be 1 million vacancies that the market will not be able to satisfy, if we do not educate our students in these skills.
  • In cases of countries – such as Spain, Greece or Portugal – seriously affected by the economic crisis, they all suffer a high volume of unemployment amongst youngsters. Training in digital skills becomes a great opportunity of professional development for this group with special difficulties to entry the labour market.
The role of education in improving the digital skills of the population
Given the aforementioned factors, it is clear that the education system is a key element to ensure that the workforce of the future has the required professionals. The better we train our students today in digital skills, the easier it will be for them to find a good job in the future.
To improve the digital skills of students, it is important to work in two areas:
1. Encourage the use of ICT for learning: schools must have digital and technological resources for developing these skills: wi-fi connection, devices, adapted software… Adittionally, teachers must be prepared to apply innovative pedagogical methods, that promote learning while contributing to the development of social, communicative and participative skills.
2. Curricular adaptation to incorporate the teaching of specific digital competences in the education system: there are already 12 countries in Europe that have incorporated this programming in their secondary stage of school. According to the experts, these new subjects encourage the development of logical thinking and agility in solving problems.
By participating in the CRISS project, any secondary school in Europe can make sure that their students easily improve their digital skills, and that they are correctly evaluated in these competences. If you want your school to be part of the educational system of the future, join us on this link.